Why did Warren and Brandeis pen the article, “The Right to Privacy” in 1890?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Exploring the historical context of the 1890 essay by Warren and Brandeis helps us evaluate the different statements.
Option 1: 'Warren and his wife were prominent Bostonian socialites who were tired of the press writing about their parties.' While the couple did experience intrusive reporting, the motivation for writing the article was broader than personal fatigue with sensational coverage; the essay aimed to establish a legal framework to address privacy broadly, not solely a personal grievance against social reporting.
Option 2: 'There was no established law for injury of feelings.' This reflects a core practical motivation for the piece: at the time, there was no recognized tort or remedy to protect individuals against invasion of privacy or distress caused by publicity. The authors argued that existing law failed to guard a private sphere from intrusion, which aligns with their goal of articulating a legal right to be let alone.
Option 3: 'Public morality required that there be a right to be let alone.' This captures a normative claim the authors make about moral concerns—privacy as a moral good. However, the essay frames privacy as a legal right more than as a purely moral imperative, aiming to translate that moral intuition into enforceable law.
Option 4: 'None of the above.' Selecting this would ignore the historical and legal motivation discussed by Warren and Brandeis, which is known to address gaps in the law and the need for a right to privacy.
Option 5: 'All of the above.' If any of the above assertions were inaccurate or incomplete in describing the motivation, this option would be incorrect. The completeness of each statement matters for whether this all-encompassing choice holds.
Option 6: 'The complexity of life made privacy more essential than ever.' This points to a broader societal shift they observed—the increasing pace and intrusiveness of modern life. While relevant, it is more of a contextual observation rather than the specific legal trigger they emphasize. Yet it complements the rationale by explaining why a new legal concept was deemed necessary.
In summary, evaluating the choices involves separating the precise legal motivation (absence of a dedicated privacy tort) from the broader moral and social contexts (the normative call for a right to be let alone and societal changes). The strongest alignment with the historical purpose is the notion that there was no established law for injury of feelings, which the authors sought to remedy by proposing a right to privacy as a legal doctrine.

EN.650.640.01.SP25 Quiz #1

Why did Warren and Brandeis pen the article, “The Right to Privacy” in 1890?

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