New First Amendment Library feature: First Amendment Glossary

We’re excited to introduce our readers to the newest feature of FIRE’s First Amendment Library: the First Amendment Glossary.

Our glossary provides definitions for over 75 common terms that often appear in writings about the First Amendment.

Since many terms included in the glossary have a rich history and deserve further explanation, many entries contain hyperlinks taking readers to other parts of FIRE’s website for additional commentary and context. For example, if you go to the glossary and click on terms such as the “marketplace of ideas” or “prior restraint,” they will take you to relevant portions of FIRE’s Guide to Free Speech on Campus, which offer a more thorough explanation of how these terms relate to campus free speech issues.

Links to categories from the library’s First Amendment Case Database are also included in related term definitions. We hope this glossary and other features in the library give our readers the tools they need to more fully understand First Amendment jurisprudence and encourages them to enter into more informed discussions about free speech and civil liberties.

As with most other library features, we plan to continuously expand the glossary in order to keep you up to date with the latest case law, expert commentary, and other developments in the field.
 

View video