Frankfurter's Decision in Minersville v. Gobitis
In 1940, a case was argued in the United States Supreme Court that dealt with an idea basically related to nationalism and the idea of whether or not a national religion was being promoted in the public school system in Pennsylvania; and whether or not this idea of nationalism interfered with an individuals personal religion.
In the late 1930s two school children, the Gobitis who were Jehovah's Witnesses, were denied a free elementary school education because of their refusal to salute the flag in Minersville Pennsylvania. Their reason for this refusal was tied into their religion, which believed that such gestures of saluting the flag were forbidden by command of the Scripture.
Since the Minersville school district had required that children salute the American flag as a condition of their attendance in school, the Gobitis children were expelled, meaning that their parents were left to foot the bill to their education.
The Gobitis family believed that their rights to freedom of religion and their right to due process had indeed been violated when their children were denied an education. The case would ultimately have to be decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Minersville School district, believing that they were standing on firm ground with this requirement, fought the battle out in the Supreme Court and ultimately won. However, the question still remains of whether or not the decision was fair, or if the decision may have been made due to bias towards the Jehovah's Witnesses in society.
In 1940, Minersville v. Gobitis was argued out in the United States Supreme Court, Justice Frankfurter delivered the opinion of the court. Throughout his opinion Justice Frankfurter seems to justify his actions in several ways. Throughout his decision Frankfurter states that he believes that religion itself should be protected, "government ma...