The Kingfish and the Constitution: Huey Long, the First Amendment, and the Emergence of Modern Press Freedom in America [Hardcover]

The Kingfish and the Constitutionis an in-depth analysis of the poisonous relationship that evolved between Huey Kingfish Long, legendary governor of Louisiana, and the state's daily newspapers. Long's political battle over the newspaper tax in the Louisiana legislature in 1934 and the subsequent battle over the constitutionality of his attempt at censorship by taxation culminated in the U.S. Supreme Court decision inGrosjean v. American Press Co.in 1936, a landmark decision that laid the basis for the protection of modern freedom of the press in America. This fascinating study will be of interest to scholars and students of political science, constitutional law, and American history.RICHARD C. CORTNER is Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is the author of eleven books, including most recently,The Iron Horse and the Constitution: The Railroads and the Transformation of the Fourteenth Amendment(Greenwood, 1993).

Introduction: Huey Long, the Press, and the First Amendment in 1930
The Kingfish and the Lying Newspapers of Louisiana
The Kingfish Goes National
Guiding the Newspapers in the Path of Rectitude : Censorship by Taxation
The Press Counterattacks
The Grosjean Case before the Three-Judge Court
The Appeal to the Supreme Court
Epilogue
Bibliographical Essay
Index