-
Continental Congress passed the Declaration of Independence
The continental congress adopts the final draft of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. This kick starts the bills of rights and the first amendment. -
U.S. Constitution and the Bills of Rights
James Madison drafted most of the Bills of Rights. The Bills of Rights, which was introduced to Congress in 1789 and adopted on December 15, 1791, includes the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. -
Sedition Act of 1918
Congress passed Sedition Act, which prohibits "Uttering, printing, writing, or publishing any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language intended to cause contempt, scorn....... urging any curtailment..... or opposing the cause of the United States." This protect our multiple rights in the United States -
Schenck v. United States
It limits to First Amendment recognized in cases of "clear and present danger". Although under normal circumstances the First Amendment would have protected such activities. Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, in his opinion in Schenck v. United States, upholds the conviction of Socialist Charles Schenck for distributing antiwar leaflets in violation of the Espionage Act. -
No religious instruction in public schools.
The Supreme Court unanimously over-turns its 1896 ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson that "separate but equal" is constitutional and rules that segregation violates the 14th amendment's equal protection clause. In Brown v. Board of Education, the courts holds that racially segregated schools are inherently unequal. -
"Symbolic speech" is protected
In Garner v. Louisiana, the U.S. Supreme Court over-turns the convictions for disturbing the peace of five African Americans who protested segregation by staging a "sit-in" at an all-white restaurant. -
Prayer not allowed in public schools
The Supreme Court rejected the notion that the prayer’s
lack of reference to any specific relition exempted
it from the First Amendment’s prohibition against
establishing a relition. Any state-sanctioned prayer,
the court argued, was an unconstitutional recognition of religion. -
Supreme Court places limits on libel
The Supreme Court rules that public officials cannot sue for libel unless they prove that a statement was known to be false and made with “actual malice,” meaning that it was made “with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not." -
Freedom of Information Act Passes
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act, requiring that government records be made available to the public and press upon request. This event is important because it gives the people rights to look at documents that are hidden from the nation permits. -
Tinker v. Des Monies Independent Community School District
The Supreme court rules that Des Monies, Iowa, School Board had been wrong to suspend three students who wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. The courts bases its decision on the grounds that the students' passive protest posed no risk of disrupting school activities -
Money spent in political campaigns is considered "speech"
When Congress tries to limit expenditures in political campaigns, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Buckley v. Valeo, invalidates those provisions that restrict candidates ability to spend their own money on a campaign, limit campaign expenditures by an outside group, and limit total campaign spending. The Court compares restrictions on spending with restrictions on “political speech.” -
Restrictions on religious items displayed around government buildings.
In Allegheny County v. ACLU (1989) the Supreme Court ruled
that while not all religious celebrations on government property violated the First Amendment, anything that clearly expressed official endorsement was unconstitutional. The nativity scene inside the courthouse, with a banner reading “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” (”Glory to God in the Highest”) failed the constitutional test, but the menorah erected outside the building to “celebrate the season” was allowed to remain.
