LAD #37: Brown v. Board of Education

          The end of the American Civil War brought about great social and political change, or at least during the ensuing decade of southern reconstruction. However, after the compromise of 1877 resulted in the removal of northern forces from the south and the military zones were dissolved, civil rights became a non-issue as most, including several presidents, forgot about, or ignored the plight of southern blacks. This was reflected in the 1896 court case Plessey v. Ferguson in which the supreme court ruled that segregation, or "separate but equal" was legal. This stood until the early 50's, with Brown v. Board of education. After being defeated in Kansas district court, the NAACP brought the case to the supreme court in 1951, combining it with several other cases like it from different states. In 1954, chief justice Earl Warren delivered the supreme court's ruling that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional under the 14th amendment. Although it outlawed "separate but equal" in schools, segregation was still permitted in other public and private places like restaurants and restrooms.

LAD #36: Truman Doctrine

          Following World War Two, massive reconstruction efforts were made to restore European and Asian countries to normalcy. However, in these tough times, many countries turned to, or were overtaken by communist regimes that promised equality for all, but only resulted in a dictatorship. On March 12, 1947 President Truman addressed congress in search for support of funding democratic governments in Greece and Turkey. Greece's infrastructure had been badly damaged by the war, and it's democratic government faced terrorism from communist aggressors. Turkey, likewise, had its democratic government threatened, however, the US must help preserve it as it is vital to the stability of the Middle East. In the address, Truman discusses that it is the duty of the US to help fund and protect the preservation of democracy in foreign countries. This and "the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures," became the Truman Doctrine, and reflected the American policy of containment, or stopping the spread of communism, prominent in the cold war.

LAD #33: FDR's Executive Order #9066

          Executive order #9066 states that the secretary of war or a military commander may set up a federal military zone where they see fit, even if it conflicts with areas designated as off-limits by the attorney general, so long as that place and its inhabitants are in sufficient need of food, transportation, shelter and other accommodations. The order essentially institutes Marshall law, placing the jurisdiction of a military commander above all other state law enforcement agencies and officials. All of the executive department is to aid in this and help to provide food, clothing, medical aid, hospitalization, use of land, shelter, and other supplies. this is not to interfere with other executive orders or agencies such as the FBI or other executive associations.

Essentially, this order was used to relocate Americans of Asian, particularly Japanese, origin into Internment camps, similar to those used by the Germans to concentrate the Jews, but obviously far less ruthless. this was also used against people of Italian and German descent.

LAD #33: FDR's Declaration of War

          Despite being allies in World War One, the treaty of Versailles as well as several events and aspects of America in the 1920's including an isolationist policy, and certain aspects of the depression left Japan with a distaste for America. Japan began its policy of imperialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, beginning to claim several pacific islands for raw materials and military bases. in the Early 30's they took Manchuria, with only a slap on the wrist from the league of nations. Eventually, Japan attacked a neutral America in a surprise bombing of the US pacific fleet at the naval base in Pearl Harbor, HI on December 7, 1941- "a day that will live in infamy". Immediately, the next day, Roosevelt called congress into session to declare war on Japan and it's allies. FDR explains in his message the deliberate and deceptive relations between the US and Japan, whom recently stated that they wish to remain at peace. He assures the American people that America will not only defend itself, but will ensure that there is no such attack again, and will claim victory over its foes in the pacific. 

LAD #33: FDR First Innaugural

          President Franklin D Roosevelt took office at the low point of the great depression, however over the course of his presidency the state of the nation would dramatically improve thanks in part his domestic policy known as the New Deal. In his First innaugural address, Roosevelt urged the nation to maintain its composure, stressing that conditions would soon improve and stating that "There is nothing to fear but fear itself." He addresses the several financial and material issues within the nation, but also says that the nation still has much to be thankful for. He reiterates the idea that americans' wealth and prosperity does not lie in their possesions and materials, but in hard work and integrity and joy in acheivement. He states that their biggest task in the coming years is to put people back to work. The depression had the highest unemployment rate of any other time in american history at a rate of almost 25%. He also says: there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments; there must be an end to speculation with other people's money, and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency. He finishes by stating that what is needed to overcome the obstacles ahead is persistence and dedication, and with that, though challanging, change will come.

LAD #32: Kellog-Briand Pact

          The Kellog-Biand Pact is also known as the Paris Peace Pact. A blunder in world diplomacy, the treaty was signed by a surprising 62 countries.The pact made it illegal to use war as an instrument of national policy, but it was permitted in cases of self defense. This has some obvious shortcommings. First, an aggressive country in search of land and resources could easily claim their actions as examples of self defense. Furthermore, a nation planning on goint to war obviously doesnt care whether or not it is illegal. Overall the main reason for the treaty was a US attempt to avoid entering the league of nations in a period of isolationism. The treaty, although interestingly still standing, can largely be considered a failure considering he outbreak of World War Two just years later.

LAD #31: Wilson's 14 Points

          After the fighting of the great war, leaders and delegates from many of the nations involved met in Versailles, France in November of 1918 to negotiate the terms of peace that would bring the war to a close and restore stability in Europe. However, the goals of Wilson and other nations of the allied powers differed greatly; most European nations wanted to punish Germany for being the primary aggressor in the war, demanding large reparations as well as the demilitarization of Germany. Wilson, though, having studied the civil war and reconstruction serving to be somewhat of a failure, did not seek to punish Germany, but proposed a plan of 14 points that would help to prevent another world war:
1- No more Secret Alliances
2-Freedom of the Seas
3-No economic Barriers
4-Reduction of Arms
5-Self-Government in Colonies
6-Evacuation of Russian Territory
7-Evacuation and restoration of Belgium
8-Evacuation and restoration of French territories
9-Readjustment of Italy's Borders
10-Austria-Hungary accorded the freest opportunity to autonomous development
11-Rumania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated and restored
12-The Turkish portion of the present Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty
13-Polish Independence

The fourteenth and final point was the only one to be realized. This was the creation of a league of nations in an attempt to avoid more European wars.
 

LAD #30: Schenck v. US

          Schenck v. United States was a supreme court case during world war one which upheld the espionage act of 1917. An important phrase resulting from the case was "Clear and Present Danger." Schenck was a socialist who was distributing pamphlets ridiculing the draft, stating it violated the thirteenth amendment. he was arrested and tried under the Espionage act of 1917, but appealed to the United States Supreme Court claiming that his rights to free speech had been violated. The court upheld the constitutionality of the Espionage act and Schenck was jailed for six months. It was stated that in times of war, it is sometimes necessary to restrict certain rights. Also, by criticizing the draft he was creating "clear and present danger" among other US citizens, much like yelling fire in a crowded theatre.   

LAD #29: Keating-Owen Child Labor Act

          Big business, although helping the nation prosper in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, came with a host of problems. Workers in cities suffered grueling conditions, long hours and little pay. These problems were amplified for youths, and throughout this period child labor remained an issue. The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act attempted to reform many of the hardships and tragedies faced by the young workforce, and restricted child labor to open up more jobs for men. The act in a way indirectly limited child labor. It prohibited the sale of goods produced in factories by children under 14 years old, and mines operated by children under 16 years of age. In addition it also prevented children under 16 from working more than 8 hours a day, or at night.

LAD #28: Wilson's First Inaugural

          Wilson's victory in 1912 was largely a result of the split of republican votes between Taft and Theodore Roosevelt running for the Bull-Moose Party. Wilson was the most progressive of the three, and his first inaugural address went as follows:
           Wilson first addresses the now complete control of the legislature and executive branch of the Democrats. He suggests this is not just a success for a party, but a success for the nation, as now there would be limited disagreement between the branches of government, and change would be easier. he states that he is proud of the nations industrialization, and it is a good thing  and makes the nation prosperous. However, with good inevitably comes bad. industry has turned sour in some cases and has taken a toll on the people. This must be reformed. we must not forget our morals, and so, the bad must be changed, however,, this must be done in a way that does not inhibit the good. Wilson promises new economic policies to help the public as well as increased attention and conservation of natural resources, and improved health standards, particularly in the food industry. He promises reform, not failure.

LAD #27: Clayton Anti-Trust Act

          With the advent of big business in the late nineteenth century came big corruption. Throughout the end of the 1800s, the government's Laizzes Faire attitude towards business, and the weak leadership of the forgotten presidents led to widespread trusts and monopolies, controlling the markets and taking advantage of workers and consumers. In some cases it even seemed that the government was in favor of business rather than the workers. Although legislations such as the Sherman Anti-Trust act and the ICC were passed, they were not enforced, and were even sometimes used against the workers. It took the strong leadership of the Trust-busting "Teddy" Roosevelt to finally come down on big business and begin to regulate trusts and monopolies. A breakthrough came in 1914 with the passing of the Clayton Anti-Trust Act. The act, like Sherman's was meant to break up monopolies and trusts. The act stated that no corporation could own the stock of another, and fixing prices on goods and transportation was illegal. The key difference, however, between the Clayton and Sherman acts was that the Clayton Act could not be used against workers.

LAD #26: MLK's I Have a Dream Speech

       Along with men such as Mahatma Gandhi and Steven Biko, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stands out as a prominent civil rights activist, relying upon peaceful protest and civil disobedience. King was an eloquent and persuasive writer and speaker. Two of his most well known works, his letter from Birmingham jail, and his I Have a Dream speech have remained examples for rhetorical strategy and argument for decades. After his opening greeting, he opens his speech with "Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation." This is an allusion to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address, the first of many literary devices and argumentative strategies used in the speech. He then employs a parallel structure to convey the idea that although emancipation was the first step towards freeing blacks, they were still not free from inequality. In the next paragraph he uses a metaphor of a bad check to describe the injustices faced by blacks. He urges that now is the time to cash the check. Equality must come now, not gradually. But at the same time he stresses nonviolence on the part of his followers. However, the most memorable part of his speech comes at the end with two parallel structures beginning with "I have a dream" and "Let freedom ring" coupled with vivid imagery and and an overwhelming appeal to pathos.    

LAD #24: Bryan's "Cross of Gold" Speech

          William Jennings Bryan was a democrat from Nebraska. After delivering his famous "Cross of gold Speech" he was nominated by the democratic national convention in Chicago to run as the party's candidate in the 1896, 1900 and 1908 presidential elections. In his speech he labels the "money issue" as the "paramount" issue of the party and of the election. He carefully constructs a swaying argument through his use of rhetoric and literary devices such as imagery, metaphors, and strong diction and syntax. His platform supports the common man, praising those settlers of the west who live with nature, and says that no one should fear the emergence of a tyrant like Robespierre, but what is needed is an Andrew Jackson, to once again remove power from the wealthy elite and place government in the hands of the common man. He defends several principles of his platform such as the income tax, opposition to the national bank currency, the plank against life tenure in office, and most importantly, the coinage of silver, stating to those who disagree with him "You shall not crucify mankind on a cross of gold."   

LAD #23: Populist Party Platform

          The populist part was a notable third party that formed in the late eighteenth century. The party was one of the various responses to industrialization, and largely opposed big business. The party believes that America is degenerating as a result of industrialization; corruption is widespread in government; the majority of the workforce is impoverished while the nations wealth and land rests in the hand of a rich few, and silver used for coinage for all of history sits at a depreciated value; workman's very rights are constrained. The party seeks to put an end to falling prices, the formation of combines and rings, the impoverishment of the working class, and once again place the power of government in the hands of the common man.
Platform:
-Unions shall be permanent and perpetual
-Wealth belongs to him who creates it
-Railroads should be regulated by the government
Finance:
-Safe currency, silver coinage, increase $ in circulation, graduated income tax, $ should be kept in hands of people, establishment of postal savings banks by the government.
Transportation:
-the telegraph, telephone, and railroads should be controlled by the government in the interest of the people.
Land:
-Land and natural resources should not be monopolized for speculation, surplus land in the hands of companies and aliens (foreigners) should be reclaimed by the government and given to settlers.

The platform document also contains an expression of sentiments.

LAD #25: Dawes Act (1887)

     The Dawes Act, or Dawes General Allotment Act, was a law passed by congress in 1887, regarding Indian policy, more specifically, how reservations would be divided into sections of land allotted to individuals.  Each head of a family was allotted one-quarter of a section. Each single person over eighteen was allotted one-eighth of a section. Each orphan child under eighteen was allotted one-eighth of a section. Each other single person under eighteen was allotted one-sixteenth of a section. Surplus lands were open to settlement by non-Indians and development of railroads. The act puts an emphasis on individual land ownership, going against the unity and culture previously held by many Indians living in communal villages, and can be viewed as a type of attempt at assimilation, and to further deprive the Indians of their lands.

LAD #22: Mckinley's War Message

     As a result of a desire for imperialism, and yellow journalism, America became involved with the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain. When the USS Maine mysteriously exploded in the harbor of Havana, the influence of yellow journalism blew the incident out of proportion and led to a public outcry for war with Spain.

 McKinley was reluctant to call for war, but the overwhelming public support for it forced him to write congress to declare war. He provides four equally flimsy reasons for going to war; One- "in the cause of humanity" to help Cuba gain independence, Two-to protect the rights of citizens in Cuba, Three- Intervention is justified by serious injury to trade and commerce, and Four- the Maine. As aforementioned, McKinley was not in support of the war and a reluctant tone is detected in his statements; "The issue is now with the Congress. It is a solemn responsibility. I have exhausted every effort to relieve the intolerable condition of affairs which is at our doors. Prepared to execute every obligation imposed upon me by the Constitution and the law, I await your action." America would prove victorious in the Spanish-American war, but the reasoning and necessity for the war remains questionable.