Lusk Laws of New York, 1920-1923.

Sen. Clayton R. Lusk, chairman of the legislative committee investigating sedition in the state of New York, led the New York legislature in passing a series of laws in 1920 and 1921 aimed at public-school teachers. These laws required teachers to obtain certificates of loyalty and character from the state commissioner of education. For nearly two years teachers called for the repeal of the so-called "Loyalty Laws," and in 1923, under the leadership of Gov. Alfred E. Smith, they were repealed.

Ban on Teaching Foreign Languages.

During World War I, Nebraska, along with ten other states, passed laws that forbade the teaching of foreign languages, especially German, in public and private schools. These laws were instituted as safeguards against "dangerous" political and cultural influences from abroad. In 1923 the Supreme Court ruled, in Meyer v. Nebraska, that laws...