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

The case Brown v. Board of Education, would ultimately be the first step towards desegregation in the United States. Linda Brown who was a third grader, had to walk a mile in a dangerous area to get to a black school when there was a public school one block away. The separation of schools based on color was made legal by the “Plessy vs. Ferguson” court case. The case states that as long as the schools were separate but equal, segregation was allowed. Segregation in schools made black children feel inferior to white children and put them at a disadvantage later on in life. It was not until the case went to the Supreme Court that the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson was declared unconstitutional and the segregation of schools was not allowed. The result of the case would take awhile to be put into action, but was a good step to help create equal and better lives for blacks.

Pictures: I chose a picture of Linda Brown and a picture of Rosa Parks who was another black female that helped fight for the equality of blacks. She did so by sitting in the designated white section of a bus and refused to get up to give her seat to a white person. She also affected the black community and would help lead to change and the equality of all people, no matter their color. Both fought to end segregation between whites and blacks and would be big parts of history.

LAD #36 Truman Doctrine

Truman begins by addressing the Congress about how he thinks that the national security is threatened. He also talks about his concerns with Greece and Turkey and how the Greek government had sent an appeal to the United States for economic assistance. At the time, Greece was unable to sustain themselves and needed help to reconstruct, as well as being threatened by communist terrorists which they could not fight against. Truman believes that the United States should help Greece and protect them. He wanted to provide military and economic help to these struggling countries in order to make sure that communism did not spread. By doing this, the United States could protect civil liberties all over the world and helped set up Truman's policy of containment for years to come throughout the Cold War.

Pictures: I chose a picture of President Truman and a picture of James Monroe who established the Monroe Doctrine, which also addressed foreign policy. It said that Europe should not interfere in affairs within the United States or in the development of other countries in the Western Hemisphere. Both doctrines were guidelines that the President felt the country should follow and that were in America's best interest regarding foreign policy.

LAD #35 FDR's Executive Order #9066

When FDR originally made this order, it was delivered for the Secretary of War and was a proposal to create military zones that no one except military members could enter. The areas were created, but ended up being used as places to hold Japanese people who lived in America, but had a relation to someone of a Japanese descent. These areas were called internment camps and were created because FDR and The Secretary of War felt that there was a lack of safety in America. As a result of the attacks on Pearl Harbor, people felt threatened and internment camps were created to try and stop any future attacks.

Pictures: I chose a picture of an internment camp and a picture that shows the discrimination and segregation of blacks. This is similar to the internment camps because both groups of people were treated badly because of their race and were treated unequally even though most of them were American citizens.

LAD #34 FDR's Declaration of War 

President Roosevelt asked Congress for a declaration of war against the Japanese soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. He was confident in the United States armed forces and believed that the nation would be able to join together to fight. FDR asked Congress to think about what could happen to the nation if they didn't punish the Japanese and if they would ever stop. He referenced that they were not looking to make a peace treaty since they keep pursuing violent acts. He believed that war was necessary in order to protect the American people and the declaration of war on Japan would enter the U.S. into WWII and also end the Great Depression.

Pictures: I chose a picture of FDR signing the Declaration of War against Japan and a picture of Woodrow Wilson who declared war on Germany, which entered the United States into The Great War. Wilson believed it was  "the war to end all wars," but was not the case. Both presidents entered world wars that would impact America greatly.

LAD #33 FDR’s First Inaugural Address

On March 4^th, Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his inaugural address. He begins by saying that the nation will be revived and flourish once again. He also says the quote “the one thing we have to fear is fear itself,” which became very popular and well known.With the support of the American people he believed America as a nation could achieve anything it wanted. He then points out problems within the economy, including unemployment and he then says that action needs to be taken. He thinks some of the big problems can be solved by by finding jobs for people and redistributing the economy to raise the value of agricultural endeavors and lowering government taxes. Lastly, he wants to work on setting up a system so that an economic depression will not occur again and he plans to do this by using regulation and the supervision of banks and creditors.

Pictures: I chose a picture of FDR and a picture of George Washington because his inaugural address was also very powerful and well known. They both talked about the Constitution and how Americans need to unite and be able to turn to each other in times of need. They wanted to create a sense of nationalism and do their best to improve the country.

LAD #32 Kellogg Briand Peace Pact

The Kellogg Brand Peace Pact was a separate peace treaty made by the United States with European world powers after The Great War ended. It said that any power that wanted to declare war would be denied and the pact was separated into different articles. It encouraged member nations to pursue diplomatic strategies to resolve international disputes. The pact did little to prevent future world wars, but it would allow the League of Nations to pursue a policy of appeasement in the future. The treaty was said to "promote the welfare of mankind" through "peaceful and friendly relations" and although it wasn't completely successful in doing so, it was a good idea.

Pictures: I chose a picture of people signing the pact and I also chose a picture of a large amount of people gathering for the Paris Peace Treaties which end World War II and is similar to the Kellogg Briand Peace Pact because they both were used to end world wars and tried to create peace and establish good relationships for the future to prevent any problems that could come up later.

LAD #31 President Wilson’s 14 Points

At the end of the Great War, President Wilson created a plan to try to maintain peace and continue the idea of it being the “war to end all wars.” The 14 point plan consisted of 14 points that would help guide the country after the war. Some of the points included, no secret treaties, freedom of the seas and the formation of the League of Nations. The goal of this group was to help create peace in each country and prevent future problems. The allies wanted to put more blame on the Germans and punish them, which his points did not do. As a result, the allies did not fully support the plan causing it to be unsuccessful.

Pictures: I chose a picture of Woodrow Wilson who created the 14 points and the Dawes Plan because the 14 points and the Great War helped lead to the creation of the plan. The Dawes Plan would be an American Sponsored arrangement for rescheduling German reparations payments. The allies were not happy with Germany and felt that they were to blame, so by having them pay for reparations would alleviate some of the frustration.

LAD #30 Schenck vs. U.S. case

Charles Schenck was an American socialist and went around telling young men to not enlist in the Great War. He told them that the draft was violating the Thirteenth Amendment and also claimed that the it was motivated by “capitalist greed”. He was then charged with violating the Espionage Act due to his obstruction in recruitment. Since the United Staes was at war, they didn't take action because they his speech would cause a “clear and present danger” and the government feared people would follow what he said. In the end, Schenck was found guilty and was sentenced to six months in prison and would later be overturned.

Pictures: I chose a picture of Charles Schenck and a picture of the Sedition Act because the Sedition Act and Espionage Act were both passed during the Red Scare and were both used to launch a campaign against radicals. These both relate because Schenck was found guilty under the Espionage Act and he was trying to advocate his socialist beliefs about not enlisting in war, while the Sedition Act kept Schenck from being able to speak freely about it.

LAD #29 Keating-Owen Child Labor Act

The Census of 1900 was released and showed that 2 million children were working in mines, factories, fields and stores across the country. People were shocked and outraged with these statistics and people began to try to create change and prevent this from happening. This act used the federal government’s power over interstate commerce power to regulate child labor. The act would ban the sale of any goods from factories that employed children under the age of 14 and mines that employed children under the age of 16 were banned, as well. The Supreme Court then declared this unconstitutional, but eventually the Child Labor Amendment would be passed and would help regulate child labor.

Pictures: I chose a picture of children working in a factory and a picture of men working because adults were also treating poorly while working. While children shouldn't have been working at all because it was a dangerous and not moral, but adults were also put in very harsh and poor working conditions. Especially during the Industrial Revolution, adults worked long hours with little pay, which would eventually lead to the formation of labor unions.

LAD #28 Wilson’s First Inaugural

Due to the Republican vote being split between Taft and Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson won the election of 1912. In his speech he talks about how there was a gradual change in the government, which favored and strengthened the Democrats. He then goes on to say the good things about the nation and talks about how good things come with the bad. He brings up that it is his and the rest of the government’s job to correct the wrongs brought on by industrialization. He then goes on to talk about how the United States needs to preserve natural resource and protect citizen’s rights. Lastly, he says that the government will ensure equality and asks for the help of the people to make sure everyone has a say and does their part in continuing to better America.

Pictures: I chose a picture of Woodrow Wilson and a picture of JFK because he and Wilson addressed similar things in their speeches. For example in Kennedy's speech he says "those human rights to which this nation has always been committed..." and Wilson also talked about human rights and citizenship for the people of America. They both acknowledged things that needed to be fixed about the nation and wanted to address changes they hoped to make. Both of their speeches were memorable, well written speeches that are still addressed today.

LAD #27 Clayton Anti-Trust Act

The purpose of the act was to eliminate the corruption of big business polices and it was passed after the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which was considered a failure. One part of the law made it illegal to discriminate by price, which was used by monopolists. Another part was about  price shifting and how it is not allowed to force out competition. Lastly, it promotes free trade by restricting a company from buying controlling stock in other companies to lessen competition.

Pictures: I chose a picture of the guy from monopoly because he represents a big business owner and creating a monopoly. I also chose a picture of J.P. Morgan because he was a big business owner who tried to monopolize the railroads. At the time, the government was pro business so they appreciated the railroads, but eventually they had to step in and regulate them because the monopolies were becoming too big and powerful.

LAD #26 Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream”

In his speech, King references Lincoln and his Emancipation Proclamation because it was the first step towards freedom for blacks. He also talked about the Declaration of Independence and how it states all men are created equal. He says that this is not the case and people are still being denied basic human rights. He wants segregation and discrimination to end and King says that the inequality cannot be overlooked any further and that there needs to be change. He wants change quickly and says that even if it does not come very quickly, the blacks should not turn to violence and must treat the whites with discipline and as if they were brothers. King then discusses his dream, that one day all men, blacks and whites will be equal. He wants people to be judged by their character, not by their color. He dreams that one day, all the children in Alabama will be able to hold hands and hopes that some day freedom and justice will be granted to blacks and that all Americans will be able to live the freedom that the country promised its people.

Pictures: I chose a picture of Martin Luther King Jr and a picture of Rosa Parks because she was also a big leader in the fight for black equality. She did not give in to segregation laws and did not tolerate discrimination. She was a big role model to blacks and helped fight for freedom, as did King.