Wisconsin v. Yoder - Significance, The Amish And Schooling, Further Readings

william petitioner justices parents

Petitioner

State of Wisconsin

Respondents

Jonas Yoder, Wallace Miller, Adin Yutzy

Petitioner's Claim

That three Amish parents violated state educational requirements by refusing to send their children to public school past the eighth grade.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

John W. Calhoun

Chief Lawyer for Respondents

William B. Ball

Justices for the Court

Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Warren E. Burger (writing for the Court), Thurgood Marshall, Potter Stewart, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

William O. Douglas (Lewis F. Powell, Jr., and William H. Rehnquist did not participate)

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

15 May 1972

Decision

That the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment exempted the Amish parents on religious grounds from obeying the state law.

Related Cases

Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 (1879).
Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923).
Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925).
Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296 (1940).

Sources

Fishman, Andrea R. "Worlds Together, Worlds Apart."Phi Delta Kappan, January 1996.

Additional Topics

Wisconsin v. Yoder - Significance

Wisconsin v. Yoder interpreted the Free Exercise Clause by constructing a three-part test intended to balance state educational interests against the interests of religious freedom. This balancing test marked the height of the move away from the belief-action doctrine established in the nineteenth century. The decision also impacted debates regarding parental control of their children's education.…

Wisconsin v. Yoder - The Amish And Schooling

The Amish are a North American Protestant group, of Mennonite origin, that has maintained a conservative agricultural way of life. Because of their desire to retain a separate way of life, the Amish have had conflicts with the larger society, especially in the area of compulsory education. The Amish believe that the public educational system does not reflect their community's traditional values, s…

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User Comments

9 months ago

Angela

Thank you for presenting this information in this format. This page contained many things I needed to know for a college research paper. This is helping me understand the difference between plaintiffs & respondents, compared with synonymous terminology used in other reports and sources. I especially appreciate the related cases that were cited. I will be using and citing this site on my research paper. Thank you!