Topic: First Amendment

Jun 1,

1660

No Quakers Allowed in Massachusetts – Mary Dyer Hung for Her Religious Beliefs

Dec 24,

1908

Protect the City’s Morals! NYC Mayor Revokes All Movie Licenses

Apr 7,

1911

Free Speech League Incorporated, First Free Speech Organization in U.S.

Feb 23,

1915

Supreme Court: Movies Not Protected by First Amendment

Mar 3,

1915

Protests Greet “Birth of a Nation” Opening in New York City

Apr 2,

1917

President Wilson Seeks Declaration of War, To Make World Safe for Democracy – Warns of Repression

Apr 7,

1917

President Wilson Issues Secret Loyalty Order

Jun 4,

1917

President Wilson, Cabinet Approve Vigilante American Protective League

Jun 15,

1917

Espionage Act Passes – Instrument of World War I Suppression of Dissent

Jul 7,

1917

Government Repression Hits Socialist Opponents of War

Jul 7,

1917

Suppression of Dissent: “The Masses,” Anti-War Magazine, Held Non-Mailable

Jul 24,

1917

A Brief Halt to WW I Repression: “Masses v. Patten”

Sep 5,

1917

Government Raids Socialist Party Offices; Publications Halted

Sep 11,

1917

Emma Goldman Speech Banned in New York – Appears On Stage Gagged

Oct 6,

1917

“Free Speech in Wartime” Defended by Senator Robert M. LaFollette

Apr 27,

1918

Hung Jury: “The Masses” Editors Not Convicted

May 16,

1918

Sedition Act Passed: World War I Repression Intensifies

Jun 16,

1918

Eugene V. Debs Gives Anti-War Speech – Gets 10 Years in Prison

Aug 22,

1918

Jacobs Abrams Distributes Radical Leaflets – Heads to First Amendment History

Aug 31,

1918

DOJ Raids National Civil Liberties Bureau Office, Seizes Records

Sep 3,

1918

“Slacker Raids” in New York Round up 10,000

Sep 14,

1918

Eugene Debs Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Anti-War Speech

Mar 1,

1919

National Civil Liberties Bureau Issues Comprehensive Report on WW I Rights Violations

Mar 3,

1919

Supreme Court Creates “Clear and Present Danger” Test; Does Not Protect Dissent

Mar 10,

1919

Debs Conviction For Anti-War Speech Upheld by Supreme Court

Jul 4,

1919

Police Threats Cancel Civil Liberties Bureau Meeting at Carnegie Hall

Jul 13,

1919

WWI Over, But U.S. Still Prosecutes Draft Evaders

Nov 7,

1919

Repression! First Palmer Raids Seize Radicals in Twelve Cities

Nov 8,

1919

Benjamin Gitlow Arrested – Makes Civil Liberties History in 1925

Nov 10,

1919

“Abrams” – Justice Holmes Delivers Landmark Dissent on Freedom of Speech

Jan 2,

1920

Red Scare: The Second and Larger “Palmer Raids” Brings Massive Violations of Civil Liberties

Apr 1,

1920

Red Scare in New York: Legislature Expels Socialist Party Members

Apr 24,

1920

“Revolutionary Radicalism” Report Slurs Pacifists, Civil Libertarians, Liberals

May 28,

1920

Prominent Lawyers Issue Report Condemning Palmer Raids

Aug 1,

1921

New York Motion Picture Commission Begins Work – Censorship Ahead

Nov 13,

1921

New York Police Halt Birth Control Meeting at Town Hall

Dec 25,

1921

President Harding Pardons Eugene V. Debs

Jan 14,

1922

Academic Freedom Commission Advocates Restrictions on Professors’ Speech !!

Aug 22,

1922

DOJ Raids Communist Meeting in Bridgman, Michigan

Sep 1,

1922

Sweeping Injunction Denies Railroad Workers First Amendment Rights

Oct 21,

1923

Boston Mayor Curley Bans KKK Meetings, ACLU Protests

Apr 7,

1924

Harlan Fiske Stone Becomes Attorney General; Ends Justice Department Abuses

Jul 7,

1924

Pacifists Denounce War Department Guilt-by-Association “Spider Web Chart”

May 5,

1925

John T. Scopes Charged with Violating Tennessee Anti-Evolution Law

May 25,

1925

John T. Scopes Indicted: Scopes Case Begins

Jun 8,

1925

“Gitlow:” Supreme Court Incorporates Free Speech Clause into 14th Amendment

Jul 10,

1925

Historic Scopes Monkey Trial Begins

Apr 5,

1926

H. L. Mencken Arrested in Boston in Arranged Censorship Case

May 21,

1926

ACLU Banned from New York City Schools

May 16,

1927

Historic Brandeis Opinion in “Whitney v. California”

Sep 24,

1927

Jay Near Publishes “Defamatory” Articles, Heads for Supreme Court

May 9,

1928

“There is Nothing to Repress” – ACLU Leader Laments State of Civil Liberties

Nov 16,

1928

Rep. Fiorello LaGuardia Affirms Freedom of Speech

Nov 27,

1928

ACLU Wins Right to Speak in NYC Schools

Dec 27,

1928

Post Office Bans Anti-Fascist Italian Language Newspaper

Jan 15,

1929

Martin Luther King, Jr. is Born

Aug 3,

1929

Stromberg Arrested for Violating California Red Flag Law

Dec 15,

1930

Fish Committee Hearings on Communist Propaganda in the U.S. – Targets ACLU

May 18,

1931

Supreme Court Declares California “Red Flag” Law Unconstitutional

Jun 1,

1931

“Near v. Minnesota”: Landmark Freedom of the Press Decision

Mar 23,

1932

Organized Labor Gains First Amendment Rights

May 12,

1932

Judge to Accompany ACLU Leaders in West Virginia Coal Area to Protect Them

May 29,

1932

Bonus Army Arrives in Washington, D.C. – Freedom of Assembly Confrontation Ahead

Jul 28,

1932

Veterans’ “Bonus Army” Rousted by Army in D.C.

Aug 18,

1933

Jewish Paper Protests American Publication of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf”

Jul 27,

1934

Dirk De Jonge, Oregon Communist, Arrested for Organizing Meeting – Heads to Supreme Court

Jul 5,

1935

Wagner Act: Labor Gains First Amendment Rights, Right to Organize

May 3,

1937

Flag Salute Controversy Begins: Gobitas Sues Minersville, PA, School Board

Apr 11,

1938

“Birth of a Baby” Public Health Photographs Called Obscene

Apr 26,

1938

Cantwell Family Arrested; Case Establishes Free Exercise of Religion

May 19,

1938

ACLU Lawyer Arthur Garfield Hays Evicted From Jersey City

May 26,

1938

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) Established – 37 Years of Civil Liberties Violations Follow

Jun 4,

1938

Socialist, Civil Libertarian Norman Thomas Forcibly Evicted From Jersey City

Aug 11,

1938

“Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?” First HUAC Hearings Begin – 37-Years of Inquisitions Follow

Nov 19,

1938

ACLU to Aid Nazi Groups on First Amendment Rights

Apr 30,

1939

Mayor LaGuardia Dedicates Plaza of Freedom at World’s Fair

Jun 5,

1939

Freedom of Assembly! Supreme Court Rules in Famous “Hague” Case

Jul 8,

1939

Jehovah’s Witnesses Parade in Manchester, NH – End in Supreme Court

May 20,

1940

Free Exercise of Religion Affirmed: “Cantwell v. Connecticut”

Mar 31,

1941

Supreme Court Allows Time, Place and Manner Restrictions on Parades – But No Limits on Content

Mar 9,

1942

“Fighting Words” Doctrine Established by Supreme Court

Feb 20,

1943

Saturday Evening Post Publishes Iconic Norman Rockwell Illustration: “Freedom of Speech”

Jun 14,

1943

You Can’t Be Compelled to Salute the Flag: “West Virginia v. Barnette”

Oct 5,

1943

Everson: Landmark Church-State Case Begins

Apr 4,

1944

“Strange Fruit,” The Novel, Banned in Boston

Oct 5,

1944

Poet Langston Hughes Tops HUAC Anti-Communist List with 49 “Affiliations”

Jan 3,

1945

HUAC Made a Permanent Committee – Assault on Freedom of Belief and Association Continues

Jan 8,

1945

Supreme Court Strikes Down Texas Restriction on Labor Union Organizing

Apr 16,

1945

Los Angeles First Unitarian Church Labeled a “Communist Meeting Place”

Feb 10,

1947

The “Wall of Separation” Between Church and State is Born

Mar 12,

1947

Cold War Begins: Truman Doctrine Announced

Mar 21,

1947

Guilt by Association: President Truman Launches Federal Loyalty Program

Oct 24,

1947

Committee for the First Amendment Opposes HUAC Investigation of Hollywood

Nov 20,

1947

Americans United Launches Fight for Separation of Church and State

Jul 22,

1948

NYC Seeking New Rules to Govern Use of Sound Trucks, Loudspeakers

Nov 1,

1948

Smith Act Trial Begins – First Amendment Test Lies Ahead

Dec 9,

1948

ACLU Protests New York “Regents’ Prayer” For Public Schools

May 16,

1949

Supreme Court: First Amendment Protects Provocative Speech

Apr 4,

1950

Burnita Matthews Confirmed as First Female U.S. District Court Judge

Sep 3,

1950

Into the Quagmire: First U.S. Military Assistance Group Arrives in Vietnam

Jun 4,

1951

Smith Act Held Constitutional: Severe Blow to First Amendment

Jul 11,

1951

Cicero, Illinois, Race Riot – Whites Protest Racial Integration

Mar 10,

1952

“Kill the Lawyers:” Smith Act Trial Attorneys Contempt Convictions Upheld

Apr 28,

1952

Supreme Court Okays “Released Time” for Religious Instruction

Apr 28,

1952

Supreme Court Upholds Illinois “Group Libel” Law

May 26,

1952

“The Miracle!” Movies Protected by First Amendment

Feb 5,

1953

President Eisenhower Speaks at First National Prayer Breakfast

Feb 10,

1953

Theodore Schroeder, Early Free Speech Advocate, Dies

Feb 18,

1954

Cover-up: CIA Not Required to Report Criminal Conduct

Mar 9,

1954

Edward R. Murrow Exposes Sen. Joe McCarthy

Jun 14,

1954

“Under God” Added to Pledge of Allegiance

Aug 18,

1955

Pete Seeger Asserts First Amendment Right at HUAC Hearing

Oct 6,

1955

Allen Ginsberg Reads “Howl” for the First Time

Jan 4,

1956

Senate Subcommittee Investigates The New York Times for Alleged Communist Influence

Jan 12,

1956

Erotica Publisher Samuel Roth is Convicted of Obscenity, Heads to Supreme Court

Feb 17,

1956

Willie Morris Pushes Freedom of the Press for Univ. Texas Student Paper

Feb 8,

1957

Free Speech Scholar Zechariah Chafee, Jr. Dies

Mar 25,

1957

Stop that Poem! Customs Seizes Copies of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl”

May 31,

1957

Famed Playwright Arthur Miller Convicted of Contempt of Congress

Jun 24,

1957

Obscenity Not Protected by the First Amendment: “Roth v. United States”

Jan 13,

1958

Supreme Court Ends Post Office Ban on Homosexual Materials

Jun 30,

1958

Supreme Court Establishes Right of Freedom of Association

Jun 30,

1958

Supreme Court: No Loyalty Oath for Veterans Benefits

Nov 13,

1959

“The Lovers” Opens in Cleveland, Heads for Supreme Court

Jan 20,

1960

Hollywood Blacklist Broken – Producer Otto Preminger Credits Dalton Trumbo for “Exodus” Script

Mar 29,

1960

The Ad That Produced a Landmark First Amendment Case

Apr 28,

1960

Newly Formed SDS Holds “Act Now” Conference on Human Rights in the North

Sep 12,

1960

John F. Kennedy Gives Historic Speech on Religious Liberty

Jan 25,

1961

Controversy Sparked Over “Managed News” by the Kennedy Administration

Mar 27,

1961

ACLU Opposes Legislative Investigation of Right-Wing John Birch Society

Apr 27,

1961

President Kennedy Asks Press to Self-Censor National Security News: Uproar Follows

May 19,

1961

Supreme Court Rules Sunday “Blue” Laws Constitutional

Jun 19,

1961

Religious Test For Political Office Ruled Unconstitutional

Jun 25,

1962

Prayer in Public School Unconstitutional: “Engel v. Vitale”

Apr 2,

1963

Supreme Court Invalidates Virginia Anti-NAACP Laws, Upholds Lawyers’ Activism

Jun 17,

1963

Bible Reading in Public Schools Ruled Unconstitutional

Jun 25,

1963

North Carolina Passes Campus Speaker Ban

Jul 10,

1963

“Stall-in” Proposed as Civil Rights Protest for 1964 World’s Fair

Sep 14,

1963

Pete Seeger Refuses to Sign Loyalty Oath, Is Barred from “Hootenanny” TV Show

Mar 9,

1964

“Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide-Open:” The Meaning of the First Amendment

Jun 22,

1964

Pornography? Justice Stewart Knows It When He Sees It

Aug 2,

1964

First Gulf of Tonkin Incident — Government Lies to Justify Vietnam Escalation

Sep 16,

1964

Berkeley Bans Off-Campus Political Advocacy on Campus, Sparks Free Speech Movement

Oct 1,

1964

Jack Weinberg Arrested; Berkeley Free Speech Movement Escalates

Dec 2,

1964

Free Speech Movement Historic Moment – Mario Savio Denounces “The System”

Mar 24,

1965

First Vietnam War Teach-in at University of Michigan

Apr 17,

1965

First Big Anti-Vietnam War March on Washington

Jun 7,

1965

A Constitutional Right to Privacy: “Griswold v. Connecticut”

Aug 12,

1965

Dr. Martin Luther King Opposes Vietnam War

Oct 15,

1965

David Miller First to Publicly Burn His Draft Card in Vietnam War Protest

Nov 27,

1965

Tens of Thousands of Vietnam War Protesters Picket the White House

Dec 16,

1965

Mary Beth Tinker, 8th Grader, Suspended for Wearing Protest Arm Band to School

Mar 9,

1966

Other Side of the Wall: Speakers Defy North Carolina Speaker Ban

Mar 31,

1966

Anti-Vietnam War Protesters Burn Draft Cards, Head to Supreme Court

Apr 23,

1966

Famed Boxer Muhammad Ali Refuses Induction; Applies for CO Status

Aug 16,

1966

Disorder Erupts as HUAC Investigates Anti-Vietnam War Movement

Feb 23,

1967

“The Responsibility of Intellectuals:” Noam Chomsky Criticizes Pro-Vietnam War Intellectuals

Apr 24,

1967

Gen. Westmoreland Blames War Protesters for Lack of Progress in Vietnam War

May 8,

1967

“Redrup:” Supreme Court Gives Up Trying to Define Obscenity

May 17,

1967

Tennessee Repeals Anti-Evolution Law — 42 Years After the Scopes Case

Jun 17,

1967

Secretary of Defense McNamara Authorizes Pentagon Papers

Sep 27,

1967

“A Call to Resist Illegitimate Authority,” Key Anti-Vietnam War Protest, Published

Oct 20,

1967

1,000 Draft Cards Turned in to Justice Department in Vietnam War Protest

Oct 21,

1967

100,000 March on Pentagon to Protest Vietnam War

Dec 22,

1967

CIA Delivers Second Report on Anti-War Dissent

Jan 5,

1968

CIA Sends President Johnson Third Report on Student Dissent

Jan 5,

1968

Dr. Spock, Four Others, Indicted for Anti-War Conspiracy

Apr 26,

1968

“Fuck the Draft” – Robert Paul Cohen Arrested

Jun 10,

1968

Taxpayers Can Sue the Government Over Unconstitutional Practices

Jun 14,

1968

Dr. Spock, Three Others Convicted of Conspiracy to Obstruct the Draft

Nov 12,

1968

Freedom to Teach – Scopes Finally Vindicated in Epperson Case

Feb 24,

1969

Mary Beth Tinker Wins Landmark Case on Students’ First Amendment Rights

Mar 10,

1969

Civil Rights Demonstrations Upheld: “Shuttlesworth v. Birmingham”

May 9,

1969

The Road to Watergate Begins: NY Times Exposes Secret Bombing of Cambodia; President Nixon Orders Illegal Wiretapping

Jun 9,

1969

Brandenburg: First Amendment Protects Advocacy of Violence – But Not Incitement to Imminent Lawless Action

Jul 11,

1969

Dr. Spock’s Conviction for Conspiracy to Oppose Vietnam War Draft Overturned

Oct 1,

1969

Daniel Ellsberg Begins Illegal Copying of the “Pentagon Papers”

Nov 13,

1969

“Impudent Snobs” – Vice President Agnew Attacks News Media

Nov 19,

1969

Nixon White House Tries to Explain Phone Calls to TV Stations

Jan 2,

1970

Court Rules Punitive Draft Reclassification of Vietnam War Protesters Illegal

Feb 26,

1970

Army to End Monitoring Peaceful Protests

Apr 2,

1970

Massachusetts Declares Vietnam War Unconstitutional

May 1,

1970

Massive Nationwide Student Strike Protests Cambodian Invasion in Vietnam War

May 4,

1970

Kent State: Ohio National Guard Shoots and Kills Four Anti-Vietnam War Protesters

May 4,

1970

Tax Exemptions for Churches Held Constitutional

May 10,

1970

Protester Hangs American Flag Upside Down, With Peace Symbol, Heads to Supreme Court

Jun 3,

1970

ACLU Calls Vietnam War Unconstitutional — Cites Lack of Declaration of War

Jun 5,

1970

President Nixon Demands Action on Anti-War Protests: Abuses Follow

Jun 19,

1970

2nd Circuit: Legality of Vietnam War a “Political Question,” Not a Constitutional Issue

Jul 14,

1970

President Nixon Approves Huston Plan for Violations of Americans’ Rights

Nov 9,

1970

Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Constitutionality of Vietnam War

Mar 2,

1971

Daniel Ellsberg Meets with NY Times, Discusses Giving Them The Pentagon Papers

Mar 9,

1971

Want Government Secrets? Read The New York Times, Say Ex-National Security Expert

Apr 5,

1971

Senator Hatfield Places Vietnam War Crimes Testimony in Congressional Record

Apr 25,

1971

Rep. Ron Dellums Holds Hearings on U. S. War Crimes in Vietnam

Jun 7,

1971

“Fuck the Draft” Ruled Protected Speech

Jun 13,

1971

Vietnam War Secrets Revealed: New York Times Publishes the Pentagon Papers

Jun 15,

1971

Injunction Stops Publication of Pentagon Papers – Landmark Court Case Ahead

Jun 28,

1971

Supreme Court Invalidates State “Parochaid” to Religious Schools

Jun 30,

1971

Landmark Freedom of the Press Victory: Supreme Court Strikes Down Pentagon Papers Injunction

Dec 29,

1971

Ellsberg, Russo Indicted for Stealing Pentagon Papers

May 15,

1972

Free Exercise of Religion Protects Parents’ Right to Control of Children’s Education

Mar 23,

1973

U.S. Orders Beatle John Lennon Out of U.S. Within 60 Days

May 11,

1973

Judge Dismisses Charges Against Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo Because of Government Misconduct

Jun 21,

1973

Supreme Court Develops “Miller Test” on Obscenity

Jul 25,

1973

Federal Judge Orders Halt to U.S. Military Actions in Cambodia

Aug 4,

1973

Supreme Court Refuses to Halt U.S. Military Operations in Cambodia

Apr 14,

1974

Texas Labels Evolution a Theory, Not a Fact

Jun 25,

1974

U.S. Flag with Peace Symbol is Protected Speech

Jul 3,

1974

“Notorious” Publisher Samuel Roth Dies

Sep 16,

1974

President Ford Offers Conditional Amnesty to Vietnam War Protesters

Feb 19,

1975

House Creates Pike Committee to Investigate Abuses by the CIA, other Agencies

Oct 7,

1975

John Lennon Can Stay in U.S. – Court Ends Government Deportation Effort

Oct 22,

1975

Nebraska Judge Bars Press Coverage – Overruled by Supreme Court

Jan 22,

1976

Supreme Court Rejects Injunctions Against Police Misconduct

Feb 18,

1976

Cover-up Ends: CIA Required to Report Criminal Actions By Agents to DOJ

Jun 30,

1976

Freedom of the Press: Courts Can’t Suppress Trial News Coverage

May 22,

1978

7th Circuit Affirms Nazi Free Speech Rights in Skokie

Jul 9,

1978

Nazis Skip Skokie – Demonstrate in Chicago Instead

Nov 17,

1978

Women Against Pornography Conference Poses Challenge to First Amendment

Mar 9,

1979

“The Secret That Exploded” — The Progressive Magazine Enjoined from Publishing Article on Making an H-Bomb

Oct 20,

1979

Women Against Pornography March on Times Square

Jan 5,

1982

Coalition Challenges Arkansas Creation Science Law

May 28,

1982

Ishmael Jaffree Objects to Alabama Schools’ “Moment of Silence”

Aug 12,

1982

Long Island, NY, School Board Voluntarily Returns Banned Books to School Library

Sep 25,

1982

Reagan Attacks “Twisted Logic” of Separation of Church and State

Feb 3,

1983

President Reagan Proclaims “Year of the Bible”

Dec 30,

1983

Minneapolis Mayor Vetoes Anti-pornography Ordinance

May 1,

1984

Indianapolis Anti-Pornography Ordinance Signed

Jun 4,

1985

Alabama “Moment of Silence” Law Unconstitutional

Oct 1,

1985

Annual Free Speech Day in California: Commemorates Free Speech Movement

Dec 10,

1986

Nobel Prize Winners’ Amicus Brief Opposes Creationism

Mar 10,

1987

ACT UP, HIV/AIDS Advocacy Group, Founded

Jun 19,

1987

“Creationism” Violates Separation of Church and State

Feb 24,

1988

Hustler Magazine Hits the Supreme Court, Wins

Feb 2,

1991

Pentagon Bans Media Coverage of Military Casualties Returning to U.S.

Mar 11,

1993

Janet Reno Confirmed as First Female Attorney General

Sep 13,

1994

Violence Against Women Act Passed

Sep 13,

1994

Violent Crime Control Act Addresses Police Abuse, Violence Against Women

Feb 8,

1996

President Clinton Signs Communications Decency Act; ACLU Immediately Sues

May 12,

1996

Three Federal Judges Visit Internet Porn Sites in Communications Decency Case

Apr 16,

1997

Consent Degree to End “Pattern or Practice” of Abuse by Pittsburgh Police

Jun 25,

1997

Religious Freedom Restoration Act Held Unconstitutional

Jun 26,

1997

Communications Decency Act Held Unconstitutional

Jan 29,

2001

President Bush Creates Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, Promotes Government-Supported Religion

Jul 31,

2001

Ten Commandments Installed in Alabama Court House

Dec 23,

2003

Lenny Bruce Pardoned, Thirty-Nine Years Later

Dec 20,

2005

Court Rules School District’s “Intelligent Design” Curriculum Unconstitutional

May 3,

2006

Victims of WW I Repression Pardoned in Montana

Dec 7,

2006

Bush Administration Fires Seven U.S. Attorneys for Political Reasons

Feb 23,

2011

Obama Administration Stops Defending Defense of Marriage Act

Jun 27,

2011

Supreme Court Invalidates California Video Games Censorship Law

Feb 21,

2012

Censorship Foe Barney Rosset Dies

Jan 25,

2016

Longest-Ever Picket of White House (30+ Years) Ends; Concepcion Picciotto Dies

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