LAD #37

Summary of Brown v. Board of Education

Back in 1954, segregation and discrimination towards African Americans was a very prevalent issue. Whites and Blacks were rarely ever mixed, and if they were, something had to have been the matter. Linda Brown, a young black girl, and her father by the name of Oliver Brown, asked the NAACP to assist them in Linda's enrollment into a nearby elementary school. This may not have seemed to be an issue in today's standards, but this elementary school was a white school, and that meant that no blacks could attend. The line that described the social norm of having "separate but equal" schools was crossed in a very dramatic way. Most, if not all parents of black children, along with the NAACP, eagerly joined Brown in an attempt to get rid of segregation in public schools in Topeka, Kansas. During court sessions, the NAACP reiterated the issue that separate schools were not receiving equal treatment, and that it was unjust to give white schools such a large advantage over black schools. Due to the decision of the court case, "Plessy v. Ferguson", this was overturned, so the NAACP appealed to the Supreme Court. This was a good decision, for they eventually ruled in favor of Linda, which meant all public schools were made to desegregate, effective immediately.

This is a picture of Harriet Tubman, because with the underground railroad, she too was an abolitionist fighting for equal rights between whites and blacks.

LAD #36

Truman Doctrine Summary:

After a World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States engaged in an ideological battle, rather than a physical one. Due to the lack of "heated" conflict, this feud is referred to as the Cold War. Truman addresses this battle in his "Truman Doctrine", with his first notion being about Greece. After WWII had ended, allied troops evacuated the rest of the German army from Greece, which had been demolished earlier on. Reconstruction was prevented by Soviet troops who incited hostilities along the northern Greek border.  Greece needed immediate aid from the United States, particularly in the form of supply drops for their army, because Great Britain and the entire UN didn't participate in aiding them. Truman also reflected on the state of Turkey, and the fact that they too needed our aid, along with that of other established nations, in order to modernize and rebuild. By assisting these countries, the United States carried out its role as a "promoter of democratic freedom" as well as becoming the "protector of the free world against the spread of Communism". The United States was big on its policy of containment, which included appeasing to all matters required in order to stop the spread of Communism. In order to do this, Truman's Doctrine was used to request that Congress send $750 million, along with a small military force, to aid both Greece and Turkey in their reconstruction after the war.

The picture on the right is that of Iraq because to this day, The United States has funded them to ultimately defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) so they don't expand or get stronger. This is much like how we aided countries to prevent the growth/ spreading of communism.

LAD #33

FDR's First Inaugural Address Summary:

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address was an impeccable, and rather memorable speech. FDR is credited, in this famous speech, with a famous quote which reads, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." This quote has served a very influential and motivational role in many citizens' lives ever since he gave this speech. To commence this inaugural, FDR begins to talk about the Great Depression, and touches up on how it does not have to be as bad as people are making it out to be. This address revealed to our nation FDR's pure optimism, and displayed his true leadership capabilities, that of one who could take our country out of a depression and beyond. People could now hope for a greater status of our nation than ever seen before. Roosevelt often refers to the poor condition of the country, but he does well to effectively incorporate ideas of the grandiose potential of of America's future. FDR also suggests various solutions to the problems, which included an increase in the production of farming materials, while decreasing the overall cost of the government. He concludes his speech in stating that electing him, a strong leader, was going to be the key in leading the nation out of this massive crisis and beyond.


This is a picture of President Donald J. Trump at his Presidential inauguration, where he was to give an inaugural address, just like how FDR did. The biggest difference was that Donald Trump's address had a 140 character count. Good thing he had the "best words."

LAD #31

Summary of Wilson's 14 Points:

Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points reassured American citizens that the Great War was fought solely on the basis of diplomatic and moral reasoning. Wilson's goal was for the world to be unified, and to establish equality on the terms of safety and freedom. He reiterated his belief that equality was more important than mastery. Wilson's 14 points in succession formulated a unified proposal for the "final war for human liberty." These points had effectively laid out the plans with regards to various areas of diplomacy, one of which including the reliance on open diplomacy over secret agreements. Several other areas, such as freedom of trade, freedom of the seas, assistance/aid to both Russia and Belgium, restoring French territories; independence for Austria-Hungary, Poland, and the various Balkan states was also included in the plan. Following those, disarmament, the division of Italy by nationality, self-determination for both the Ottomans and for all colony claims, and free passage through the Dardanelles. The final point, number 14, entailed the creation of the League of Nations. The League was created after the First World War to provide a forum for resolving international disputes, but it was one of the major turn-offs for others in deciding what they thought about the 14 points.

This is a picture of the Convention of 1800, also known as the Treaty of Mortefontaine, which was a treaty between the United States of America and France to settle the tension that had broken out during the Quasi-War.

LAD #35

Executive Order 9066 Summary-

As part of Executive Order #9066, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt effectively authorizes the United States Secretary of War, now known as the Secretary of Defense, to be able build military areas in which people may be excluded, as defined by his own standards. The Secretary of War would then be able to control all transportation, shelter, flow of food, on top of any other accommodations that are rendered necessary for the people who have to live in the specific camps. Compliance was required, no exceptions, and federal troops could be deployed in these areas.

This is a picture of the Dawes Act of 1887, where they sent Indians to reservations and took a lot of their land.

LAD #34

Watch, listen and then summarize FDR's Declaration of War and enter on your blog as LAD #34.

         Franklin Delano Roosevelt begins his speech by reiterating the horrors of Pearl Harbor. Japanese aircraft hosted an attack on December 7th, 1941, which was a very gruesome and unpredictable attack. About an hour after the bombing had started, a Japanese ambassador revealed to the U.S. Secretary of State, that any prior diplomatic agreements between them had dissipated. Roosevelt also describes the damages done, thanks to the Japanese, and lets people know that he is prepared to take defense, and promises that the U.S. would be victorious regardless of the situation. FDR ends his speech by asking Congress to declare war on Japan, to both defend our country and prevent attacks like the one on Pearl Harbor from happening again.

The picture below depicts Woodrow Wilson and the day he asked Congress to Declare War for the start of WWI, similar to that of FDR.

LAD #32

 Summary of the Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact of August, 1928:

 The Kellogg-Briand Peace was a treaty signed immediately between the United States and other foreign countries, such as Great Britain, Italy, and Germany and later by France, Poland, Belgium, and Japan, all within one year. It essentially turned national policy into that of abstaining from war, and made it so any country who wanted to turn to war to receive the benefits of the treaty couldn't, and in fact were denied the benefits directly. Another goal of the treaty was to one get countries to sign it, but for the powers who hadn't signed it, they wanted t make it desirable for them to follow suit and sign it as well. After it was created, America was empowered with the oversight of the original treaty, and was responsible for handling the admission of other countries to the pact as they saw fit. More than 40 other countries ended up signing the treaty within a little more than a year after getting passed.
 


This is a picture of Jay's Treaty, which is similar in how its goals were to abstain from war as well, just the War of 1812 in this case.

LAD #30

Summary of Schenck vs. US case

In 1919, Schenck was charged with the intended plot to infringe on the Espionage Act of 1917 . He did so by attempting to encourage insubordination within the military as a means of obstructing ongoing recruitment. Schenck's words, along with his actions, received a unanimous vote from all nine Supreme Court Justices, stating that they were not valid or legal based on the First Amendment of the Constitution. further The Supreme Court also decided that Congress has the right to limit the rights protected by the First Amendment, such as the freedom of speech in this case, in times of war or instability. Holmes reference to a "clear and present danger."

This is a very important topic of conversation as of late, for President Trump has been maximizing his freedom of speech... that is... to his 140 character potential. Although, he has exhibited careless talk a number of times, but hasn't broken any laws in the process.

LAD #29

Keating-Owen Child Labor Act Summary


Senator Albert J. Beveridge's proposed the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act, which used Congress's ability to regulate interstate commerce, in order to regulate child labor. This act prohibited the sale of any goods produced anywhere where a child under 14 may be employed, from any mine that employed children younger than 16, years old, and prohibited the sale of goods made by any business that had children under the age of 16 working at night, or a duration lasting longer than 8 hours throughout the day. It was repealed by the Supreme Court in Hammer v. Dagenhart, but it did manage to set better working conditions and hours for adolescents under 1 years of age, while it lasted.

LAD # 28

Summary of Wilson's First Inaugural

Woodrow Wilson starts off his speech by emphasizing the dominance of the Democratic Party in government, and convincingly proclaims that change will be brought about. He declares, despite America's prior success, that this greatness has come with nature's destruction, inexcusable waste, high death rates, indifference to the people, and over-taxation. He brings up the idea that "our work is a work of restoration," and that correcting the  "evil" that has happened is much needed, and in fact, necessary. He address the tariff, the banking/ currency system, the industrial system, and the environment, and admits that these are issues that need some change. He talks about the government's duty to protect its people, and he declares the necessity of implementing sanitation laws, pure food laws, and laws that set a standard for working conditions. Lastly, he announces, "we shall restore, not destroy", promising change and requesting all to join in the efforts.

LAD #27

Read and summarize The Clayton Anti-Trust Act

The Clayton Anti-Trust Act is an improvement to the previous laws passed that targeted towards monopolies and certain unlawful restraints. The second section of the Clayton Anti-Trust Act says that all prices of goods of equal quality and value must be set the same, and that the lessening of competition, and the prevention of a consumer's right to select their own customers, are to be prohibited. The seventh section of this act specifically inhibits corporations from holding stock in other commercial corporations. The intention of this act was to prevent big businesses from running the economy with their monopolies, and/or lessening the competition of trade and commerce.

LAD #26 - MLK

Summary of Martin Luther King's Speech 

Martin Luther King begins his speech in depicting the event as "the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation." He reflects back on the Emancipation Proclamation, created by Abe Lincoln, and announces that it truly gave hope to millions of slaves, and focuses/ brings needed attention to the tragic problems that African Americans faced because of the color of their skin. MLK reflects back on the United States Constitution, as well as the Declaration of Independence, and makes it clear that it was supposed to be intended that both blacks and whites received equal treatment and protection under the law. He makes it clear to the audience that that day was the day change needed to happen. He inspires the crowd to persist until the ultimate freedom is achieved, but warns not to stoop to dangerously low levels of hatred and/or violence. He encourages civil disobedience, and reminds the crowd that they deserve and need the same freedoms that white people have. MLK, as he’s most famous for then conducts his "I have a dream" speech, and admits that he hopes to see the day where both races will be able to "sit down together at the table of brotherhood" while free from segregation, racism, or differences of equality. MLK, as the motivational speaker he was, concludes his speech in saying that freedom must ring throughout America, for it was pretty much the only chance at peace.

This is a picture if Harriet Tubman, for she was an African-American abolitionist, as well as humanitarian, and stood for the same goals as Martin Luther King did.

LAD #21: Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth

Read Andrew Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth - summarize

Carnegie begins by declaring that there is an issue in the economic association regarding the relationship between classes. There was a substantial gap between lower and upper (poor and wealthy) classes, especially due to the economy changing. Essentially the economy was based on the desires of the primary race, yet a state of wealth was scarce and it was given to very few people. The few people that the government allotted said wealth to, was a small group of citizens, rather than sharing the wealth and spreading it to all. Carnegie stated that in an effort to remove, or belittle surpluses of wealth, methods such as giving to charity, personal spending, inheritance (passing it down to the next generation), or donating the money for public uses, could not be viable options. Because he disproved of these methods, he then suggested imposing death taxes as a means to provide state proper share of the fortune, while at the same time allowing many people to have a lot of wealth. Andrew finishes in declaring that is the responsibility of the upper class to set good examples and do what’s best for the people and the economy.

This is a picture of Oprah Winfrey, because she is a philanthropist and an individual who belongs to the upper class, much like Carnegie. Carnegie stated that is the responsibility of the upper class to practice philanthropy, and Oprah Winfrey fits his image very closely.