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45 U. Miami L. Rev. 19 (1990-1991)
The Great 1989-1990 Flag Flap: An Historical, Political, and Legal Analysis

handle is hein.journals/umialr45 and id is 31 raw text is: HISTORICAL ESSAY The Great 1989-1990 Flag Flap: An Historical, Political, and Legal Analysis ROBERT JUSTIN GOLDSTEIN* I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................... 20 II. TEXAS V. JOHNSON IN PERSPECTIVE..................................... 21 A. A Short Legal History of Johnson ................................... 21 B. The Reaction to Johnson ........................................... 26 C. M uch Ado About Nothing? ......................................... 30 III. THE DEVELOPMENT OF FLAG DESECRATION LAW ....................... 31 A. Americans and Their Flag ......................................... 31 B. American Flag Desecration and the Law: A Pre-1968 History ............ 37 C. The Vietnam War Flag Flap: Deja Vu ............................... 48 D. The Supreme Court and Flag Desecration Before Johnson .............. 59 E. The Prelude to Johnson ............................................ 65 IV. THE DEBATE OVER JOHNSON .............................................. 67 A. The Arguments for Texas .......................................... 67 B. The Arguments for Johnson ........................................ 74 V. IN THE AFTERMATH OF JOHNSON .......................................... 77 A. Constitutional Amendment Versus Overriding Legislation ............... 77 B. An Analysis of the Flag Protection Act of 1989 ........................ 83 C. The Flag Protection Act in the District Courts ......................... 91 VI. FLAG BURNING: ROUND Two IN THE SUPREME COURT AND CONGRESS .... 93 A. United States v. Eichman .......................................... 93 B. The Attempted Constitutional Amendment in 1990 ..................... 98 VII. CONCLUSION ......................................................... 102 PROLOGUE In May 1990, while doing research connected with this Essay, I chanced upon a McDonald's Restaurant on the north side of Chicago which advertised itself as the rock and roll McDonald's. Various memorabilia from the 1950's and 1960's, including a small American flag with its field of stars replaced by a peace symbol, festooned the walls of the restaurant. Such altered flags were common during the Vietnam era, and many dissenters were prosecuted under flag desecra- tion laws for displaying them. Yet this flag on the wall of McDon- * Robert Justin Goldstein is a Professor of Political Science at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. The author has previously addressed civil liberties issues in various articles and books. See, e.g., R. GOLDSTEIN, POLITICAL REPRESSION IN MODERN AMERICA (1978).

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