3.3

Standard 3A

Provisions of the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights are continually being interpreted to balance the power of government and the civil liberties of individuals.

Learning Objective

Explain the extent to which the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First and Second Amendments reflects a commitment to individual liberty.

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE

The Supreme Court has held that symbolic speech is protected by the First Amendment, demonstrated by Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), in which the court ruled that public school students could wear black armbands in school to protest the Vietnam War.

Efforts to balance social order and individual freedom are reflected in interpretations of the First Amendment that limit speech, including:

• Time, place, and manner regulations

• Defamatory, offensive, and obscene statements and gestures

• That which creates a “clear and present danger” based on the ruling in Schenck v. United States (1919)