LAD #30: Brown Vs. Board of Education

The argument between Linda Brown backed by the NAACP against the board of education of Topeka, Kansas was one that would make it to supreme court and change history. It all started when Linda Brown, an African-American third grader wanted to go to the white school that was 7 blocks away. However, she was forced to walk through railroad tracks and walk one mile to get to the African-American school. They challenged the school board stating that separate but equal really isn't equal. They stated that the African-American children had developed an inferiority complex. the NAACP and the Brown's lost locally, but they repealed to the supreme court. The chief justice, Earl Warren ruled that separate but equal between races isn't equal at all. He then ordered that all public schools had to be racially integrated.

LAD #29: Truman Doctrine

In the Truman Doctrine, President Harry S. Truman made a speech to congress urging them to help pass legislation in order to save several eatern european nations from the advancing control of communism. among these nations were Greece and Turkey. Both nations had suffered terribly from the war. They were unable to come up with the funds needed to support the democratic government that they wanted. They did not even have enough food for eating. They asked the United States for help not only economically but also ideologically. They wanted the American economists and agricultural leaders to come to their countries and help them strengthen their farming and economy as well. Truman felt that it was necessary to help these nations in order to prevent them from falling to communism.

LAD #28: FDR's First Inaugural address

In His first Inaugural address, FDR gave hope to the people in the beginning of the great depression that was not only plaguing our nation, but the entire world. Throughout the entire address, FDR instilled hope into the hearts of the American people with quotes such as "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." He also told the Americans that it was not the worst possible situation. he used references to the bible when he said that the American people were not being plagued by locusts. Under the leadership of FDR, the American people held hopes high and fought through the depression with the new deal.

LAD #27: Kellogg-Briand pact 1929

The Kellogg-Briand pact 1929 was a treaty between America, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and several other countries calling for an armistice. This pact was made due to the failure of the treaty and Versailles, and seeing that the United States had never signed a treaty, they felt that it should be done in order to maintain global peace. In the pact, they pledged that war would be avoided at all costs and that issues between countries should be solved diplomatically. By 1929 forty countries had signed the treaty, making it a major breakthrough of the time.

LAD #26: Schenck v. USA

Schenck versus the United States took place on March 3, 1919. The trial was over the content of United States mail shipped by the socialist party in the later half of the second decade of the 1900s. It was said that this went against the espionage act of 1917. The chief justice claimed that the defendant was trying to cause insubordination in the US armed forces during the first world war. Schenck was the secretary at the Socialist party and mailed close to 16,000 pamphlets that encouraged draft dodging. The judge ruled against the defendant and said that it was a clear and present danger.

LAD #25: Wilson's 14 points

In wilson's 14 points, Woodrow Wilson outlined things that he believed should be changed in order to restore world peace once again. Wilson, being a pacifist, desperately wanted to avoid another world war at any cost. He oulined his plans in his fourteen points.

1. No private alliances

2. freedom of the seas

3. free trade

4. restriction of national militaries

5. equal claims in imperialism

6. Russian freedom of government

7. Repair belgium

8. french territory restored

9. Italian frontier adjusted

10. autria-hungary allowed to govern themselves

11. balkan states given independence

12. turkey give conquered territories freedom

13. Poland given passage to sea

14. league of nations

LAD #24: Clayton Anti-trust Act

the clayton anti-trust act was developed to break up the bad trusts all over the United States in the early 1900's. it accomplished this using many rules and regulations on big business.

1. Businesses could not sell the same item for different prices based on who was buying it. They couldn't discriminate against customers.

2. If the company does in fact discriminate, the company will be charged

3. it is illegal to accept bribes.

4. it is illegal to give special deals to select customers

5. it is illegal to accept a better price

anyone violating these terms can be fined $5000 and imprisoned

6. one cannot sell other's products

7. if someone is injured on the job, they are allowed to sue the company

The Clayton Anti-trust act was put into effect to decrease the powers of the businesses and increase the power of the people. In addition, it provided for competition and better economic prosperity for everyone.

LAD #23: Keating-Owen child labor act of 1916

In the Keating-Owen act, child labor hours were limited and the interstate trade of products made by children was outlawed. By 1900 over 2 million children were reported to be working in the American factory system. This census outraged many Americans and started a reform movement to limit child labor. The National child Labor committee was formed and they hired Lewis Hine to photograph children in factories. In addition, authors such as Charles Dickens ridiculed child labor with such novels as Oliver Twist. Although the bill tried to limit child labor, it was defeated in 1918 in the courtcase Hammer v. Dagenhart. Government power over child labor finally succeeded in 1938 with the Fair Labor Standards Act. which won the court case U.S. v. Darby.

LAD #22: Wilson's First Inaugural Address

In Woodrow Wilson's first inaugural address, the President addressed how the senate, house and the presidency has come under the rule of the democratic party. Wilson attributed this success of the party with the growing desire for change and reform among the people of this country. Wilson addressed how the nation has grown and become a world power over the past 150 years.

However, Wilson also talked about how these advances have had their own costs. The natural forests were being logged. In addition, thousands of factory workers had lost their lives to dangerous conditions and many more have been injured by such machinery. Wilson addressed how the tariff needed to be lowered and the government needed to be on the side of the people and not big businesses. Wilson's speech cried freedom and change to the entire country.

LAD #21: Dawes Act

The Dawes act was an act that would allow individual native americans to have the right to own their own land on reservations. The plots of land were given out according to age as well as if you had a family or not. In case there is not enough land for each native american, the government had planned many precautions under the dawes act. The native americans were given the right to choose their own piece of land. If two chose the same piece, it would be divided in two and the rest of their land would be in another place. If they didnt choose in 4 years, an agent would choose for them. If a native american doesnt live on a reservation, they will still receive their piece of land. all of the native americans will also receive patents for their land and it will be protected. These native americans can now be punished for breaking the law and can be protected by the law. In addition, and native american not associated with a tribe can become and american citizen. these opportunities were not given tribes such as the Iroquois and Sioux.

LAD #20: Bryan's Cross of Gold Speech

Bryan's cross of gold speech, which was the most famous speech made by a politician in America, spoke of the matter of whether silver should be freely coined at a 16:1 ration with gold.

In the first paragraph of the speech, Bryan opened up the argument with the statement that people live and die, but principles last forever, and that day they were deciding on a principle. In the time of the speech, a group of democrats called the silver Democrats took control of the party and slowly moved throughout the country, pushing for the free coinage of silver. In this decision, men did not side on their own personal opinions, they sided with their own group's opinion. Bryan argued that the businessmen of the northeast were too strict and did not keep in mind the needs of the average man. He argued that farmers and miners were just as good businessmen as the ones in New England. Bryan claims they are fighting for the common man in the Midwest and other places, who needs the silver in order to pay off their debts. He also believed that the income tax was good for the people and that the government should be in charge of coining money. many people cared more about the gold issue than the tariff because it was a more important issue at the time. Bryan urged that we must stray away from the gold standard and move toward bimetallism.

LAD #19: Populist Party Platform

In the late 19th century, the populist party rose as a third power in the presidential elections. They opposed the concentration of capital in the hands of the wealthy and supported that common American man.

The populist party also wished to increase the standard of living in America. They believed that the factory workers were not getting paid enough and conditions in America were slumping to European levels. They also believed that the corrupt corporations were decreasing the value of silver so they could benefit from the value of gold. They claimed that they were there because the parties were not doing anything to stop the corruption in the country. They supported labor unions and the rights of workers. They also believed that the government had to start intervening with the railroad companies throughout the county. They believed in unrestricted coinage of both gold and silver. They also believed that money needed to be circulated to the people faster and more money should be put into the economy.

They believed that telephone companies should be operated by the government instead of private companies. They also pledged to hold an open ballot, pension for ex-union soldiers, keep foreigners from getting American jobs, and to protect the rights of the people

LAD #18: McKinley's War Message

In 1895, fighting broke out between the Spanish and the Cubans. The Cubans were hoping to win their freedom from the Spanish. Three short years later, partially fueled by the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine, the United States entered the war on the side of the Cubans.

In his War message, McKinley stated to congress that the war raging on was now affecting the American citizens. He stated that the people were shocked by the atrocities taking place in the war. In addition, it was affecting the American economy as well. The United States had a large amount of trade with Cuba and the war that was going on was damaging the trade relations.

McKinley goes on to say that the war has dragged on for three years and there is still no clear winner yet. He thought that it was necessary for the United States to either act as a neutral nation to help solve the problem, or act as a military ally to one of the countries.

McKinley believed the U.S. needed to intervene because we needed to stop the bloodshed, we needed to protect the citizens of Cuba, we needed to protect our trade, and we needed to protect our own government and freedom.

McKinley Then urges that the U.S. needs to go to Cuba because the U.S.S. Maine was blown up by was was thought to be a submarine torpedo.

LAD #17: Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth

In Andrew Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth, the scottish-born millionare talked about how the rich should behave and how their wealth should be taken care of.

First of all, Carnegie believed that it would benefit the society more if some of the people were wealthy and others were not. Carnegie believed that in order for society to evolve, their needed to be a higher class of rich people in order to benefit the growth of society. He believed that to have a small percent of the population be rich would be better than having the entire population be poor.

Carnegie also believed that the rich people in society needed to distribute their money in some kind of way. He stated that this could be done in three ways. The first way was to distribute the money to your heirs when you died, in order to keep the money in the family. Carnegie didn't support this method because he believed that this would not help the greater good of society. Carnegie also believed that the burden of controlling all of that money should not be placed on the heirs of the deceased. The second way that Carnegie believed money could be distributed was it would be given away after the millionaire has died. He believed that they should give it away during their lifetime, which was his third method.

Carnegie also believed in a public death tax, which would tax the deceased wealth after they died. Carnegie liked this method because it would make sure that the money would go towards public funds such as building libraries and other buildings that everyone could use. he believed that was more effective than giving out small sums to every family, since the buildings would be there for hundreds of years.

LAD #16: Emancipation Proclamation

In the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln stated that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves in rebelling states are to be totally free. However, this did not include any bumper states. Lincoln stated that the government and the military will protect this new freedom at any expense. All of the slaves in the Southern States such as Arkansas, South Carolina, Virginia, etc are to be freed of slavery forever. He further stated that the newly freed slaves could serve in the union army if they wanted to.

LAD #15: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

In his second Inaugural address, Lincoln stated that it wasn't nearly as important as the first inaugural address he made four years previous. The civil war had already begun and Lincoln began to talk about it. He stated that both sides wanted to avoid war but it was necessary in preserving the union. Lincoln also stated that the argument over slavery had been a direct cause of the Civil War. The North had pushed to abolish it while the South had pushed to spread it. Lincoln vowed that the Union army must fight until the Country is once again united and there is no more sectionalism.

LAD #14: Dred Scott Decision

The Dred Scott decision, also known as Scott vs. Sanford, was a court case where a runaway slave Dred Scott escaped from Missouri to Illinois in order to become free. Scott tried to purchase his slavery from his owner, who refused. He then sued them in court

In the Court case, Chief Justice Taney concluded that no African-Americans were United States Citizens, whether free or slave. Therefore, African-Americans could not sue in federal courts. Taney also ruled that the Missouri Compromise was illegal since it forbade right of property to would-be slave owners above the southern border of Missouri since slaves were considered property. Therefore, the Missouri Compromise was illegal because it forbade the right to property, which was promised in the Constitution. Taney ruled that the case be decided in a lower court.

LAD #13: Gettysburg Address

In His Gettysburg Address, Lincoln commemorates all of the good Americans that died in the battle. He stated that "Fourscore ans Seven Years ago" the country had been established. However, it was now engulfed in civil war due to disputes over slavery, economics, and the tariff. Sectionalism had grown and the South seceded from the North. Lincoln commemorated the heroes and stated that their actions would be remembered more than his speech. He blessed the soldiers in their final resting place.

LAD #12: Lincoln's First Inaugural Adress

In His first Inaugural address, Lincoln made it clear that he did not intend to end slavery where it already existed. He recognized that the southerners were fearful that he would get rid of slavery, however he reassured them that he intended on keeping slavery where it already exists. Lincoln also mentioned that he intended to protect states rights and to make America a nationalistic country once again. He stated that he would keep the fugitive slave act in place, which required a runaway slave to be returned to their masters if they escape into another state. This and other acts made sure that state rights were protected.

However, Lincoln's main objective was to keep the Union together. He stated that the union had been around for a very long time and that it must be preserved. He argued that it is unconstitutional for a state to try to secede from the union. He stated that this is a touchy topic because events such as this were not written in the Constitution. It doesn't state whether to prohibit or allow slavery and it does not say if a state can secede or not. However, Lincoln stressed that he would do whatever it takes to keep the union together. He stated that civil war must be avoided in order to maintain the prosperity that America had achieved.

LAD #11: John Calhoun Speech

It was 1850 when someone had finally realized that the Union was in danger of splitting. This realization came when John C. Calhoun made his famous speech to the Senate. He stated that the argument over slavery could no longer be avoided and it could have ended in disunion. He believed that it was top priority to preserve the union.

Calhoun stated that the disunity was caused by the discontent of the South ever since the argument over slavery had occurred. Another cause for disunity was intense political sides such as the democrats and whigs, which split the nation into two. Another cause of the disunity was the uneven sectional balance in government. New England had been in control of the Government for quite some time and have been prospering from institutions such as the National bank. Yet another cause included the future annexation of five northern States including Maine and Oregon. The South was angry because there were no new southern territories being added to the union. These new northern territories would result in a northern advantage in the House, The Senate, and in the Electoral college. The south was also discontent because they were being taxed more heavily than the north even though the north consisted of wealthy aristocrats. If all of the new territories go through and are annexed, the North will have had control over 3/4 of the territories, leaving the balance even more lopsided. Tariffs were another reason that the Southern states had become discontent. High taxes on imports such as the Abominable Tariff infuriated the south because it hurt their trade with other countries. Finally, the issue over slavery was the final straw in the discontent. The north thought slavery was unjust and wrong. However, the south believed that it was necessary for their economy to succeed. The end result was either abolition or secession.

Calhoun stated that in order to preserve the union is to appease the southern states and to make them happy. If the federal government failed to do so, it would lead to the break in the union.