Perhaps someone else has noticed this detail before, but I was reading the District Court’s opinion in Gobitis and came across this sentence:
“Our country’s safety surely does not depend upon the totalitarian idea of forcing all citizens into one common mold of thinking and acting or requiring them to render a lip service of loyalty in a manner which conflicts with their sincere religious convictions.”
Why is that significant? It’s the first judicial opinion in the United States to use the word “totalitarian.” The District Judge’s opinion, which ruled in favor of the children, is really well done. The cite is 24 F. Supp. 271 (1938).