March-June, 1943
Created By Chelsea S.

 The West Virginia Board of
Education required all students enrolled in public school to salute the flag
(est. 1942)
 Refusal to do so was punishable by death
 Just kidding, more like detention
 Jehovah’s Witnesses forbid pledging oneself to a
‘graven image’ and consider the flag such
 Walter Barnette, a
Jehovah’s Witness sued the school board

Does requiring school children to salute the flag violate their first amendment rights?

 In Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940) the court held
(8-1) that the Minersville School District was justified in the expulsion of two students who refused to salute the flag on religious grounds (The children were also Jehovah’s
Witnesses)
 The case focused on an individual’s right to freedom of religion protected by the First Amendment
 The decision argued that ““National unity is the basis of national security,” [and] that the authorities have “the right to select appropriate means for its attainment…””

 Walter Barnette sued in U.S. district court and won an injunction against enforcement of the rule
 The West Virginia Board of Ed. appealed to the U.S. Supreme
Court
 The Court overturned the
Gobitis ruling in a 6-3 decision
 The majority opinion cited an individual’s right to religious freedom and right to free speech protected by the first amendment as well as the right to equal protection of the laws as guaranteed by the 14 th
 The Court ruled that
“compulsory unification of opinion” was contradictory to
First Amendment values

Chief
Justice
Stone
Black
Rutledge Jackson
Murphy Douglas
Robert s Reed
Frankfurter  Really? Frankfurter?

 The opinion specified that the freedom of speech included the right not to be forced to speak against one’s will and represented one of the most sweeping statements about the extent of the free exercise clause
 The Court went on to approve religious exemption in other cases as well, such as Sherbert v. Verner (allowed a
Seventh-Day Adventist to receive unemployment despite not working on Saturdays) and Wisconsin v. Yoder (allowed
Amish to withdraw their children from school after the 8 th grade)