This summer the Bill of Rights Institute is blogging a document-based question on the Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines (1969). Each weekly post will feature an excerpted document related to the case, along with some questions to guide your thinking on it. Each document should be used to address the question: “Evaluate the extent to which the First Amendment should protect symbolic speech, and the degree to which that protection should be guaranteed to students in public school.”

Check out our previous posts for a case background and document #1, document #2, West Virginia v. Barnette, document #3, a picture of Vietnam War protestors outside the White House, document #4, a collection of “Hate Mail” received by the Tinker Family, document #5 and document #6, parts of the Oral Arguments for the case, document #7, the Majority Opinion, document #8, the Concurring Opinion, and document #9, the Dissenting Opinion (Hugo Black), document #10, the Dissenting Opinion (John Marshall Harlan), and document #11, a picture of Lorena, Paul, and Mary Beth Tinker.

Today’s document is a Dissenting Opinion, Street v. New York, 1969

…Action, even if clearly for serious protest purposes, is not entitled to the pervasive protection that is given to speech alone. …It may be subjected to reasonable regulation that appropriately takes into account the competing
interests involved.

Think about it:

Restate this document in your own words.

How does this impact your answer to the DBQ question: “Evaluate the extent to which the First Amendment should protect symbolic speech, and the degree to which that protection should be guaranteed to students in public school”?

_____________________________________________________________________

Check back each week to see the next document and how it might change your thinking on this important question that affects all public school teachers and students in the U.S.!

If you are enjoying this DBQ – be sure to check out our curriculum Supreme Court DBQs: Exploring the Cases the Changed History.

This summer the Bill of Rights Institute is blogging a document-based question on the Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines (1969). Each weekly post will feature an excerpted document related to the case, along with some questions to guide your thinking on it. Each document should be used to address the question: “Evaluate the extent to which the First Amendment should protect symbolic speech, and the degree to which that protection should be guaranteed to students in public school.”

Check out our previous posts for a case background and document #1 and document #2, West Virginia v. Barnette.

Today’s document is a picture – Number 3:

“Vietnam War Protesters Outside the White House,” 1965

Think about it:

What is the message of these protestors?  How does this image impact your opinion about the key question: “Evaluate the extent to which the First Amendment should protect symbolic speech, and the degree to which that protection should be guaranteed to students in public school.”

____________________________________________________________________

Check back each week to see the next document and how it might change your thinking on this important question that affects all public school teachers and students in the U.S.!

This summer the Bill of Rights Institute is blogging a document-based question on the Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines (1969). Each weekly post will feature an excerpted document related to the case, along with some questions to guide your thinking on it. Each document should be used to address the question: “Evaluate the extent to which the First Amendment should protect symbolic speech, and the degree to which that protection should be guaranteed to students in public school.”

Case Background:

The Vietnam War was one of the most controversial political issues of the 1960s. By 1965, the United States had large numbers of troops in Vietnam and many Americans had begun to question the wisdom of the war.

In December 1965, students John (age 15) and Mary Beth Tinker (age 13) decided they would have their say as part of a larger, community protest of the Vietnam War. Together with a friend, John and Mary Beth agreed to wear black armbands to school to mourn the dead and protest the War. Amid rumors of the planned protest, the School Board of the Des Moines Independent Community School District implemented a policy banning the wearing of armbands in school. Any offending students would be suspended. The 3 students were suspended until they agreed not to wear the armbands.

The Tinkers argued that by banning the armbands and suspending students for wearing them, public school officials had violated the First Amendment. the case eventually went to the Supreme Court in 1968. The Court had to address 2 central questions: (1) was the expressive behavior of the students an exercise of “speech” that warranted protection under the First Amendment’s speech guarantee? and (2) how can individual liberties be balanced with the need for discipline, the rights of others, and the “special characteristics” of the public school environment?

Today’s Document – Number 1:

The First Amendment, 1791

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and the petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Think about it:

Underline the 5 freedoms of the First Amendment, and write a 1 sentence summary of how the amendment protects expression.

After reading the First Amendment – to what extent do you think the it should protect symbolic speech?

______________________________________________________________________________________

Check back each week to see the next document and how it might change your thinking on this important question that affects all public school teachers and students in the U.S.!”