The Communist trials and the American tradition - expert testimony on force and violence, and democracy (Paperback, 2nd enl. ed., 2000)

A new supplemented edition. If the role of the Court in restricting voting rights in 2000 bothers you a bit, be sure to get a copy of this book, centered on the Court and 1st Amendment rights. When first published in 1956, author John Somerville was at the midpoint of his long life as a scholar-activist and noted educator. He had participated widely at universities and philosophical congresses in discussions about Marxist theory and its interpretations.

This book remains a comprehensive presentation of the basic doctrines of Marxism in their relation to democracy and to revolutionary "force and violence." Here Dr. Somerville discusses evidence from American history that the judges would not permit in the three Smith Act trials in which he was a witness for the defense.

Includes correspondence with Howard W. Smith, author of the Smith Act, and an Appendix of Somerville's essay on later Smith Act issues and decisions.