#West Virgnia Board of Education v Barnette

[flying-potato2]

fun fact! It is unlawful for any public institution to require individuals to stand or recite the pledge of allegiance to the united states of america since the 1943 supreme court case of West Virginia Board of Education v Barnette, which ruled that such actions constituted a violation of the first amendment.

The case was started by several Jehovah's Witnesses, who in 1936 were informed that saluting the flag and reciting the pledge would be considered idolatry and baptised JWs who commited such actions would be breaking their covenantry with god. This resulted in a number fo children of JWs being expelled from their schools for refusing to recite the pledge.

In 1942, West Virginia passed a regulation making the pledge mandatory for all schoolchildren, and that refusal to do so could result in jail for the parents for up to thirty days. This resulted in the expulsion of many JWs from schools across the county, including the Barnett family children. The Barnetts soon went to court, claiming that such requirements violated "equal protection" under the 14th amendment and freedom of religion and speech under the 1st amendment. The District Court enjoined the Board's regulation, and they appealed to the supreme court soon after.

The court was required toconsider the precedent they had set just three years prior with Minersville v Gobitis, in which they ruled that the enforcement of saluting the flag in public schools was not in violation of any laws or rights, and further that the enforcement of such displays was necessary for the national unity and continued security of the united states. This time around, seeing that the issue at hand would not infringe on the rights of others, the court ruled that it was an infringement on free speech for the state to compel any individual to take such an oath or perform such actions. The court stated in its opinion,"Those who begin coercive elimination of dissent soon find themselves exterminating dissenters." in reference to the Nazi regime, and that "To believe that patriotism will not flourish if patriotic ceremonies are voluntary and spontaneous instead of a compulsory routine is to make an unflattering estimate of the appeal of our institutions to free minds."

i dont really have a way to end this i just think it's cool. that even in 1943 the supreme court was able to recognize that encouraging "national unity" by removing freedoms was and always will lead directly into facism, even if it took the jehovahs witnesses raising (SEVERAL!) complaints to get them to that point.