Title by Brooklyn Wise

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

UNIT 3 SUMMATIVE

By: Brooklyn Wise

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Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)

West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)

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Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
Historical contact : The case of Gobatis v Minersville happened in the 1930’s. Two children, Lilian ad William Gobati , aged 8 and 10, refused to say the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. They and their father believed to pledge allegiance to the flag would go against the beliefs of their religion. Lilian and William were “Jehova’s Witnesses”.

At the time this was happening Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party in Germany were beginning to act in very threatening ways. Some people thought war was a very real possibility and they wanted for the people of the United States to be ready to act in a unified way. The school board of Minersville expelled Lilian and William and so began a l…

Facts of the case: In a public school in Minersville, Pennsylvania two school children were expelled for not saying the pledge at the beginning of the school day. Lillian and William Gobiti had been respectfull of this ritual, but their religion was against taking the pledge.

Question of the case?
The main question is "Did the mandatory flag salute infringe upon liberties protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments?" - oyez.org

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Constitutional clause: 1st amendment and 14th amement

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Courts ruling
The court ruled in a 8-1 decision for the school board making the children have to pledge to the flag each morning. The court found that national unity was the most important idea.

Impact of the case:
The Supreme Court found that national unity was more important than the religious freedom. The consequence that decision was that school children needed to pledge allegiance to the flage. A few years later the same question came before the Supreme Court. In West Virginia v. Bane I the court found that religious freedom was the more Importent right.

West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)

Brooklyn Wise