It is my belief that there are "absolutes" in our Bill of Rights, and that they were put there on purpose by men who knew what words meant and meant their prohibitions to be "absolutes."
Hugo BlackThe Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to... bare the secrets of government and inform the people.
Hugo BlackThe layman's constitutional view is that what he likes is constitutional and that which he doesn't like is unconstitutional.
Hugo BlackWhat finally emerges from the 'clear and present danger' cases is a working principle that the substantive evil must be extremely serious and the degree of imminence extremely high before utterances can be punished...It must be taken as a command of the broadest scope that explicit language, read in the context of a liberty-loving society, will allow.
Hugo BlackThe lesson which wars and depressions have taught is that if we want peace, prosperity and happiness at home we must help to establish them abroad.
Hugo BlackThe first ten amendments were proposed and adopted largely because of fear that Government might unduly interfere with prized individual liberties. The people wanted and demanded a Bill of Rights written into their Constitution. The amendments embodying the Bill of Rights were intended to curb all branches of the Federal Government in the fields touched by the amendments-Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.
Hugo Black