Part 5/14:
He recounts that the First Amendment initially lacked teeth until the early 20th century, with most protections and norms formed over the past century. Before that, culture and public understanding held more sway—what people believed about free expression mattered more than legal protections alone.
The Decline of Free Speech Culture
Lukianoff traces the decline of robust free speech norms to roughly 20 years ago, around the early 2000s. During this period, students increasingly demonstrated understanding and respect for free speech, defending even challenging or controversial ideas. However, administrative figures—university bureaucracies—began enacting political correctness and censorship policies, which gained prominence from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s.