![]() ![]() ![]() "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."īoard of Education was directed, with advice of the State Superintendent of Schools, to "prescribe the courses of study covering these subjects" for public schools. 586, the West Virginia legislature amended its statutes to require all schools therein to conduct courses of instruction in history, civics, and in the Constitutions of the United States and of the State JUSTICE JACKSON delivered the opinion of the Court.įollowing the decision by this Court on June 3, 1940, in Minersville School District v. 632.ĪPPEAL from a decree of a District Court of three judges enjoining the enforcement of a regulation of the West Virginia State Board of Education requiring children in the public schools to salute the American flag.ĪPPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATESįOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA Under the Federal Constitution, compulsion as here employed is not a permissible means of achieving "national unity." P. That those who refused compliance did so on religious grounds does not control the decision of this question, and it is unnecessary to inquire into the sincerity of their views. So held as applied to children who were expelled for refusal to comply, and whose absence thereby became "unlawful," subjecting them and their parents or guardians to punishment.ģ. The action of a State in making it compulsory for children in the public schools to salute the flag and pledge allegiance - by extending the right arm, palm upward, and declaring, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one Nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" - violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. State action against which the Fourteenth Amendment protects includes action by a state board of education. West Virginia State Board of Education v. Roberts and Reed did not write opinions to explain why they dissented. (This was mostly a response to critics of his earlier decision on the Free Exercise Clause, which allowed states to restrict the rights of individuals to exercise their religious beliefs.) He pointed out that the Court is essentially acquiring a legislative function when it strikes down a law with which it disagrees, and the absence of a check on its power to do so means that it should be careful when overriding the democratic process. In a controversial passage, he argued that his Jewish heritage made him particularly sensitive to the importance of constitutional protections, so his views should be taken seriously. ![]() He found that some minority groups would not be able to access their protections under the Bill of Rights without resorting to the courts.īlack and Douglas wrote to repudiate their earlier opinions in First Amendment decisions and voice an especially enthusiastic support for its protections.Ĭoncerned about exceeding the scope of the judicial role, Frankfurter was skeptical that religious beliefs freed citizens from the obligation to obey rules. Jackson rejected an earlier opinion by Justice Felix Frankfurter that objectors like Jehovah's Witnesses should use the legislative rather than the judicial process to assert their rights. He argued that curtailing or eliminating dissent was not only an improper but also an ineffective way of producing true unity, using historical examples. Jackson found that the First Amendment cannot countenance efforts to enforce a unanimity of opinion on any topic, and national symbols like the flag should not receive a level of deference that trumps constitutional protections. Like other children who refused to salute the flag, however, they were threatened with reform schools used for criminally active children, and their parents faced prosecutions for causing juvenile delinquency. This was based on their core spiritual belief that the laws of God rise above any laws of a secular government. The children in a family of Jehovah's Witnesses refused to perform the salute and were sent home from school each day for non-compliance. As a result, the children and their families could be charged with a crime based on the child's unlawful absence from school, which could expose parents to jail time. Students who refused to obey this requirement were subject to expulsion as part of school rules against insubordination and would not be readmitted until they complied. The Board provided a detailed definition of what the salute should look like: keeping the right hand raised with upturned palm in a stiff-arm salute while the individual recited the pledge of allegiance. In 1942, the West Virginia Board of Education required public schools to include salutes to the flag by teachers and students as a mandatory part of school activities. ![]()
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