Which case began the incorporation doctrine by applying the First Amendment to the states?

• A. Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
• B. Gitlow v. New York (1925)
• C. Wickard v. Filburn (1942)
• D. Lopez v. United States (1995)

Answer: (B)

The main idea is incorporation through the Fourteenth Amendment. Gitlow v. New York (1925) held that the First Amendment’s protections for free speech and a free press apply to state governments via the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This established that fundamental rights protected against the federal government also bind the states, beginning the process of selectively incorporating the Bill of Rights to limit state action. While Gitlow allowed states to regulate speech under a dangerous-tendency standard, it still marked the first step in extending First Amendment protections to the states. The other cases involve different issues—how the Fourth Amendment is applied to the states or how federal power is constrained under the Commerce Clause—so they don’t represent the start of incorporation.