Burning the Flag: The Great 1989-1990 American Flag Desecration Controversy

In 1989 a political fire storm erupted after the U.S. Supreme Court declared that dissidents had the constitutional right under the First Amendment to burn the flag. A proposed constitutional amendment to forbid flag desecration was defeated after months of bitter debate on Capitol Hill. This was followed by a congressional Flag Protection Act which was declared invalid by the Supreme Court in 1990, provoking a second attempt to pass the constitutional amendment. During the 12 months this controversy raged, it kindled one of the most extraordinary debates in the history of American politics about the meaning of democracy and its primary symbol, the flag.

A timely addendum chronicles the late 1995 attempts once again to pass an amendment on flag desecration, adding to the significance of this readable account.