Live Free or Die NH Humanities Program

This is a free program open to the public.  The program is made possible by a grant from NH Humanities, celebrating 50 years of bringing the humanities to our community.

In 1969, when New Hampshire officials decided to put the state’s motto – “live free or die” – on its license plates, many citizens viewed the act as an endorsement of the deeply unpopular war being waged in Vietnam and protested by covering up or altering the motto. In response, authorities cracked down hard: arresting, fining, and sometimes even incarcerating those who engaged in duct-tape dissent. People appealed their convictions, sparking a legal contest over the First Ammendment that went all the way to the United States’ Supreme Court. In this multimedia presentation, historian and former newspaper reporter Dan Billin tells a uniquely New Hampshire tale illustrating the genius – and the fragility – of the First Amendment.

Donations are appreciated and help support the library.  Pope Memorial Library is a privately funded, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization. We receive no funding from the Town of Conway, the State of New Hampshire, or the federal government.  We rely on donations from patrons and friends like you.