LAD #26

LAD #26

      In Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous speech, he addresses the masses who attended his speech in front of Lincoln's memorial and alludes to signing the emancipation proclamation that freed all slaves. He goes on by saying despite the efforts of this great president the hardships of the black people are far from over. King and his followers have met at the capital of the United States "to cash their check". This check will grant them protection of their alienable rights ("life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"). He believes that this day will soon come, because he believes there is enough freedom in the vaults of the capitol to give to the oppressed black population. He addresses that his followers must not try to achieve this violently but with patience and discipline. Because in order to move on and obtain their freedom the rights of white men must us be upheld because both groups cannot function without the other. Then he goes into talking about the future when he hopes to see sons of former slaves and slave owners sitting together at a table of brotherhood. He says that in order to achieve this we must dedicate our self to liberty and freedom and give new respect for the phrase "let freedom ring." Freedom must be everywhere in the United States. When that happens the people of the nation may move forward together.

LAD #25

LAD #25

       The Dawes Act was put in place to break up the Indian Reservations by giving landing to individual Native Americans and extending the protection laws of the US over the Indians. The Act includes 11 section which explains the different procedures the Indians must take. The first section give specific rules over the allotment of the land, like each head of the family gets one-quarter of a section and each person over the age of 18 gets one-eighth of a section. The next section talks about how these lots should be set up, that they should be selected by indians, heads of families selecting for their minor children, and the agents selecting for each orphan. The third section states that the allotments set up by this act will be mad by agents selected by the president. The Act then continues on explaining the rest of the provisions for how to allot the land, including allowing for indians to become citizens after a certain period of time. However this Act does not apply to every Indian tribe. The Act also does not offer any protection for Indian Reservations from Railroads, highways, telegraph lines, public uses, etc. set up by the government. The Act just showed how much control we had over the indians.

LAD #24

LAD#24

     
      At a Democratice National Convention in 1896, William Jennings Bryan, a former congressman from Nebraska, delivered his famous and powerful speech. This speech ultimately led to his election as the democratic, and populist party, candidate for the President. His speech revolved mostly around the "paramount" issue of the election, which was the gold and silver issue. He is in the support of the business men because he believes they deserve the wealth they earn. He is also a supporter of the common man. Some Americans feared that a Robespierre would emerge and he told them not to fear a tyrant, what the country needs is someone like Andrew Jackson who will "stand against the encroachments of aggregated wealth." He talks about the income tax, which is used to put the burdens of the government on the peoples backs. There is controversy which some people believe is unconstitutional, which he defends by saying the it was constitutional until some judge changed his mind. He also defends other parts of his platform like opposition to the national bank currency, opposition to life tenure in office, and above all, the coinage of silver. He believes that the coinage of silver will lead to growth that will not mess with the nations richness. He ends his speech with his famous quote "you shall not crucify man kind upon a cross of gold." This deeply moved people and displayed the views of the democratic and populist party.

LAD #23

LAD #23

       As a reaction to the rise of Big Business during the heavy industrialization in America came about the Populist Party Platform. The preamble begins with talking about the horrible condition the country is in. There is corruption, workers are being denied rights, people are begin demoralized and impoverished, there is a large gap between the rich and the poor, etc. The also describe adding gold to the currency as dangerous and demoralizing. The Democrats and Republicans have done nothing to stop the negative effects of the American lives. In return the populist seek to return the power to the "plain people" to correct these evils and ensure equality. The Populist Platform declared that the Union of labor forces will be permanent, wealth belongs to him who creates it, and the government will own and regulate railroads, the telegraph, and the telephone. The also demand free coinage of silver and gold at a 16 to 1, a graduated income tax, and that money be kept in the hands of people for the majority of the time. The also request that land not be monopolized for speculative purposes. In the expression of sentiment, the last part, they demand things like free ballot, liberal pensions to ex-union soldiers, shorter hours of labor, a one term limit for the president and vice president, and over all more rights and liberties to the people.

LAD #22

LAD #22

President William McKinley

     President McKinley made it clear in his address that the war between Cuba and Spain should be ended as soon as possible. He found that the constant fighting between cuba and Spain may cause danger to America's trade, investment in the country, capital, and the mindset of American's. McKinley asked congress to end the war any way possible whether it be a neutral intervention to propose a rational compromise or completely support one side, just as long as a forceful annexation is avoided. In weighing these options McKinely knows that by picking one side would just cause more drama and a neutral intervention is the more preferable way to go. A neutral intervention can be executed in 4 steps. The first and second steps would be for the US to recognize its relation with the conflict as both close in proximity and politics. The third step is that the call to protection must be legitimized by any injuries on the country. For example, trade or US bloodshed, etc. Lastly the Us is called in to end the hostilities when the US is in jeopardy. It is the United States responsibility to pacify cuba because they are so intertwined in both political and social spheres. How ever everything is ultimately left up to congress.