In the history of the Supreme Court, there have been numerous First Amendment cases that address whether exercises of free speech and expression are constitutional or unconstitutional. One of the most important First Amendment cases is Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969). This important case helped shape the spread of symbolic discourse and ensure freedom of speech and expression for school students. In December 1965, a group of Iowans, adults and children, gathered to discuss ways to protest. American involvement in the Vietnam War, a very controversial issue at the time. The group decided to wear black armbands during the month of December as a peaceful protest, as well as fast on December 16 and New Year's Eve. John F. Tinker, 15, Mary Beth Tinker, 13, and Christopher Eckhardt, 16, protested alongside their parents by wearing black armbands at their public schools (John and Christopher went to high school, Mary Beth to middle school). Following the protests, Des Moines school district principals adopted a policy banning the wearing of armbands in school, in an effort to prevent unrest that might arise later. Under the rule, any student wearing an armband would be asked to remove it, and if they did not acquiesce, they would be suspended and unable to return to school until they complied with the policy. On December 16, Christopher Eckhardt and Mary Beth Tinker insolently wore their black armbands to school, and John Tinker wore his the next day. Although the armbands did not disrupt the school, the three students were suspended until January 1, 1966, when their protest took place...... middle of newspaper...... District (1969). " Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, biographies, dictionary, thesaurus. Free online reference, research and homework help — Infoplease.com. Web November 4, 2011. "Tinker c. Des Moines Ind. Comm. Dist. school. | The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. "The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law | A Multimedia Archive of the United States Supreme Court. Web. November 7, 2011." Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District | Casebriefs." Law Cases and Case Briefs for Students. 2011. Web. November 7.. 2011. .