LAD #37: Brown vs. Board of Education; Topeka, Kansas

Instead of little Linda Brown walking a mile to school everyday she wanted to walk just seven blocks from her house to attend the all white elementary school. She was denied, because of race, and her father Oliver Brown plus 13 other parents took this issue to court.  Brown argued that black schools received only a third of the funding as white schools. "They did not have the most current textbooks, not enough school supplies, and overcrowded classrooms." Yet, the court room, dominated by whites, referred to the Plessy v. Ferguson in which the doctrine of separate but equal had been defended. The NAACP would not be defeated easily and decided to appeal the case to the supreme court on October 1, 1951. The Browns argued that black children attended black schools in order to keep them different from everyone else. The case continued for several months. However, after one of the justices, the case had to basically begin once again. Finally, after two years, the ruling was made in favor of the Browns; segregation of schools was outlawed. Tensions between blacks and whites ensued for some time, however, making the path to segregation a rather grueling one

LAD #36: Truman Doctrine

The Truman Doctrine was created and then presented to Congress when the President decided that the involvement of the United States in world affairs was necessary in order to contain the spread of Communism and preserve democracy across the globe. President Truman asked Congress to aid and support Greece and Turkey in order for them to overtake the political challenges that they were experiencing and achieve democracy. Although establishing and preserving democracy was an extremely important aspect, one of the even more important parts was eliminating any kind of Communist rule. The Truman Doctrine is known one of the first attempts of the United States in containing communism. We strived to cease European nations from to the plague of Communism which was also the government of the powerful Soviet Union. President Truman decided to take a huge step in providing these countries aid as Britain had grown financially weaker and could no longer support these nations with the funds necessary to prevent a Communist takeover. President Truman then expressed that it was the duty of America to provide aid and support in helping other nations to establish the same freedoms found in the United States, economically and militarily. "If we falter in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world -- and we shall surely endanger the welfare of our own nation."

LAD #35: F.D.R.'s Executive Order 9066

FDR starts this off immediately saying and citing that he has the right to do everything in his power to protect the U.S. "against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities." Roosevelt, in his opening paragraph states that he authorizes construction of the military ares in any location. Additionally he says that military officers have to respect the liberties of the detainees and have to give them good transportation, shelter, food, and accommodations.  Roosevelt then places the Attorney General in charge of all of these camps. The president gives power also to the commanders of the camps, such as the implementing of federal troops and the aid of state and local agencies. Roosevelt authorizes departments in charge of "hospitalization, food, clothing, transportation, use of land, shelter, and other supplies." The president then closes the letter, stating that this order cannot be changed unless stated explicitly by him. 

LAD #34: F.D.R.'s Declaration of War

December 7th, 1941 FDR was astonished to learn that the Japanese  fighter planes had dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor. 2,335 military soldiers died but the U.S. aircraft carriers were not all destroyed. Roosevelt on the very next day assembled congress and delivered his Declaration of War speech. He starts of the address with it's famous line, "Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." Roosevelt stated that the attack came one hour before the Japanese Ambassador delivered a message that revealed no threat of an attack at all. To Roosevelt it was obvious that this attack was premeditated for many weeks. Ironically, the Japanese government was misleading the United States at this time by making it appear as though they were hoping for a continued peace throughout the Pacific. Japanese forces also attacked other islands like Wake Island, Guam, and the Philippines and Roosevelt said we needed to protect the nation no matter what it takes. War then was declared on December 8, 1941 on Japan and three days later the United States entered war also with Italy and Germany. 

LAD #33

When FDR took office in 1933 the economy was in shambles. Businesses were failing left and right, banks were closing, and Hoovervilles were being constructed outside major cities in search of work. FDR boosted the spirits of the American people right when he stepped into office when he delivered his inaugural address.  He begins his speech stating that "our distress comes from no failure of substances." The new president claims that this is to show the people that the failures of the past years is not something they could control. "We are stricken by no plague of locusts. Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep." He continues to say that the money changers that were the sole reason for the failure of the banks had fled, but people can work together to restore economic order. This implies that F.D.R. has faith in the country to overcome the greed that had once consumed it to become stable once again. He also calls for action at that very moment in order to help the struggling economy. The president exclaims that the American people must recognize the overbalance of population in our industrial centers and shift their focus from the spoils of industry to the promise and growth of agriculture. Instead of Wilson's ideas of letting the people solve the problems of the nation through hands off policies, F.D.R. decides to take initiative and offer solutions to the people of the nation.

LAD #32: Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact

In order to promote the welfare of mankind, this pact declared the renunciation of warfare as an instrument of national policy. It was meant to promote friendly and peaceful relations between nations as well as institute unions between the more civilized nations of the world. It says that any nation that resorts to war to promote its national interests should not gain the advantages and benefits of the treaty. To be put into place as soon as possible, the treaty condemned "recourse to war for the solution of international controversies."Afghanistan, Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, China, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Kingdom of the Serbs, Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Siam, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Panama were all signers of the Pact. The treaty specifically states "Convinced that all changes in their relations with one another should be sought only by pacific means and be the result of a peaceful and orderly process, and that any signatory Power which shall hereafter seek to promote its national interests by resort to war a should be denied the benefits furnished by this Treaty." 

LAD #31: Wilson's 14 Points

Wilson's Fourteen Points focus primarily on calling for an international policy of open relations and peace.  He urges the American people to come together through a new sense of national unity, stating that "all the peoples of the world are in effect partners in this interest." Although all these points are good and would help international relations, Wilson is thinking very idealistically and many of these things are unrealistic. Together, his fourteen parts are as follows:

1. Calling for diplomacy,

2. Freedom of the seas both during peace and war,
3. Equal trading conditions throughout the globe,
4. A reducing of national arms, 
5. The adjustment, impartially, of colonial claims,

6. Evacuation of the Russian Territory and aiding Russian Government,

7. Freedom for Belgium,

8. A correction by France for the wrongs done against Prussia in 1871,

9. Readjusting the territories of Italy,

10. Free opportunity for the people of Austri-Hungary to autonomous development,

11. Evacuations of the countries of Montenegro, Serbia, and Romania,

12. Dardenelles permanently opened to free trade and freedom to Turkey from the Ottomans,

13. Erection of a free Polish State,

14. And mutual guarantees of territorial and political stability and independence for small nation states.