First Amendment Timeline

Declaration of Independence

Jul 4, 1776

This is the date in which the Declaration of Independence was written, declaring our freedom.

Constitution

Jul 21, 1788

This is when the Constitution was ratified, and subsequently the Bill of Rights and 1st Amendment.

14th Amendment

Jul 9, 1868

This is the amendment to the constitution that brought around citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States" and also made it so states could not deny a person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law".

Schenck vs. U.S.

Mar 3, 1919

This is a case in which the Supreme court ruled that the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment does not shield advocacy urging conduct deemed unlawful under the Espionage Act, discussing the idea of the 'Clear and Present Danger' idea.

Near vs. Minnesota

Jun 1, 1931

In a close decision, the court upheld the Free Press Clause of the First Amendment in favor of Near, as a Minnesota law was violating his right to publish a newspaper without being stopped prior to publication

Chaplinsky vs. New Hampshire

Mar 9, 1942

This is a case in history that defined what were considered 'fighting words', which are things spoken that are not protected by the first amendment. The Supreme Court defines 'fighting words' as "inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace."

Ginsberg vs. New York

Apr 22, 1968

This is a case in history in which the court ruled that the state was allowed to keep their law because it did not violate the first amendment, as obscenity is not protected by the first amendment.

Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent Community School District

Feb 24, 1969

The Supreme Court ruled that school districts could not restrict the clothing of students in regards to armbands that were expressing their distaste for the Vietnam War.

Brandenburg vs. Ohio

Jun 9, 1969

This is the case in history that gave us a more updated version of the 'Clear and Present Danger' idea, in which what people say will not be protected if it either "directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action" or "likely to incite or produce such action".

Lemon vs. Kurtzman

Jun 28, 1971

This is the case that took place in Rhode Island that was all about the separation of church and state. It led to the establishment of the Lemon Test, which tests if the establishment of something in a school has a secular purpose, does not advance nor prohibit a religion, and does not entangle government with religion.

Miller vs. California

Jun 21, 1973

This case lead to the court giving an official ruling as to what would be considered obscene. (1) whether 'the average person, applying contemporary community standards' would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest (2) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law (3) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."

Bethel School District No. 403 vs. Fraser

Jul 7, 1986

In this case, the court found that a school has the right to prohibit students from making remarks that consist of either "obscene, profane language or gestures" as they, per the courts ruling, are inconsistent with the "fundamental values of public school education".