Subsequent History
Partly because of the violent reaction to its decision, including the lynching of Jehovah Witnesses according to Shawn Francis Peters in her book Judging Jehovah’s Witnesses: Religious Persecution And the Dawn of the Rights Revolution, the Supreme Court reversed itself a few years later. On 14 June 1943 (Flag Day), the court handed down West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette. Justice Robert Jackson echoed Justice Stone's dissent when he wrote, "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion or other matters of opinion".
Justice Frank Murphy considered the reversal to be an important personal landmark.
The elevation of Harlan Fiske Stone to Chief Justice, and the appointment of two new members to the Supreme Court, were also factors in the Court's reversal of policy.
The active persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses abated somewhat, although thousands were arrested during World War II for seeking religious exemption from military service. They were accused of being unpatriotic, even being Nazi sympathizers.
Read more about this topic: Minersville School District V. Gobitis
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