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The "Good War," the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the First Amendment

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

2001

Publication Title

Virginia Law Review

Abstract

The traditional narrative in mid-twentieth century constitutional historiography highlights two principal events–the "constitutional revolution of 1937" and the beginnings of the Warren Court's "civil rights revolution" with the Brown decision of 1954. Although much has been written about both the Supreme Court's abandonment of the laissez-faire constitutionalism that endangered the New Deal, as well as the heyday of rights jurisprudence during the Chief Justiceship of Earl Warren, legal scholars have generally appeared content to skip over the Second World War as a topic of comprehensive investigation, with the sole exception of Japanese internment and the Korematsu decision. The relative lack of attention paid to Second World War jurisprudence is somewhat peculiar considering that between 1937 and 1954, the new post-Lochner Court decided a number of critical First Amendment cases that laid the doctrinal and conceptual foundation for much of modern free speech and free exercise of religion jurisprudence. Deciding numerous issues of first impression regarding what constituted the basic freedoms of speech and religion, these cases not only established broader protections for these rights, but also defined their scope, significantly constraining the range of available choices for future Courts.

Keywords

WWII, Jurisprudence, Post-Lochner Court, First Amendment Cases, Free Speech, Freedom of Religion, Courts

Publication Citation

Neil M. Richards, “The Good War,” the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the First Amendment, 87 Va. L. Rev. 781 (2001)

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