West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette
It understandable that there are "certain unalienable rights" that we, as human beings, possess. These rights can't be, or should never be, taken away from us. Of course, there have been many great crusaders who have fought with everything they owned to make sure that we kept those rights. The case West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624, is a case that really expresses the beliefs and interests of the time. The case reached the US Supreme Court after there was huge controversy on both sides of the debate. It just so happened that three years before this case, in 1940, the US Supreme Court ruled in the case of the Minnersville School District v. Gobitis, 310 U.S. 586, that it was necessary for every school student to stand to salute and pledge allegiance to the flag. The act of saluting and pledging, along with the teaching of American history and ideals "for the purpose of teaching, fostering and perpetuating the ideals, principles and spirit of Americanism, and increasing the knowledge of the organization and machinery of the government."- 1 The justices voted 8 to 1 for the Minnersville School District to force teachers to salute and pledge to the flag, leaving only Justice Harlan Ston
" 3 This parent or guardian is then in jeopardy of bein!g given a fine not to exceed $50 and jail term not exceeding thirty days. He was accused of disrupting the class, of being obnoxious, and of being a threat to national security. His family pleaded to a District Court of three judges, and argued that they had a right to not stand if they did not want to. "American Civil Liberties Union of Florida", http://www. "A West Virginia Chronology", 1999, http://members. That's what makes this case so difficult to judge. "Supreme Court of the United States," Microsoftc Encartac Encyclopedia 99. The Court ruled in favor of Walter Barnette and his family, that forcing people to salute to the flag was unconstitutional. Justice Jackson, along with the other 5 Justices of the previous Gobitis case, voted that it was unconstitutional for any board of education, or anyone in the United States, to impose their ideas on anyone in that fashion. The government thought it was doing the country such a favor by making every child in the nation patriotic, but since the utterance was done only because they were told to, it had no real meaning, and didn't necessarily institute patriotism. This resolution contained recitals that were mostly from the Courts' Gobitis decision. " 6 Because of the ruling of the court, a lot of questions and speculations were finally put to rest.
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