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The United States Becomes Official
United States declares independence from Britain by drafting and signing the Declaration of Independence -
First U.S. constitution is created
The first U.S. Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, is created which laid a foundation of how the current U.S. Constitution was settled. -
Shay's Rebellion
In the summer of 1786, a group of farmers formed under Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays. They were protesting the Constitution of Massachusetts and the seizure of farms for non-payment of debts. This was a turning point for the U.S because it motivated the amending of the constitution. -
The Bill of Rights is created
A group of politicians, including Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, gathered in Philadelphia to draft a new U.S. Constitution. Since no one could come up with an agreement for a new constitution, the Bill of Rights was created. The Bill of Rights protected the freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and court cases. -
Espionage Act of 1917
Prohibited interference with military operations and recruitment and prevented the support of United States enemies during wartime. -
Sedition Act 1918
Forbade the use of "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government, its flag, or its armed forces that causes others to view the American government or its institutions with contempt -
Schenck v. United States
Schenck v. United States helped define limits of freedom of speech, creating the "clear and present danger" standard, explaining when the government is allowed to limit free speech. In this case the court viewed draft resistance as dangerous to national security. -
Whitney v. California
Whitney v. California was a court decision upholding the conviction of a woman who engaged in speech. Although the First Amendment granted freedom of speech, the speech Whitney was engaging in was a threat to the U.S. government. -
Brandenburg v. Ohio
This court case determined that the court cannot punish inflammatory speech unless it is "directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action". This means that the court can punish any speech that supports violence. -
New York Times Co. v. United States
This supreme court case allowed the New York Times newspaper to publish content of the Pentagon Papers without government censorship (freedom of press). The Pentagon Papers were a top secret Department of Defense study of U.S. political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. -
Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell
The court determined that a public figure had to show actual malice in order to recover for intentional infliction of emotional distress as a result of a comical parody in a magazine. -
Texas v. Johnson
Gregory Lee Johnson was a youth communist that burned an american flag during a movement. The Supreme Court reversed the decision that Johnson broke the law. They determined that Johnson's flag burning was protected speech.
