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Religious Freedom
The new Charter of Rhode Island grants religious freedom. -
4th of July
The Continental Congress adopts the final draft of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. -
Bill of Rights
On Dec. 15, Virginia becomes the 11th state to approve the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, thereby ratifying the Bill of Rights. -
Discussion of antiSlavery
The U.S. House of Representatives adopts gag rules preventing discussion of antislavery proposals. The House repeals the rules in 1844. -
Freedom of Speech
Congress passes the Sedition Act, which forbids spoken or printed criticism of the U.S. government, the Constitution or the flag. -
Stromberg v. California
The U.S. Supreme Court reverses the state court conviction of Yetta Stromberg, 19-year-old female member of the Young Communist League, who violated a state law prohibiting the display of a red flag as “an emblem of opposition to the United States government.” Legal commentators cite this case as the first in which the Court recognizes that protected speech may be nonverbal, or a form of symbolic expression. -
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that a West Virginia requirement to salute the flag violates the free-speech clause of the First Amendment. -
Engel v. Vitale
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that a state-composed, non-denominational prayer violates the the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In Engel v. Vitale, the Court states that such a prayer represents government sponsorship of religion. -
Stanley v. Georgia
In Stanley v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the First and 14th Amendments protect a person’s “private possession of obscene matter” from criminal prosecution. The Court notes that the state, although possessing broad authority to regulate obscene material, cannot punish private possession of such in an individual’s own home. -
The New York Times v. United States
The U.S. Supreme Court allows continued publication of the Pentagon Papers. The Court holds that the central purpose of the First Amendment is to “prohibit the widespread practice of governmental suppression of embarrassing information.” This case establishes that the press has almost absolute immunity from pre-publication restraints. -
The Child Online Protection Act
Attaches federal criminal liability to the online transmission for commercial purposes of material considered harmful to minors, is enacted by Congress. -
Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that video games are a form of speech protected by the First Amendment. The Court holds California’s law restricting the sale or rental of violent video games to minors is unconstitutional.
