-
The United States Begins
The Continental Congress adopts the final draft of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. -
19th Century
The 19th century witnesses a Supreme Court hostile to many claims of freedom of speech and assembly. -
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.” -
The U.S. Supreme Court determines “fighting words” are not protected by the First Amendment
In Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, the Court defines “fighting words” as “those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of peace.” The Court states that such words are “no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth. -
Tinker v. Des Moines
The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District that Iowa public school officials violated the First Amendment rights of several students by suspending them for wearing black armbands to protest U.S. involvement in Vietnam. -
Lloyd Corp. v. Tanner
The Court finds that citizens do not have a First Amendment right to express themselves on privately owned property. -
Miller v. California
The U.S. Supreme Court in Miller v. California defines the test for determining if speech is obscene -
Reno v. ACLU
Some provisions in the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996 are unconstitutional. -
Board of Education v. Pico
school officials may not remove books from school libraries because they disagree with the ideas contained in the books. -
Bethel School District v. Fraser
The U.S. Supreme Court case Bethel School District v. Fraser curtailed the protections established in the Tinker case -
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier
the U.S. Supreme Court rules that school officials may exercise editorial control over content of school-sponsored student publications -
Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that video games are a form of speech protected by the First Amendment.
