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.

LAD #30: Schenck vs. United States Case

Due to the  “mailing of printed circulars in pursuance of a conspiracy to obstruct the recruiting and enlistment service”, “an unlawful use of the mails for the transmission”, and for an “offence against the United States...to use the mails for the transmission of matter declared to be non-mailable,” Schenck was found guilty on March 3rd, 1919. Congress, said that Schenck's documents posed a threat and a serious danger, had a right to stop the distribution despite his freedom of speech. It was claimed that Schenck was the general secretary for the socialist party and was in charge of the headquarters from where the dangerous documents were being distributed. “The document in question upon its first printed side recited the first section of the Thirteenth Amendment, said that the idea embodied in it was violated by the Conscription Act and that a conscript is little better than a convict.” Schenck’s primary intentions were: “"Do not submit to intimidation” and “Assert your rights”. His socialist document was to prevent the draft. “It denied the power to send our citizens away to foreign shores to shoot up the people of other lands. Due to the fact that these were distributed in times of warfare rather than peace, they were considered to be outside of the realm of acceptable practice. “The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic. It does not even protect a man from an injunction against uttering words that may have all the effect of force.” Schenck obstructed the recruiting forces, that was his crime.

LAD #29: Keating-Owen Child Labor Act

The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act limited the number of hours that a child could work and did not allow the sale of goods across the Sate border that were produced by child labor. A Census ranging from small children to teens showed that nearly 2 million girls and boys were working across America at the beginning of the 20th century. Muckrakers were driven to end child labor once they heard that stat. Lewis Hines took pictures of kids working in their dangerous conditions in order to get the horros out to the public. TheKeating-Owen Child Labor Act "banned the sale of products from any factory, shop, or cannery that employed children under the age of 14, from any mine that employed children under the age of 16, and from any facility that had children under the age of 16 work at night or for more than 8 hours during the day." Eventually being passed by Congress and instituted by Woodrow Wilson, the act was later found to be unconstitutional in the Supreme Court case of Hammer vs. Dagenhart. It was not until the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, an Act still in place today, was an effective labor act set into motion in the United States.

LAD #29: Keating-Owen Child Labor Ac

LAD #28: Wilson's First Inaugural

Woodrow Wilson began his First Inagural Address by praising the industrial sucess and politcal integrity of America. But next he states how Americans are watseful and that they have not effectivley evaluated the physical costs of human life. He claimed the U.S. Government was not doing it's duty to properly protect citizens. In a response to that problem, President Wilson states that "our duty is to cleanse, to reconsider, to restore, (and) to correct the evil without impairing the good, to purify and humanize every process of our common life without weakening or sentimentalizing it." He reminds the American people that the Government's duty is to serve and protect the people, rich and poor, being as fair as possible in doing so.

He directly addresses an unjust tariff, restricting the industrial system, a corrupt bank and currency system, as well as a misuse of natural resources, he seeks to restore security to a vulnerable society.

LAD #27: Clayton Anti Trust Act

The Clayton Anti-Trust Act was put in place in order to increase the control over big business. It was passed during Woodrow Wilson's Presidency and it set the standards for how business's are regulated today. Passed years before, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act just monitered the big business's, using the Clayton Anti-Trust Act act trusts were able to be broken up by Roosevelt. The Act, passed in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission Act, was used to regulate the behaviors of large corporations with regards to the law. A big difference between the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the Clayton Anti-Trust Act was that the Clayton Anti-Trust Act could not be used against labor unions. Now, unlike in the past, strikes, pickets, and labor unions could be enacted against big businesses without interference from the government.

LAD #26: "I Have a Dream"

Martin Luther King Jr. starts his speech similarly to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address saying that five score years ago the emancipation proclamation was signed freeing all slaves. He then goes on saying that nearly one hundred years later these "free" blacks are not free at all or treated fairly. He continues describing the bad conditions that the blacks live in today and preaches that now is the time to open the doors for God's children. He assures people that they will not turn to violence but will not be satisfied until they get what is desired. Then King goes on talking about his dream for blacks living in this country; a dream where they will live peacefully alongside whites, and the nation will uphold it's promise to let men live freely.

LAD #25: The Dawes Act

The Dawes Act of 1887 was primarily calling for the protection of Indian reservations. The government  carried the Dawes Act out peacefully by allowing the natives to maintain a large enough section, which was based upon age and family size. The Dawes Act created provisional lines that allowed for each tribe to maintain a certain amount of land which limited the number of tribal disputes. The U.S. government in order to ensure complete Native American happiness gave them patents saying the land would remain theirs as long as they did not leave the Country. During this time their economic activity would be watched carefully and the Government could distribute land for homes, irrigation systems, and educational facilities. Finally, citizenship was offered to all Natives who agreed to follow the act followed the laws, and were born within the borders of the United States. Unfortunately, the act did not apply to all native tribes, specifically, the tribes moved by Jackson and the Seneca Nation in New York. 

LAD #24: The Cross of Gold

William Jennings Bryan delivered the "Cross of Gold" speech to the Democratic Convention in 1896. He integrated the values of the Populist Party and agreed with their views on the coinage of silver and gold. The only issue he says he wants to discuss during this speech is the question of money and the protection of the common man from big business and government. He says that the Republican economic views have favored the entrepreneurs and robber-barons for far too long. Bryan also brings up the issue of the income tax law. He believes that if individuals are to partake in such a law that their security must be guaranteed by the government as it is clearly stated in the United States Constitution. Bryan is compared to Jackson because the have similar views on the B.U.S. and the income tax law, as well as Jefferson in regards to his belief that money is a function of the government and not the banks. Bryan effectively argues for the introduction of the gold standard, successfully merging the Populist and Democratic parties. 

LAD #23: The Populist Party Platform

In reaction to the rise of big business within America the Populist Party Platform, the party devised a "Declaration of Independence" condemning the atrocities present within cities and hopes for self-protection by the abuses of big business. They were claiming to represent the political desires and rights of the common working man. He argues that agricultural productivity allows for billions of dollars to be generated on account of crops, but these crops lower the value of the dollar, leaving those that produce the raw materials for finished goods in a ring of depression and falling prices, prompting poverty. They are against the use of silver and gold coinage, legalizing of union labor forces, and government ownership of industries such as railroads, telegraph, and telephone. Their main concern is for fair voting rights and political safety. 

LAD #22: McKinley's War Message

In his Message to Congress in April 1898, President Mckinley states his belief that the War between Cuba and Spain should be brought to a close as quickly as possible. He says the constant clashes between Cuba and Spain are harmful to American trade and their capital investments in those countries. Mckinley urges Congress to try and end the War by any number of means necessary. He said even neutral intervention would be ok as long as forceful annexation can be avoided. When Mckinley looks at the big picture and see's that he will most likely be forced to side with either the Cubans or the Spanish he said he would side with the Spanish to end the hostile and revolutionary acts of the insurgents. Lastly, the United States would be called in to eliminate any hostilities that would endanger the well being of America itself. In conclusion, the two nations, having spheres of influence both economically and socially with America, the United States had a duty to pacify Cuba in the end.