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Directions for Extension Activity: Select ONE amendment to focus on. Research a time in history (or in recent news) that a person or group protested that their “Amendment Rights” were being violated. See the assignment in Canvas, where you will write a 5 sentence summary of the issue behind the case AND explain how it connects to the amendment you chose. Make sure the case is SPECIFIC.

User Anthon
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I chose the First Amendment which states “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; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” The case I chose to focus on is Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969). The case revolved around five students - John Tinker and his sister Christopher Tinker, Mary Beth Tinker, and her brothers Paul and Phillip - who wore black armbands to school in December 1965 to silent protest the Vietnam War. The school board threatened to suspend the students, so their parents made the decision to file a suit against the school. This case focused on whether or not the students’ First Amendment rights to free speech were being violated by the school’s ban on the armbands. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the students and stated that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” This case had an enormous influence on the interpretation of the First Amendment in public school systems, as it set the legal precedent that not all student speech may be censored due to its potential to be disruptive.

User Sabha B
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