LAD #37: Brown vs. Board of Education

LAD #37: Brown vs. Board of Education


When little Linda Brown wanted to go to a white school that was closer to her house, a whole new era in Civil Rights sprung up as the NAACP grabbed the case as a perfect way to get more equal and fair rights. In 1951, a court case called Brown vs. Board of Education began as the NAACP sued to desegregate public schools in Topeka. They argued that the black schools that children were being sent to were inferior to those provided for white students, and that is affecting the way that they learn and ultimately, what they grow up to be. Though the court was pressured by their previous ruling in Plessy vs. Ferguson, they overruled that and declared that the segregation of public schools was not allowed anymore. While it did force the desegregation of public schools, it ignored it in other areas of the places affected by this terrible thing.

LAD #36: Truman Doctrine

LAD #36: Truman Doctrine
 
On March 12, 1947, President Harry S. Truman set forth a policy in a speech that outlined his views toward the containment of communism in the world. It specifically addresses the threat of these communistic views in Greece and Turkey, two countries who were attempting to resist Soviet influence in this political and economic field. Truman said that because this communist influence posed a threat to the peace of the world, and the state of the United States in specific. He wanted to provide military and economic help to these struggling countries in order to make sure that communism did not reach it. Eventually, they sent $400 million dollars to these countries to help in the fight, which was less than what Truman asked for, but still was substantial. By doing this, the United States could protect civil liberties all over the world. This thus set up Truman's policy of containment for years to come throughout the Cold War.

LAD #35: Executive Order 9066

LAD #35: Executive Order 9066


In February of 1942, in the midst of the Second World War, Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued an executive order pertaining to the state of Japanese Americans living in the country. He began by saying that, during a wartime, a country must take certain necessary measures to ensure the safety of those living within as to ensure that there will neither be attacks from outside or from the inside. He then said that he invested the power to the Secretary of War to create military areas where he can admit, keep, and allow to exit anyone on his command, based on the needs of the country. However, he also needs to accomodate for transportation, food, and other needs that the people of the are may need. FDR also allowed the Secretary of War to do anything he deemed necessary to run and protect these areas, and told the other governmental areas that they were required to help him.

LAD #34: FDR's Declaration of War

LAD #34: FDR's Declaration of War


On December 8th, 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war for the United States on Japan. This was one day after the bombing at Pearl Harbor, "a date which will live in infamy," as Roosevelt called it. He continued to say that Japan had broken their diplomatic tie with the United States soon after the bombing, and the attack was clearly planned out days in advance. The attack cost America many lives as well as ships. However, it did not stop there. The Japanese also attacked Hong Kong, Guam, and the Philippines. The people of the United States already knew that they had to do something. Roosevelt had already started to prepare for further defense. He then said that the United States would win. He finished the statement by formally asking Congress to declare war.

LAD #33: FDR's First Inaugural Address

LAD #33: FDR's First Inaugural Address


80 years ago today, Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his inaugural address for the first term which he came into presidential office. He began with one of his most famous quotes: "...the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." He wanted to tell people the whole truth about what the Great Depression would and could bring for the country. He asserted that it did not have to be as detrimental as people made it out to be so far. This entire address and this thought in particular showed his optimism as well as his realism. He acknowledged the devastation that this country was in at that time. He stated each of the country's problems that eventually caused the Great Depression. Once the problems are out there, they can begin to be solved. He then offered suggestion for reform and recovery, such as making farming goods more valuable and decreasing the cost of government in general. He finishes by saying that the US has not failed their democratic mission, but only elected a strong leader as to help themselves get out of this crisis and back on their feet again.

LAD #32: Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact

LAD #32: Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact


The Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact was passed in 1928 by nations such as Germany, France, and the United States and, though it had good intentions, was an utter failure. The pact's attempt was to create a much more peaceful world. In it, the countries which signed were agreeing to denounce war as a foreign policy or way of solving disputes. The point of this was to encourage countries to work out issues diplomatically, rather than to go to war, as was the barbaric way of the past. The United States took unofficial leadership in following through with the treaty and other countries were allowed into it as well. The reason this was largely unsuccessful was that the only way that a country can be true to enforce an international agreement is if it has military force to back up the agreement. This pact did not allow for a military to go to war to settle conflicts, so it could not settle a conflict if a country broke the pact.

LAD #31: Wilson's 14 Points

LAD #31: Wilson's 14 Points


During the Great War, United States President Woodrow Wilson gave an address to Congress in which he stated his Fourteen Points which became his guiding ideology as the moral leader of this war. This address was given following the withdrawal of the great power of Russia from this fight. Wilson both questioned Russia's motives and admired the treaty that they made known as the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The former jeopardizes the democratic aspect of the latter. He delivers this speech to offer advice, which will hopefully be followed, to keep peace in the world and prevent another world war. He stated fourteen ideological steps to making that positive. Among these are the removal of economic barriers, the evacuation of Belgium, and reduction of armaments. However, perhaps the most famous of these is his advice to build a peace keeping organization in his suggestion of the League of Nations. Unfortunately, these points did not work out because of the failure of the Treaty of Versailles, but these points were also much too idealistic to ever work when human nature is taken into account.