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the united states gain independence
the continental congress adopts the final draft of the declaration of independence on july 4. -
bill of rights ratified
virginia becomes the 11th state to approve the first 10 amendments to the constitution thereby ratifying the bill of right. -
"on liberty"
john stuart mill publishes the essay "on liberty." the essay expands john milton's argument that if speech is free and the search for knowledge unfettered, then eventually the truth will rise to the surface. -
the 14th amendment to the constitution is ratified
the amendment, in part, requires that no state shall "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." -
remedy for false speech is more free speech
the u.s. supreme court upholds california's criminal-syndicalism law in whitney v. california. justice louis brandeis writes in his concurring opion a passage that becomes a fundamental first amendment prinicple: "if there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence." -
protected speech includes nonverbal or symbolic expressions
in stromberg v. california, the u.s. supreme court reverses the state court conviction of yetta stromberg, and legal commentators cite this case as the first in which the court recognizes that protected speech may be nonverbal or a form of symbolic expression. -
smith act passed
congress passes alien registration (aka smith act), making it illegal to advocate violent overthrow of government -
motion pictures protected by first amendment
in burstyn v. wilson, the u.s. supreme court, for the first time, finds that motion pictures are included within the free-speech and free-spress guaranty of the first amendment. -
book ban overturned
the u.s. supreme court invalidates a massachusetts court decision which found the 1750 book, a woman of pleasure, obscene. -
speech not protected if it encourages immanent lawless action
in brandenburg v. ohio, the leader of a ku klux klan group is convicted under ohio law and sentenced to prison primarily on the basis of a speech he made at a klan rally. -
flag burning protected
in texas v. johnson, the u.s. supreme court rules that burning the american flag is a constitutionally protected form of free speech -
congress requires schools and libraries to use content filters
congress passes the children's internet protection act, requiring schools and libraries that receive federal funds to use filters and other measures to protect children from harmful online content.
