LAD #37

Brown v. Board of Education

Although segregation in public schools was supposed to be "separate but equal"  it was clearly not in the early 1950's.  Linda Brown, a third grader was forced to go to a black elementary school although the white one was much closer and clearly better.  The Principal of the school refused to enroll Linda and in response the NAACP took on the challenge and in 1951 requested an injunction to forbid segregation in public schools.  In district court listened to the NAACP argue that segregated schools caused kids to believe they truly were inferior.  On the other hand the Board of Education argued that segregation in schools prepared them for the segregation they would experience as an adult.  The court felt compelled to rule in favor of the board mostly due to the supreme court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson.  Soon they appealed to the Supreme Court combined with other cases that challenged school segregation.  The court and Chief Justice Earl Warren decided that "separate but equal" had no place in public schools and struck down the decision in Plessy v. Ferguson.  Although this ruling did not affect segregation in other public places or even desegregate all schools, it was a huge step toward the desegregation of public schools throughout the nation.

LAD #36

Truman Doctrine

Truman starts by addressing how necessary he believes this address to be in front of the Congress.  The first event that needed to be addresses was the concerns over Greece and Turkey.  He explains that the Greek government has been asking for help economically from America and that they as Americans should listen.  Greece is a poor country and to make it worse, retreating Germans have ruined much of their land and infrastructure.  The country then went into political chaos which until now has kept them from recovering economically.  Without importation they are barely able to live so it is obvious that they need financial support to continue importing necessities for their lives.  They would also like American officials to be a part of rebuilding Greece to make it a more stable country economically and politically.  There are many terrorist groups in the country led by communists but their military is small and poorly equipped so they can do little to defend themselves.  America is the only nation that can help support this democratic Greek government at the time.  Turkey is also in great need of American assistance.  Although Turkey has not been struggling like Greece, they need support now to modernize the nation.  The US is again the only nation able to supply this economic aid.  To ensure the development of nations in an independent way the US has taken action in the UN.  There have been many countries forced into totalitarian regimes despite protest from the US.  It is the US's duty to support those free people who are resisting armed minorities or outside pressures.  If Greece falls to communism, Turkey will be quick to follow.  This would be a tragedy in present time.  Truman then asks for the Congress to provide billions to each of the two countries to to provide relief and allow them to resist communism.  Her also asks that American civilians and military be sent to Greece to furnish reconstruction.  This must be done quickly and without it there may very well be even more reparations to come.

LAD #35

Executive Order No. 9066

As the President and the Commander in Chief FDR gave the Secretary of War and his military commanders directions to take military action that they deemed necessary.  The Secretary of War is authorized to provide transportation and or resources to residents of any areas that he needs cleared.  Not only are they authorized to designate military areas but also they many take any other stops to enforce cooperation in these areas even if use of federal resources is needed.  With this being said all federal agencies and independent establishments were to assist in carrying these mission out.  This order would not limit the authority of the FBI of the Department of Justice, unless if it is a case in which it was the responsibility of the military areas.

LAD #34

FDR Declaration of War

FDR starts with the what might be his most famous quote "December 7th 1941, A date which will live in infamy".  Then he begins to explain the Japanese attack on Japan.  He says that the two countries were in peace and were talking to each other just an hour before the bombing.  The Japanese ambassador had just given a letter to the Secretary of state which among other things had no signs of war or attack.  He addresses that because of the distance between Hawaii and Japan the attack must have been planned for multiple days.  During the time the Japanese gave no signs of attack.  The attack caused serious damage to the Navy and Military in addition to killing many Americans. Not only had the Japanese attacked Hawaii but they attacked nations throughout the Pacific.  At this time FDR was thinking only of the security of the nation and to achieve that he would not stop until the US was victorious over Japan.  He made this decision while keeping in mind that the rest of the American government and people were for the most part in favor of these actions.  To conclude he formally adked Congress to declare war on Japan in response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the threat to the American nation.



LAD #33

FDR's First Inaugural Address

Roosevelt starts his Inaugural Address with a few simple statements, one being the famous "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself".  He goes on to explain that he will provide the leadership needed to get the nation out of their darkest hour.  He understands that many people have become unable to support themselves and have lost everything.  Many are struggling to survive without a job, and no one can deny these issues.  Compared to what others of an earlier nation had to endure though, the nation still has many things to be grateful for.  Many of the people who are struggling try to help themselves only by digging a deeper hole.  Americans must realize that money does not bring happiness but rather achievement and new ideas.  Once people realize that material wealth and power are not the most important things in life they will be one step closer to restoration.  But the nation needs to put people to work and create new jobs.  Also, there need to be changes in the usage of land throughout the country to help farmers and transportation.  Lastly there need to be restraints put in place to prevent another event such as this one.  Although foreign trade is important, the national economy is more important by far.  He also believed that nationalism was a key part of the restoration of the nation.  This depression has proven how much Americans depend on one another and show how necessary unity really is.  He hopes that between the executive and legislative branches, these necessary steps to restoration can be taken.  If Congress does not do anything to stop the crisis than Roosevelt is prepared to ask for more power as president.  Roosevelt reminds the Americans to remain faithful in democracy and patient as he carries out this plan of action.

 

 



LAD #32

Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928

The Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 was a treaty between the United States and many other nations agreeing that war would not be used as an instrument of national policy.  The leaders of these nations wanted the friendly relations that they currently had with each other to continue on forever.  They wanted any issues to be solved peacefully without war and if any of the nations violated the treaty then they would not be able to reap the benefits of the treaty.  The nations that joined hoped that other nations would follow their example and join the pact.  The United States was looked at as the leader of this agreement and the nations trusted them to relay information.

LAD #31

Fourteen Points

 

Wilson feel responsible for coming up with a plan for peace after the war is over and believes there are several points that must be addressed.  First he explained that the US was getting involved in the Great War only to help other nations and bring peace.  He really truly wanted the world to be in harmony with each other.  To do this he came up with fourteen points which he believed would serve as guidelines to a better world.  First all of the fighting needed to stop and the world needed to be at peace.  His plan addressed issues with Russia, freedom of waterways, and trading rights.  Maybe most important, his plan contained the League of Nations, a global united force of countries.  In the end this part of the plan failed as the United States would not even agree to be a part of it.  Later the US would be leaders of the UN.  But the fourteen points were a huge step towards the US being established as a peacekeeper.  Wilson really had the best interests in mind and wanted his plans to really help free the world from fighting.