In 1942, West Virginia enacted a law that required students and teachers to salute the American flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. When Walter Barnette, a Jehovah’s Witness, refused to do so on the grounds that it contradicted his religious beliefs, he was expelled from school. On June 14, 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette that forcing individuals to salute the flag was a violation of their freedom of speech and religion.
