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

As a result of this court case, these two children could now go to the same school together.

Linda Brown and her father Oliver tried to enroll her in a white elementary school that was closer to her house, rather than the far away black school. He appealed to the NAACP for help, and in the ensuing court case the argument was that segregation made black children feel inferior and therefore was not "separate but equal," and the other side replied that school segregation was just preparing children for the segregation they'd face in their later lives. The court felt compelled to rule in favor of the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, even though they had evidence that the statement wasn't actually true. The decision was appealed to the Supreme Court, which eventually ruled under Chief Justice Earl Warren that segregation had no place in public schools, and thereby struck down the longstanding Plessy v. Ferguson decision and required desegregation of public schools in America. However, this did not provide for any desegregation of other public places such as bathrooms or restaurants.

LAD #36: The Truman Doctrine

President Truman presenting his speech about the "Truman Doctrine"

In this speech, Truman states that America had received an urgent appeal from the Greek government for financial and economic assistance, and that providing them with this help will ensure that the country stays as a free nation. After liberating forces entered Greece, they found that the country was in ruins and its economy had suffered immensely. A minority group took advantage of this situation and turned it into anarchy that made rebuilding the economy impossible, so much so that Greece doesn't even have money to import goods necessary of its own survival. The communist-led terrorist groups make it hard for the government to retain control, to which Truman argues that the United States has to help Greece's democratic government because no other country is able or willing to. He also says that the United Nations will not be able to provide the needed type of support quickly enough as the situation calls for urgent actions. Truman also believes that Turkey, a neighboring country, needs help as well, though in different ways than Greece. Truman claims that although Turkey has asked for financial aid from Great Britain and the U.S. before, it was now important to help them in order to preserve oder in the Middle East. He states that America will not be able to accomplish its goals as being a leading member of the U.N. if it doesn't attempt to help both Turkey and Greece with their problems, because having totalitarian regimes forced on people against their will is a violation of the Yalta Conference. Truman believes tat it's the United States' duty to support people who are resisting such totalitarian regimes and support their right of self-determination. If America doesn't support these countries now, he warns, the effects of them falling will have far-reaching consequences on the entire world. He ends by asking Congress to provide $400,000,000 to aid Greece and Turkey as well as send American civilians and military members to assist wit reconstruction.

LAD #35: Executive Order 9066

A poster that shows the forced evacuation of certain military areas in the country. These evacuations affected primarily Japanese-Americans.

In this executive order, FDR authorizes the Secretary of War to create military areas in different parts of the country where he or his officers deem fit and necessary for stopping espionage and sabotage of the war effort. He also gives them the power to determine who is exempt from these military areas and who is not, and also places the Secretary of War in league with local governments to provide food, shelter, clothing, hospitalization, and other basic needs of people who were in the military areas. FDR also allows the use of federal troops or other federal organizations as a means of getting people to comply if they are disobeying the order. Although this executive order was only for the creation of military zones, it cleared the way for the creation of internment camps, where people of America's enemies' descent were placed, which were largely populated by Japanese-Americans who were suspected of being spies or being hostile to the country they lived in.

LAD #34: FDR's Declaration of War

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, asking for a declaration of war before Congress

FDR first states that America was suddenly attacked by Japan, with o prior warnings, and the two countries had even been engaging in diplomatic relations. And although Japan then broke off diplomatic relations, the message sent by the Japanese Ambassador to the United States had no hint of war. But FDR assured Congress tat due to the distance between Hawaii and Japan, the attack had to have been planed out beforehand, and the Japanese government was trying to deceive America with false statements of peace. He also mentions Japanese attacks on other Pacific islands, all occurring within 24 hours of his speech. Their surprise offensive coupled with the loss of many America lives leads him to ask Congress for a declaration of war, saying that the American people will win through to absolute victory from their determination.

LAD #33: FDR's 1st Inaugural Address

A photograph of FDR being inaugurated as President

FDR states that America needs to face its problems honestly- and that the only thing they had to fear was "fear itself."He addresses the problems the American citizens are having from the Great Depression, including the failure of currency to keep up with the supply and demand of the country and the great numbers of people who are unemployed. He says that the bankers have been ineffective, and that their efforts to improve the situation have only worsened it and they suggest no good ways for getting the economy back on its feet. FDR asserts that the way to restore everything is to apply social values that are more noble than only seeking for a monetary profit and that immediate action is what the nation needs to have in order to get itself out of the Depression. He also recognizes that putting people back to work on projects that will help the country is the logical first step, as well as greatly increasing government involvement in these projects and keeping a close eye on banking, credits, and investment to prevent a tragedy like this one from reoccurring. FDR further says that these actions, and placing other countries' needs after the United States' intends to recover the country, not act out of nationalistic ideas. He says that everyone needs to be willing to make sacrifices towards the common good if people want these goals to become a reality, and also warns that even though the normal government functions should be enough, he might have to change some things around if nothing is working, notably the balance of power in the governmental branches. FDR concludes by stating that he will face this emergency as if it were a war, and asks for the guidance of god in his coming days in office.

LAD #32: Kellogg-Briand Pact

The signing of the Kellogg-Briand Pact

This treaty, signed in Paris on August 27, 1928 stated that the United States and other countries would not use war as a national instrument anymore. The countries that were at the meeting were the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom/Great Britain, Belgium, France, India, Italy, Japan, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. This was to take effect on July 24, 1929. The actual treaty states that the leaders of all the above mentioned countries would recognize their duty in the world and stop using war as a national policy, and condemn it as a solution to international disputes, because the good relations that existed between the countries now would be sustainable. If countries wanted to settle something between them it would have to be done diplomatically, and if a country did use war to further its own national interests then it would be denied the treaty's benefits. It was also America's job to make sure that every country that signed and any subsequent countries later would have materials needed to ratify or adhere to it.

 Other countries that signed on before it went into effect were: 
 Afghanistan, Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, China, Cuba, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Rumania, Russia, the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Siam, Spain, Sweden, and Panama.

Countries that were added to the treaty later were: 
Persia, Greece, Honduras, Chile, Luxemburg, Danzig, Costa Rica, and Venezuela.

LAD #31: Wilson's Fourteen Points

Wilson giving his speech about the Fourteen Points

Wilson opens with talking about the peace proceedings at Brest-Litovsk that were happening among the Central Powers, which were broken off due to disagreements between the countries regarding territory captured in war. He makes a few statements about the current conditions there, and then reveals he is going to list the United States' opinions on what should be done, at the request of the Russian people:

1. Diplomacy should proceed frankly and in public view- no more secret agreements
2. Absolute freedom of navigation on the seas outside of territorial waters, unless an international agreement is made otherwise
3. Removing economic barriers and establishing free trade among willing nations
4. National armaments will be reduced to the minimum for domestic security
5. An impartial adjustment to colonial claims, where the opinions of the colonial population will be as strong as the government that colonized them
6. An evacuation and settlement of questions about Russia that would let it build itself up without unwanted interference from other countries, and help when it wanted it
7. Belgium should be evacuated and restored without limiting its sovereignty
8. French territory should be freed and restored, and Alsace-Lorraine returned to it
9. A readjustment of Italy's borders to be clearer
10. The citizens of Austria-Hungary should be allowed to develop autonomously
11. Rumania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated and restored, Serbia given a route to the sea, and the relationships between the Balkan states be clearly defined and examined
12. The Dardenelles should be opened and the non-Turkish parts of the Ottoman Empire be given opportunity to develop by themselves
13. A Polish state should be created, with an access to the sea, whose independence be internationally guaranteed
14. A league of nations should be formed to ensure independence in other countries

Wilson ends by emphasizing that justice, for all nations, is the most important thing that has to arise from the end of WWI.

LAD #30: Schenck v. United States

People protesting against the decision in Schenck v. United States

During World War I, Schenck mailed circulars to people who were drafted, urging them to resist the draft by peaceful methods such as petitioning. Schenck was charge with conspiracy of violating the Espionage Act, which was made to prevent interference with military actions, recruitment, supporting of U.S. enemies in wartime and insubordination in the military. It was ruled that this didn't violate Schenck's free speech, and that the character of actions depended on the situation- since Schenck's statement was deemed to show "clear and present danger" that Congress could prevent, the Espionage Act took precedence over the 1st amendment. Holmes, a member of the Supreme Court who presented the verdict, stated that speech or actions tolerable in peacetime could be punishable in wartime if they were making or trying to make disturbances.

LAD #29: The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act

Child laborers soon to be affected by this act

The main purpose of this act was to stop child labor that contributed to interstate commerce. It prevented delivery of products from quarries or mine where children under 16 worked, and products from mills, canneries, or other like places when children under 14 worked or where 14-16 year olds worked more than 8 hours a day (applied to areas where children had been employed in the past month). This act also provided for a board to be made to regulate uniforms. The Secretary if Labor could send people to carry out inspections of mines or other working places. District attorneys now had to report violations to the Secretary of Labor who would then prosecute the organization responsible. Anyone who violated this act could be fined up to $200 the first time and between $100 and $1000 any subsequent times, and if someone presented false evidence they could also be prosecuted. It would take effect a year after its passing.

LAD #28: Wilson's First Inaugural Address

Wilson giving his 1st inaugural address

Wilson starts off by acknowledging the change of power in the government from Republicans to Democrats, indicating that people's opinions are changing, but the victory is for the entire country, not just one party. With this change, he said, the way people perceive events is going to shift as citizens will look at many things in a new light. Wilson says that although the US government and it's citizens are one of the greatest in the world, there are repercussions of the great achievements of the time period, including the damage to human lives. He declares that the new clarity of the citizens views will start to cleanse the evil out of the country without impairing the good. Wilson wants to work towards restoration from war and territorial acquisition, and that is a "duty of dedication" to eliminate government corruption and restore justice.

LAD #27: The Clayton Anti-Trust Act

A political cartoon representing the Clayton Anti-Trust Act

This act made the creation of monopolies and adjusting prices so that competition was impossible illegal, though it lets people change price if there is a difference in quality, amount, or other large changes in the type of product. It also makes it illegal  to lease or make a contract for the sale or resale of goods or supplies. Furthermore, the act banned corporations from buying stock in other businesses when it would lessen competition to prevent monopolistic control.

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

Martin Luther King Jr. giving a speech 

Martin Luther King Jr. starts off his speech by referencing Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, happening a century before. He said it acted as a beacon of hope to the slaves that they would finally get their freedom, but points out that after 100 years, black people still did not have their freedom or equality that they desired. They were subjected to discrimination and segregation, living in poverty while the rest of the country was wealthy in comparison. MLK Jr. continues by saying that this denial of equal treatment violated the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, the two documents the country was built on, by not upholding the promises of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." He states that everyone has gone to Washington to ensure that they get justice, that America will quickly rise up out of segregation and stay true to itself to give people racial equality, and further emphasizes that "now" is the most important time to act as well as the most urgent. MLK Jr. also says how the black people protesting will not rest until they get equality, though he says they have to be careful not to let bitterness and violence taint the growing movement. He says they will not rest or "be satisfied" until they stop being discriminated against, by the police, legislation, or businesses. He dreams that the nation will go by its own words, that "all men are created equal", and that his children will be judged by who they are as people, not their skin color, and that white and black people will be able to be at peace with each other.

LAD #25: The Dawes Act

A poster advertising Indian land that was for sale under the Dawes Act

The Dawes Act provided for land belonging to Indian reservations to be surveyed and pieces given to individuals living there in severalty, with the amount given being determined by their status, age, and other factors such as if they had a family or not. The same conditions also applied to any Indian not belonging to a tribe that had a designated reservation or living off a reservation. If determined necessary, the Dawes Act also provided that the Secretary of the Interior could negotiate land to be released or sold away from the Indian tribes to settlers looking to move west. If a religious society or other organization was occupying former Indian lands that were now for sale, they could have land not exceeding 160 acres. The people living on the reservations were supposed to get equal protection under the law of the state that they lived in. Furthermore, any Indian who decided to live off of the reservation and assimilate into society would be granted full U.S. citizenship along with all of the rights and immunities of one. The Dawes Act would also not apply to the "5 Civilized Tribes" (the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles), as well as the reservations of the Seneca Nation in New York, the strip of territory in Nebraska added by executive order of the Sioux Nation, and the Osage, Miames, Peorias, Sacs, and Foxes tribes. This act wouldn't stop land being used for public use, such as for highways, railroads, and telegraph lines.

LAD #24: The Cross of Gold

William Jennings Bryan giving his famous "Cross of Gold" speech.

In his speech, William Jennings Bryan declares the situation of introducing silver into the national currency is so strong an issue that it has turned family members against each other. At a convention of Democrats, a few suggested that those who supported the coinage of silver organize so they could take control of the Democratic Party. A few months later, they stated that if they got enough support they would be able to make their own platform, which they were then able to do, although this created an outbreak on conflict between members and leaders of the party, as well as between family members. Bryan states that the members who are speaking don't come representing themselves, but representing principles. He addresses the next part of his speech to the "larger group of businessmen", the farmers and wage workers, including those who have settled the west who are more removed  from large cities on the east coast. In response to those who are afraid of what actions his party will try to take or those who disagree with his views, Bryan states that their idea of the income tax isn't a new thing and isn't unconstitutional as some claim, and that their criticisms of the Supreme Court are just, do to its conflicting resolutions. He defends the income tax by stating its intent to have the general population share some of the burden belonging to the government, which he says should be a citizen's duty, and by stating that the control of money is part of the government's job, not a bank's. He further countered several key points that his opponents came up with, showing further support for the working class and displaying his belief that those with a lot of power should not get the same amount of protection. He says when they restore the money of the Constitution, then they will be able to make their reforms, because with only the gold standard in place of bimetallism, only the upper classes receive benefits. Bryan concludes the speech by saying that mankind will not be crucified on a cross of gold.

LAD #23: The Populist Party Platform

A Populist Party nomination convention in 1890

In their Preamble, the Populist party lists increasing corruption, widening wealth gaps, and the growing power of the wealthy as causes for concern, as the country was degenerating to European conditions. They said that the usage of silver could help this issue but it was viewed as a bad thing by many people, and could put an end to the corruption of business and suffering of workers. They also believed that making these changes would restore the Republic to the hands of the "plain people".

Their party had three declarations: 1, the labor forces of the United States would always be unified, 2, wealth belongs to those who create it, and 3, the government should own all the railroads. The finance section of their platform demanded that there be free and unlimited coinage of gold and silver (at the legal ratio, 16:1), more money be put into circulation, a graduated income tax established, that state and national revenues be limited to what is necessary, and postal service banks be established for people to safely store their earnings.

They wanted transportation such as railroads to be controlled by the government because it was a public interest and necessary to travel anywhere, and the same applied to the telephone and telegraph.

The Populists felt that land owned by aliens or excess land owned by corporations should be reclaimed by the government and reserved for only actual settlers.

They wanted a free ballot, more power for the working class, the elimination of groups such as the Pinkertons, no national subsidies for private businesses, more direct voting, and a weaker executive branch of government.

LAD #22: McKinley's War Declaration

This message to Congress led to the Spanish-American War of 1898. The treaty that ended the war is shown being signed above.

The Cubans had been fighting a revolution against Spain from 1895 to 1898. The United States then sent a message to Spain demanding that they agree to an armistice with the revolutionaries. Although they agreed to this, the public was already moved to war against Spain and Congress quickly passed a resolution leading to war.

In his address to Congress, McKinley states that the war in Cuba was another revolution against Spain, and that similar wars had been happening throughout that half of the century. He also said that the war there was making it harder for the U.S. to keep up its neutrality laws, and it was a disturbance to the citizens and evoked their sympathies for the rebels. He comments that the war doesn't seem like it would end soon, and the longer it dragged on, the more American trade and business interests would get hurt in the process. As a solution to this problem, he suggests that the United States either intervene on one side as an ally or try to resolve the conflict between Spain and Cuba from a neutral position. He justifies entering the war by stating four points: one, that it is the country's responsibility to stop the atrocities of war from happening at its doorstep; two, to protect the American citizens in Cuba; three, the hurt caused by the war on American trade and business has to be ended; and four, that it's a danger to have a war going on and ships being seized at such a close proximity to the country. McKinley then brings up the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana's harbor as cites it as further evidence of the dangerous situation happening in Cuba because of Spain.  He states that the war in Cuba must stop, and does briefly mention that Spain agreed to an armistice with Cuba, though at this point the opinions of the majority of people in Congress are already swayed towards war.