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Sedition Act of 1798
A set of laws passed that made speaking ill of the federal government illegal, and it was punishable with prison time. It also allowed the government the power to deport immigrants while also extending the time it takes to become a citizen. After seeing what how idiotic and dangerous the act was, congress allowed the bill to expire. Thomas Jefferson pardoned anyone who was convicted under this law. -
14th Amendment
After the American Civil War was won, the 14th amendment states that all people that are in the jurisdiction of the US are equal in all ways regardless of race. -
Comstock Act
A man named Anthony Comstock was heavily against obscenity and the publication or distribution of information about or devices or medications for abortion . He got a law passed against these things. The law also stated that individuals convicted could receive up to five years of prison time and a fine of up to $2,000. The act also banned distribution through the mail and import of materials from abroad, with even stronger penalties and fines. -
Patterson Vs Colorado
It established that even though anyone has the right to say or write whatever they feel or think, but that does not exclude them from consequences to saying or writing those things in a public or formal setting. -
Espionage Act
States that it is a crime to leak military intelligence to foreign countries or any attempt to hinder the enlistment process was a crime against the country. -
Sedition Act of 1918
Added to the Espionage Act of 1917 to add a broader range of offenses. This ensured that any that attempted to slander the government reputation would see the inside of a prison cell. It is repealed again in 1921 -
Schenck v. United States
This was a case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the freedom of speech protection could be restricted if the words spoken or printed represented to society a “clear and present danger.”
For example: crying fire in a movie theater -
Scopes Trial
The Scopes Trial banned the teaching of the theory of evolution in public schools because it was denying the divine creation theory. -
Stromberg v. California
A Californian statute banning red flags was deemed unconstitutional because it violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. This case established that freedom of speech included symbols. -
Thornhill v. Alabama
It reversed the conviction of Byron Thornhil for violating an Alabama statute that prohibited only labor picketing. The supreme court ruled that this violated his right to free speech. -
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire
Stated that words that invoke violence are not protected under the first amendment. Free speech allows people to speak their minds, but purposeful hostility is not acceptable behavior. -
Burstyn v. Wilson
Stated that movies or motion pictures were protected by free speech. They are allowed to express their ideas however they wish.
