American Masters

(soft music) - The spirit of the First Amendment, as well as its letter, must permit this exhibition to go on and this museum not to be punished for doing so.

(upbeat music) - Floyd Abrams is almost First Amendment embodiment.

When he takes a principled position on behalf of the press or a publisher of a book, he's taking a position on behalf of all of us who need to know what's in that book.

- The system protects free speech, more broadly rather than narrowly.

- Floyd was a legal rockstar.

His greatest contributions were making sure the press couldn't be stopped from publishing the truth and couldn't be punished for publishing the truth.

Those things were not well established before Floyd Abrams hit the scene.

- Floyd was my lawyer in a time of great trial and tribulation.

I am not going to reveal my source and if that means I have to go to prison then I have to go to prison.

- They did work hard and on weekends sometimes we went with them to the office.

- We didn't have fairytales at my house.

We had cases.

- And they were suspenseful and moralistic and the law seemed noble and the lawyers were heroes.

- It's about being willing to say, people I don't like, people I don't agree with, have a right to speak.

He believed in the legal argument.

- His legacy is tied to the First Amendment that we have today.

Whether he deserves credit for that or blame for that, I think is an important question.

- Technology often seems to be setting the pace rather than the law.

- When social media started, First Amendment types couldn't have imagined speech which doesn't cost anything and an ability for anyone to participate in it.

Racist speech, Russian propaganda, false speech about medicine.

Careful what you wish for and careful even what you imagine.

- There are even broader questions about whether or not we can have privacy and free speech too.

- The more we make it difficult to express dissenting or controversial views, the less we can move.

The less we can change, the less we can even understand.

We have to lean very strongly in the direction of free expression.

Whatever the future may bring us.

- If there were the history of defense of the First Amendment, there probably wouldn't be a chapter about Floyd Abrams.

It would be part one.

(upbeat music)