Live Free or Die Motto

SPOILER ALERT: The title of this post is not about the virus or death, but how a state motto lead to one of the most important First Amendment cases in U.S. history.

Maybe, I have way too much time these days — doesn't everyone?

In some ways it's not so bad. I've learned things not known about NH, where we've lived since 2004. 

This is a rather long post, folks. But, I found the subject matter very interesting and definitely in the "never knew that" category.

Live Free or Die, the NH state motto, was adopted in 1945 at the end of WW II, but had nothing to do with that war. It originated from a quote by General John Stark, the state’s most distinguished Revolutionary War hero. In 1809, Stark wrote a volunteer toast to wartime veterans hosting a 32nd anniversary reunion of the 1777 Battle of Bennington, VT. The full toast was "live free or die; death is not the worst of evils." (Too long for a state motto?)

As the shortened official state motto, the wording was put on license plates, state route signs and the back of the statehood quarter for NH. 

State law required that all non-commercial vehicles bear license plates with the state motto. Another NH statute made it a misdemeanor to knowingly obscure the figures or letters on any number plate.

That license plate requirement led to a historical court case, Wooley v. Maynard.

In the early 1970s, a deeply religious couple, George and Maxine Maynard, moved to NH, and that requirement was troublesome to them. The Maynards felt that the state motto on their car plate supported concepts they didn't subscribe to — they didn't feel free and believed God would grant them eternal life.

I blocked out this license plate no. for illustration purposes

What Happened? After George Maynard covered up the plate motto with electrical tape, battle lines were drawn between the couple and the state of NH. The first encounter was in a Lebanon, NH parking lot in November 1974. George was fined $25 for altering his car plates. A judge suspended the fine, pending good behavior. In December 1974, Neal Wooley, then Lebanon, NH, police chief said the same officer pulled George over again. This time, the state motto had been physically cut out of the plate.

Taken to court again, Maynard was ordered to pay a $50 fine and the $25 fine for the first offense. As a matter of conscience, he refused to pay them and was sentenced to jail for 15 days. Maynard served the full sentence, but it also cost him his job.

In March 1975, the Maynards sued in U.S. District Court for the District of NH. They sought injunctive and declaratory relief against enforcement of the statute that mandated the state motto on their car plates and making it a criminal offense to obscure said motto.

They won. The District Court after hearing the case entered an order enjoining the state from arresting or prosecuting the Maynards at any time in the future if they obscured the portion of their plates with the state motto.

But the case wasn't over. Then NH Governor, Meldrim Thompson, a patriotic and conservative governor, ordered the state attorney general to take the case to the United States Supreme Court, which accepted it.

On November 29, 1976, the Supreme Court heard the case of Wooley v. Maynard. The state attorney general's office argued that just because a car displays the motto, doesn’t automatically mean the driver believes in it.

They won again in Washington. In a 6 to 3 decision, The Supreme Court of the United States ruled it was against the Constitution to force citizens to use private property as a mobile billboard for the state’s ideological message. (Maynard never attended the oral arguments explaining that he couldn't afford the time or travel expenses.)

Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, in his majority opinion, phrased the issue as “whether the State may constitutionally require an individual to participate in the dissemination of an ideological message by displaying it on his private property in a manner and for the express purpose that it be observed and read by the public.”

Burger wrote: “The First Amendment protects the right of individuals to hold a point of view different from the majority and to refuse to foster, in the way New Hampshire commands, an idea they find morally objectionable.” 

The majority reasoned that the case presented a classic case of compelled speech which sets out the principle that the government cannot force an individual/group to support certain expression. The First Amendment limits the government from punishing a person for his/her speech, and prevents the government from punishing a person for refusing to articulate, advocate, or adhere to the government’s approved messages.

As a result of this decision, Wooley v. Maynard became one of the most important First Amendment cases in U.S. history. 

While it's forever linked to NH, the Maynards are not and years ago moved to Connecticut. Reportedly, they covered up that state's motto, “The Constitution State” on their license plates.

I learned about this case based on curiosity about the state motto and know that it's not illegal to obscure the state motto. But then, I wasn't planning to do so anyway.

As mentioned earlier, having too much time can lead to unexpected discoveries.

Have you "discovered" anything you didn't knew before? If so, please share.

Over the weekend, before the rain set in, we walked in Mine Falls Park. This 325-acre park in Nashua, NH, has plenty of space for social distancing. Lots of walkers, joggers, cyclists, families were out getting exercise too. 

It was great wonderful to be outdoors as you can see by our selfie. As of last Thursday, March 26, there's a stay at home order for NH residents in effect until May 4. However, people can still go out to exercise, go to work, and buy essential supplies. We appreciate that it's not (yet) a shelter in place order and hope that others can get outside as well.