LAD #37: Brown vs. Board of Education

     The Plessy vs. Ferguson case claimed that "separate but equal" facilities were constitutional.  The Brown vs Board of Education case brought this into question.  A black school girl, Linda Brown, was forced to walk three miles to get to a designated black school in Topeka, Kansas.  Meanwhile, a while school was located a mere 7 miles from her house.  This was an unfair situation for Linda to be in, for she was forbidden from attending the more convenient white school because of her race.  Brown's parents claimed that it was wrong for their child to be segregated in such a manner.  The school board retaliated by stating that they were merely being realistic and that segregation was something that Linda should learn to deal with as she matures into adulthood.  The case then made its way into the supreme court, where judges had to determine whether or not it violated the fourteenth amendment, regarding equal rights.  The supreme court ultimately decided that it was indeed unconstitutional for it created an obvious black inferiority complex.  Unfortunately, African Americans had to battle many more years for true equality.

LAD #36: Truman Doctrine

     Truman begins by stating that he feels it necessary to speak of the foreign policy and national security of the nation.  He then begins to address the situation with Greece and Turkey.  He claims that the Greek government has asked the United States for financial assistance and Truman does not want to ignore this considering how Greece has suffered from so many invasions and is in desperate need of help.  They also ask for American administrators to help solve the problems in their country.  He then mentions that the country is at the risk of being forced into communism and emphasized the importance for the United States to protect and nourish their democratic friend.  Furthermore, the British government cannot help Greece any longer and the UN can not address the issue soon enough.  A neighboring nation of Greece, Turkey is also in need of assistance.  Following the war in europe, Turkey was also in need of financial support.  It is essential that Turkey remaina  well-nourished nation so that it can preserve order in the middel east.  Truman makes it clear that this time, he wants to intervene in the issues in Europe because last time when the United States took no action, the found themselves consumed in a war.  He states that it is the responsibility of the United States to help the nations who are recieving ourside pressure.  Disorder in both nations would have devestating effects in Europe. He calls for immediate action, asking congress for $400,000,000 and for military personnel to be sent to Greece and Turkey. He concludes be reaffirming that disorder in a nation feeds totalitarianism and that the United States must allow this to happen and essentially repeat history.           

LAD #35: FDR's Executive Order 9066

In his executive order, FDR gave the Secretary of war the power to declare specific areas as military locations.  FDR believed that this was necessary at the time to prevent foreign espionage and corruption in the United States during wartime.  All people not affiliated with the military will not be allowed to enter these areas.   The Secreatary also will have the power and responsibility of providing necessities such as transportation, shelter, food, and water. The establishment of military districts eventually led to the creation of Japanese interment camps, in which many were forced out of their homes.  Furthermore, FDR mentioned the need for citizens to remain loyal during wartime.  Japanese Americans became subjects to great suspicion.

LAD #34: FDR's Declaration of War

     FDR begins the war declaration by mentioning the attack on Pearl Harbor on "December 7th 1941, a date that will live in infamy."  He then explains that prior to this attack, the United States had been at peace with Japan.  FDR makes it clear that the attack was no accident, especially considering the distance between Japan and Hawaii, it must have been planned days, or even weeks in advance.  He acknowledges that the bombardment of Pearl Harbor cause severe damage to military and naval forces on the island, and caused many American lives to be lost.  By attacking the United States, Japan had disturbed the peace existing between the two nations.  FDR therefore appealed to Congress for a declaration of war, the only thing which could justify the damage done on American soil.  FDR's request led to U.S. involvement in World War one and ultimately an allied victory.

LAD # 33: FDR's 1st Inaugural

     FDR begins his address by acknowledging that during his time in office he will have to manage and relieve a severe economic crisis.  He tries to instill hope within Americans by stating that the depression is not as hindering as believed.  In this speech, FDR uttered among the most famous quotes of all time, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."  Although optimistic, the President was not idealistic like Wilson.  He acknowledged the fact that the nation was suffering immensely and recognized the need for change.  He mentioned that there were various issues with inflation, savings, banking, and employment.  FDR mentioned the importance of decreasing the unemployment numbers.  Later on, he discusses the need for the population to be more evenly distributed, and thus relieving the congestion of cities.  He aims to lower the cost associated with all forms of government, be it local, federal, or state.  Although the nation is eager to start trading with their friends abroad once more, FDR has dedicated himself to solving the issues at home first.  Lastly he mentions self sacrifice, and collective action which will need to be done to get the hurt nation back of its feet.  He concludes again with an optimistic tone, believing that through his policies, the nation will be relieved of the depression.     

LAD #32: Kellogg Briand Peace Pact

President Calvin Coolidge, his secretary of state, Frank Kellogg, and the French foreign minister, Briand, passed the Kellogg Briand Peace Pact in 1928.  It depicted war as a rather barbaric solution and claimed that it could not be used as a foreign policy.  In other words, it claimed that war could only be used for defense.  It consisted of three parts, the first saying that war could not be used to solve issues with other countries, the second that all conflicts must be resolved with diplomacy, and the third stating that additional countries who wished to join the treaty could if they so desired.  The terms of this agreement were far too idealistic.  This outrageous request made little splash in the world because of its irrational terms.  Despite this attempt at making a bold statement among the other world powers, Coolidges' presidency proved to be incredibly uneventful, right along with Harding's and Hoover's.

LAD #31: Wilson's 14 Points

     At the conclusion of The Great War Wilson drafted a solution that he hoped would maintain peace and stay true to his campaign "A war to end all wars."  Wilsons goal was to conclude the war in a forgiving and charitable manner.  Thus he came up with the 14 point plan, 14 idealistic approaches which he hoped he could maintain in the postwar world.  Among the most famous of Wilsons 14 points were his call for freedom of the seas, lifting of economic barriers, no secret treaties, a reduction of arms an other military productions, colonies which would be able to self determine their soverenighty, and most importantly the creation of the League of naitons.  This league was intended to serve as a peace keeping organization with representatives from all nations. 


Later on Wilson's fourteen points proved to be rather unsuccessful, as the other Allies found them to be too lenient as they saught to more significantly punish their German foes.  As a result he was forced to compromise practically all of his fourteen points except his most cherished League of Nations.

LAD # 30: SCHENCK v. UNITED STATES

    At the onset of The Great War, an American socialist, Charles Schenck, began to spread posters all aimed at convincing Americans to aviod the draft.  Schenck believed that the draft was a direct violation of the thirteenth amendment, for it demanded "involuntary servitude."  As a result, he was charged for promoting insubordination in the military and violating the espionage act, which declared that it was ilegal to interfere with military efforts, war efforts, or recruitment.  In Cout, Schneck tried to argue that he had the freedom of speech, granted to him in the first amendment of the constitution.  However, the court ruled that in this case he did not have the freedom of speech since it created danger. This revealed the government's intention to expand its power upon the people during wartime.  The decision was later overturned.

LAD #29: Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916

     A 1900 census revealed that 2 million children were employed by mills, factories, and various other forms of labor.  This announcement led to an increase in effort to put a stop to cruel child labor since it had proven to be so detrimental to the health and well being of children.  The National Child Labor Committee employed Lewis Hine in to photograph and report on children.  Dickens then published a novel depicting the poverty and unhealthy conditions that plagued London in the 1850s.  
Then, in 1916, the Keating-Owen Child Labor Law was passed, becoming the nation's first child labor bill. Employing children less than fourteen to work in factories was deemed illegal and mines were not allowed to hire children under 16.  Furthermore, children under the age of 16 were not allowed to work for more than 8 hours in a day. Although passed by congress and Wilson, the Act was declared unconstitutional by the supreme court.  Instead the Child Labor Tax Law was passed in 1919 which also regulated child labor but was again deemed unconstitutional.  Child Labor laws were not passed until the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938.  This upheld constitutionality in the supreme court and is still enforced today. 

LAD #28: Wilson's First Inaugural

The democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson, was able to achieve victory in the election of 1912 because the republican party was split between candidates, William Howard Taft and Teddy Roosevelt.

In his inaugural address, Wilson begins by mentioning the change that has occurred over the past few years.  A government which had been republican for decades was replaced with a democratic congress, president, and vice president.  He goes on to further define the term "change" stating that it had greater meaning than just the change in politics.  He claims that with wealth, evil has come as well.    In other words, the growth of the nation has also spurred corruption.  Americans have been too proud about their achievements in industry and business to pay attention to the human cost that has come along with national growth.  He mentions the suffering of men, women, and children, all whom work in factories and face grueling conditions.  Wilson then states his main goal "to correct the evil without impairing the good." He sought to restore order and repair the capitalist system.  He mentions things that need to be changed including tariffs, the banking system, and the industrial system.  Government should act out of the interest of humanity "in safeguarding the health of the nation."  Wilson expresses that there needs to be a multitude of acts passed to ensure health, not only in terms of working conditions but also consumer products.  He concludes by stating that with the help of god and man, he will accomplish these tasks and return the nation to a place of not only industrial prosperity, but also a place that promotes the prosperity of humanity.

LAD # 27: Clayton Anti-Trust Act

     The Major purpose of this law was the regulate monopolies or other unlawful restraints.  One of the major points of the Act was the portion that stated that "it was unlawful to discriminate in price between different purchasers." This also prohibited railroads from the corrupt practice of charging more for short trips than long trips.  Furthermore, the Clayton Anti-Trust Act forbid the granting of rebates to force competitors out of business or issue lower prices for a certain company.  This portion of the Act was intended on preventing trade-restrictive monopolies.  Lastly, the Act aims at encouraging free trade and limiting company control over a particular field.  To accomplish this, it forbids companies to maintain stock in another company in efforts to consolidate and wipe out competition.    

LAD # 25: Dawes Severalty Act of 1877

     Published in 1877, The Dawes Act allows the President the right to take the communal tribal lands, divide them up, and then divide them into shares to be held by individual residents.  Age, gender, and family status will then determine how much land each individual is granted.  This may be done by the president any time in which the land appears to be useful for agricultural and farming purposes.  Through this act, it is also now legal for this land to be purchased by the government and sold to American citizens who have a desire to settle it.  Assimilation is another key aspect mentioned in the Act, as it is expected for the natives to adopt the white culture.  However, the five civilized tribes are excluded from this request.  As a final thought, the Act gives the American government the right to place railroads, highways, ect. on the land designated for the Indians.

LAD # 24: William Jennings Bryan's Cross of Gold Speech

     In 1896, William Jennings Bryan performed his "Cross of Gold" speech at the Democratic convention in Chicago.  In his speech, he incorporated various ideals of the populist party including bimetallism, the idea that the U.S. mint should coin silver and gold.  He opens his speech by emphasizing the current importance of this currency issue and states that the Democrats are here out of interest of sharing their stance with the common public.  He also makes clear that the democrats do not intend to be hostile towards the republicans, even though their stance on the issue is drastically different and has created, in essence, a political battle.  Bryan goes on to defend some attacks on bimetallism that have been made by the republican party, specifically that it would hurt business.  He states that the republicans are actually guilty of ruining business as farmers and factory laborers have suffered crushed enterprise due to the practices of the republican big business.  Bryan then defends the graduated income tax law, which the republicans claim is unconstitutional.  On the other hand, Bryan claims that contributions must be made by everyone in order for everyone to deserve the protection that the nation provides.  Bryan compares himself to Jefferson, because he also believes that money is a government aspect that should not be up to the banks to distribute or even print.  Finally, Bryan attacks the republicans constant contradictions of their own policies.  They claim that they support the gold standard, yet at the same time they are trying to replace it.  A suspicion aroused that they were merely trying to mimic Britain  which implements the gold standard in their nation, yet foreign pressure should not dictate American monetary decisions. This oration is extremely successful, allowing Bryan to combine populist and democratic standpoints.

LAD # 23: The Populist Party Platform

     In this document, the Populist Party brings up all of the problems scattered through the nation as a result of rapid industrialization.  They point out that society is plagued with corruption, especially in regards of the vote, poor conditions, demoralization, and too much power in the hands of greedy capitalists.  The result is the formation of two classes "tramps and millionaires." The party then states that the power should return to the common people rather than these money-hungry business men.  The party then goes on to list their demands, which they believe will reverse the damage so far done by the industrializing nation including creating permanent labor unions, government ownership of railroads, sound finance through the free coinage of silver, government owned and operated communication, and land held for settlers only.  They conclude by resolving for a fair ballot, shortening of labor hours, limiting of presidential and vice presidential terms to only 1, and refusal for government to provide national aid to a private corporation.

   

LAD #22: McKinley's War Message

     McKinley's War Message was written in response to the Cuban revolution against Spain, a conflict that McKinley desperately wanted to end.  In his letter to Congress, he addresses his resentment towards this battle which has been occurring for over half a century and required the United States to continuously enforce its neutrality laws, greatly angering the citizens.  The war has had many negative impacts on the United States economy, especially impairing trade.  He encourages Congress to end the war through either a reasonable compromise or even an endorsement of one particular side.  McKinley determines that he would most likely side against Cuba, in effort to end their hostile actions but prefers to go forward with a more neutral approach.  He first must recognize the Cubans rights of life and property protection.  The U.S. is then called to bring an end to hostilities that threaten our own country, which is in a reasonably close proximity.  Since the two nations are so interdependent from an economic and political standpoint, it is the duty of the United States to ease the problems with Cuba.  Congress, however, must determine the final decision to appease this problem.