Cameron jamie the great dissent how oliver wendell holmes changed his mind and changed the history of free speech in america by thomas healy august 10 2016 osgoode legal studies research paper no 65 2016. As thomas healy recounts in this comprehensive book free speech in america drastically changed at the hands of one man in particular supreme court justice oliver wendell holmes healy effectively argues that holmes l the premise of free speech is one that remains central to many of the constitutional documents in democratic societies. A gripping intellectual history reveals how oliver wendell holmes became a free speech advocate and established the modern understanding of the first amendmentno right seems more fundamental to american public life than freedom of speech yet well into the twentieth century that freedom was still an unfulfilled promise with americans regularly imprisoned merely for speaking out against