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creation of the constitution.
After the revolutionary war, the U.S now needed a form of government. after the articles of confederation failed to serve the country well enough, the constitution was created. Under the constitution, there were amendments added and one of them is the 1st amendment. -
Debs v United States
Eugene Debs was charged for violating the espionage act. He had made a speech that had caused people to delay the ww1 draft and he also refused to join the draft. Debs felt it was within his 1st amendment right to say what he said. In a unanimous decision, the court ruled in favor of the conviction saying the use of the speech to encourage delays in the draft was not within Debs' constitutional right. -
Abrams V U.S
Two Russian immigrants had passed out literature that had denounced u.s entering into war and had called for the obstruction of the war. They were sentenced to jail for 20 years and said their 1st amendment rights were violated by being sent to jail. The courts in a 7-2 decision, ruled in favor of the U.S saying that under the espionage act the use of propaganda caused harm to u.s. -
Gitlow v New York
A socialist in new york had passed out papers promoting socialism and a change in gov. The state of New York banned him from doing this deeming it not allowed due to it promoting a gov overthrow. In a 7-2 decision, the court ruled in favor of new york saying a state has the right to prohibit speech they deem is harmful to national security. -
McCollum v Board
A public school had hired private religious teachers to teach at the school. The school dedicated a set amount of time for the teachers to teach about religion. When her son was yelled at for not attending McCollum took the school to court saying under the 1st amendment her child couldn't be taught religion. In an 8-1 decision, the court ruled that the use of taxes to fund the religious teachings went against the 1st amendment. -
Yates v U.S
A group of communist supporters had been promoting a change in gov and had been charged with conspiring against the U.S gov. The U.S tried them under the smith law saying they were promoting a harmful change to gov. In a 6-1 decision, the court voted to send the case back to lower courts and said the smith law doesn't apply to this case. -
Stone V Grahm
A group of parents took the superintendent of a Kentucky school to court bc he had a copy of the 10 commandments in every classroom. The parents believed this violated the establishment clause of the 1st amendment. In a 5-4 ruling, the court decided that the school did violate the 1st amendment and was ordered to remove the copies of the 10 commandments. -
Marsh v Chambers
Ernest Chambers challenged a Nebraska court for using public funds to support the establishment of prayer into the courts. The supreme court had argued in a 6-3 decision that the use of prayers had been present since the establishment of the courts. Thus they deemed the use of prayers okay under the establishment clause. -
Bethel School District No. 403 v Fraser
Matthew Fraser made a speech at high school commending his friend's nominee in a school election. During his speech, he had used vague language which many deemed as being sexually inappropriate. The school had suspended Matthew for 2 days due to his speech leading other students to grope others in the hallways. The court ruled in favor of the school saying that it was within the school's right to ban and prohibit any words or speech that may be deemed vulgar or sexually inappropriate. -
Texas v Johnson
A liberal named Greg Johnson burned the American flag in public to protest Regan's administrative policies. Texas officials had sentenced him to 1 year in jail for this act. Johnson felt that he had a right to do this under the 1st amendment. The supreme court agreed with this in a 5-4 decision saying Johnson's act was protected by the 1st amendment.
