Paul L. Murphy

Sources and Nature of Intolerance in the 1920s

IN approaching that seamy side of the national character which periodically displays broad-scale intolerance, prejudice, nativism, and xenophobia, many American historians have sought in recent years to draw upon the findings of scholars in related disciplines in their attempts at meaningful analysis. Especially suggestive in this area has been recent work in sociology, social psychology, cultural anthropology, and American studies.Differences exist, however, as to how such findings can actually aid the historian and the degree of reliance he can confidently place upon them. Given the fact that the average historian must work in a past context in which precise empirical research is impossible, particularly as it applies to a broad spectrum of public attitudes, and given the fact that modern social science studies draw the great body of their evidence from current materials, a question of relevance is raised. How safe is it for the historian to project such modern findings backwards in an attempt better to understand and grasp the tensions and pressures of a prior era? Are modern social science techniques reliable in the analysis of imprecise historical materials? Some members of the historical guild feel that such borrowing of either materials or techniques is too dangerous to be acceptable. Others at times have relied too heavily upon such interdisciplinary aids in order to validate general presumptions otherwise difficult of documentation. Still others have used such materials cautiously and carefully, so cautiously and so carefully that they have come to differ among themselves concerning their applicability. In the study of past intolerance, for example, there have been

The Antigenic Nature of Heat-Treated Human Plasma Protein Fractions

The Ouchterlony and Grabar technics have been applied to a study of three fractionated, heated plasma protein solutions. Two of these products, namely, Chalb albumin and SPPS, have been shown previously to produce reactions or antibodies in humans. It was confirmed that Chalb albumin possesses at least one antigen not present in normal unheated human serum. SPPS was shown to be atypical when compared to human serum protein.

The Press and the Dilemma of the Fourth Estate@@@The Tolerant Society: Freedom of Speech and Extremist Speech in America@@@The Power of the Press: The Birth of American Political Reporting@@@Protecting the Best Men: An Interpretive History of the Law of Libel@@@Suing the Press: Libel, the Media and Power@@@A Question of Sedition: The Federal Government's Investigation of the Black Press during World War II

This article discusses 5 books, all published in 1986, that explore important questions regarding the relationship of the press and the First Amendment. Four of the books discuss the relationship of the press and its First Amendment issues with the public, while the fifth one discusses the relationship of the press with the government.

Legal Realism at Yale, 1927-1960

For more than one hundred years, Harvards use of the case method of appellate opinions dominated legal education. Deploring the attempt to reduce law to an autonomous system of rules and principles, the realists at Yale developed a functional approach to the discipline--one that stressed the factual context of the case rather than the legal principles it raised, one that attempted to address issues of social policy by integrating law with the social sciences.Originally published 1986.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.