The Vietnam War (1955-1975) inspired many different types of protests from people of all ages. Young people became very active in the opposition to the ongoing war. In 1965, five students planned to wear black armbands to their school in Des Moines, Iowa to protest the war. Despite warnings from the school administration that this would be disruptive and violate the school dress code, Mary Beth Tinker, age 13, John Tinker, age 15, and Christopher Eckhardt, age 16, all wore armbands to school and were subsequently suspended. The Tinker Family, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), sued the Des Moines Independent Community School District. This case eventually went to the Supreme Court where it was argued on November 12, 1968. Mary Beth and John Tinker, both under 18 at the time, played significant roles in the legal process as the case proceeded to the Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court ruled a 7-2 majority in favor of the Tinkers

Document D

An excerpt from the Supreme Court decision from Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969).

“The District Court recognized that the wearing of an armband for the purpose of expressing certain views is the type of symbolic act that is within the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment … As we shall discuss, the wearing of armbands in the circumstances of this case was entirely divorced from actually or potentially disruptive conduct by those participating in it…

"First Amendment rights, applied in light of the special characteristics of the school environment, are available to teachers and students. It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate. This has been the unmistakable holding of this Court for almost 50 years…

"In our system, state-operated schools may not be enclaves of totalitarianism. School officials do not possess absolute authority over their students. Students in school, as well as out of school, are "persons" under our Constitution. They are possessed of fundamental rights which the State must respect, just as they themselves must respect their obligations to the State. In our system, students may not be regarded as… recipients of only that which the State chooses to communicate. They may not be confined to the expression of those sentiments that are officially approved. In the absence of a specific showing of constitutionally valid reasons to regulate their speech, students are entitled to freedom of expression of their views.”