Tinker v. Des Moines affirmed that students maintain the right to free speech at school

The Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag is protected speech

In Texas v. Johnson (1989), the court held, 5-4, that flag burning is a form of symbolic political expression protected by the First Amendment—one of the most controversial free-speech rulings in American history.

Snyder v. Phelps found that the First Amendment protects speech, even if it is deeply hurtful or inflammatory

When some members of the Westboro Baptist Church, carrying inflammatory signs, picketed the funeral of a fallen Marine, his father sued but lost. The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that the protest addressed matters of public concern and was protected by the First Amendment.

The Supreme Court's first major free-speech ruling rested on a legal standard that was later overturned

In Schenck v. United States (1919), the court introduced the "clear and present danger" test—permitting the government to restrict speech that posed an immediate threat to public safety. Although the doctrine was later replaced, the ruling upheld the conviction of a man who had distributed anti-draft pamphlets.

Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025) broadened parents' rights regarding what their children learn in public schools

The case, brought by parents in Maryland, focused on religious objections to books with same-sex and transgender characters in elementary classrooms. The court ruled that the district's denial of parents' opt-out requests violated the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.

The Supreme Court decided that a public school coach's postgame prayers were protected speech

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of a high school football coach who had been suspended for kneeling in prayer at midfield after games. The decision shifted away from the Lemon test and toward a more expansive view of religious freedom in the Establishment Clause.

In 1978, lower courts ruled that neo-Nazis had the right to march through Skokie, Illinois

Skokie was home to a large community of Holocaust survivors, making the planned march an extreme test of First Amendment principles. The courts ultimately ruled that even deeply offensive speech remains protected by the Constitution.

The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms

One of the most debated amendments, the Second Amendment has divided courts, lawmakers, and the public for decades. The Supreme Court held in 2008's District of Columbia v. Heller that it protects an individual right. Legal challenges continue today.

The First Amendment established religious freedom as a constitutional right—a safeguard no other nation had before

Europe had limited religious tolerance for centuries, but always as a privilege granted by rulers who could revoke it. The First Amendment in the United States was unique for the time: It banned the government from interfering with religion, making religious freedom a permanent constitutional limit on state power.

1978: Thurgood Marshall, commencement address at the University of Virginia

"Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on."

70 years after Brown v. Board, segregation remains in American schools

Despite being ruled unconstitutional in 1954, racial segregation persists: large shares of Black and Hispanic students still attend schools where most classmates are students of color. Recent trends show that segregation has increased across many urban districts since the 1990s.

The Nixon administration tried and failed to stop the press from publishing the Pentagon Papers

In 1971, the Supreme Court ruled against the government's attempt to block The New York Times and The Washington Post from publishing classified documents on the Vietnam War, delivering a landmark victory for press freedom.

Nine Black students were arrested in 1961 for refusing to stop reading at a segregated Mississippi library

Public libraries across the South were segregated by law, with Black residents directed to separate, underfunded facilities. When nine Tougaloo College students sat down to read at the whites-only Jackson Municipal Library, they were arrested. Their act helped the NAACP push for the desegregation of public spaces in Jackson.

Kurt Vonnegut's letter to the school board that banned his book

In 1973, a high school English teacher in North Dakota taught Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five," the classic time-hopping novel about World War II and the bombing of Dresden. The head of the school board was outraged by what he considered to be obscene material in Vonnegut's novel and ordered all of the students' copies of the book burned. When Vonnegut caught wind of those plans, he wrote this letter to the school board, protesting the decision.

Punk band Devo formed after witnessing the Kent State shootings

Band members Jerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh were students at the Ohio university when the National Guard shot and killed student protestors. Casale said that the experience led them to pursue the project, which was a satirical critique of mindless consumerism and conformity.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

About 2.5 million American students watched the Challenger disaster live

Because of the publicity of the Teacher in Space program, millions of students viewed Challenger's liftoff in school classrooms—turning the explosion into a shared national traumatic experience marked by shock, silence, and grief.

Photography and video are prohibited in the Supreme Court—but artists are not

Because cameras are banned inside the Supreme Court of the United States, courtroom artists document proceedings through sketches. This exhibition features works from 1964 to today, capturing the human drama of landmark cases and shaping how Americans visualize justice.

An 1898 Supreme Court case confirmed birthright citizenship for children of immigrants

In 1898, the Supreme Court ruled that the 14th Amendment guaranteed US citizenship to Wong Kim Ark, born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants—establishing a lasting precedent for birthright citizenship regardless of parental status.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

A 21-year-old college student designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

In 1981, a 21-year-old Yale architecture student, Maya Lin, won the national design competition for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The design was controversial for rejecting heroic statues, using a black wall, and avoiding overt patriotic symbolism.

Fearing the corruption of its youth, Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll in 1956.

Native students fought back against forced assimilation at US boarding schools

Despite harsh conditions, Native American students preserved their identities by secretly speaking their languages, maintaining cultural practices, and, in some cases, running away.

The Voting Rights Act expanded the DOJ's power to enforce voting protections

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 expanded the Department of Justice's power to challenge discriminatory election laws, send federal examiners, and supervise voting changes in areas with histories of voter suppression—although some of these powers have been limited by court rulings since then.

Watch 'I'm Just a Bill' explain how a law gets made

First aired in 1976, "I'm Just a Bill" became a defining civics lesson for generations, using animation and humor to trace the legislative process and cement itself as a lasting piece of US political culture.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 provided federal aid to tackle inequity in public schools

Signed into law April 11, 1965, ESEA authorized over $1B in grants during its first year—boosting Title I programs which now provide $18.4B annually to support low-income students.

The first recorded worker strike in the United States happened in 1768

That year, journeymen tailors went on strike to protest a wage reduction. By 1794, cobblers in Philadelphia formed the nation’s first trade union, the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers. But that’s just the beginning of labor union history in the US.

Eleanor Roosevelt sheltered student activists at the White House after they were subpoenaed by HUAC

In 1939, when Congress subpoenaed leaders of the American Youth Congress on suspicion of communist ties, Eleanor Roosevelt attended the hearings herself and then invited all 10 students to stay at the White House, as they had nowhere to sleep.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

Graffiti dates back to at least ancient Pompeii, where citizens scrawled messages to one another on public walls

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Elk Cloner, the first computer virus to spread in public, was written as a practical joke by Richard Skrenta, a Pittsburgh high school student.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'