Actual Malice tells the full story of New York Times v. Sullivan, the case that grew out of segregationists’ attempts to quash reporting on the civil rights movement. In its landmark 1964 decision, the United States Supreme Court held that a public official must prove “actual malice” or reckless disregard of the truth to win a libel lawsuit, providing critical protections for free speech and freedom of the press.
Drawing on previously unexplored sources, including the archives of the New York Times Company and civil rights leaders, Samantha Barbas tracks the saga behind one of the most important First Amendment rulings in history. She situates the case within the turbulent 1960s and the history of the press, alongside striking portraits of the lawyers, officials, judges, activists, editors, and journalists who brought and defended the case.
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The United States commemorates Constitution Day on September 17, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787. Celebrations usually include readings and discussions of the history of the document and its writing and influences. Many say that the United States, one of the oldest continuous democracies in the world drew influence for its constitution and governmental structure from an even older democracy, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
May Day–Haudenosaunee Flag, Five Nations Flag. Photo by Flickr user Ryan [Metrix X]. May 1, 2013. Used under Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
The Senate recognized the influence of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy on the construction of the Constitution in a resolution read on September 16, 1987, that noted, “the original framers of the Constitution, including most notably, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, are known to have greatly admired the concepts, principles and governmental practices of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Whereas the confederation of the original Thirteen Colonies into one republic was explicitly modeled upon the Iroquois Confederacy as were many of the democratic principles which were incorporated into the Constitution itself (3-4).”
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy established Gayanesshagowa, the Great Law of Peace, as its governing principle in 1142. The Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Onondaga joined in the Great Law of Peace to form a confederacy; the Tuscarora joined them later. The Law of Peace includes its Chiefs, Clan Mothers, and Faith Keepers, the delegates that form the regulatory bodies of the confederacy. “Within Grand Council meet the Chiefs of each nation which then divide into sections of Elder Brothers and Younger Brothers”; the bicameral Congress is similar. The Clan Mothers have been compared to a high court; they serve for life, have been selected by consensus, and have the authority to remove council members.
The symbols of the union include the long house, the Tree of Peace, the eagle, and a cluster of arrows. The symbols represent a determination of peace and alliance for the group and the power of a unified front. Similarly, the U.S. adopted an eagle as its protector, and one of its symbols is thirteen arrowsbound together. The tradition is that the chiefs maintained the council fire and met to discuss confederacy issues beneath the tree; the eagle that flew over the tree guarded the confederacy looking out for enemies, and a bunch of five arrows, one representing each nation, were bound together, with the observation that it is much harder to break a bundle of five arrows than just one arrow.
Each of the Six Nations rule themselves while enjoying the peace and support brought to them by the Confederacy today. They have adapted as necessary over time; for example, an elective system was established in 1924. The world’s oldest democracy still thrives. The Onondaga Faithkeeper, Oren Lyons said, “What Indians are about, I think, first of all is community. They’re about mutual support, they’re about sharing, they’re about understanding what’s common land, common air, common water, common and for all. They’re about freedom.”
Oren, Lyons, and Moyers Bill. “Oren Lyons the Faithkeeper.” BillMoyers.Com, 14 Sept. 2015. Accessed September 10, 2023.
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