Texas v. Johnson (1989)

This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court’s decision that burning the American flag is a form of political speech protected by the First Amendment. Students learn about the First Amendment freedom of speech and the principle that “the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.” They then learn about the dissenting view by distinguishing between arguments from the Court’s majority opinion and the dissent.