LAD #25

Wilson's 14 points addressed issues of peace in Europe, and was delivered months after the German armistice ended World War 1. The topic of the 14 points were varied, ranging from the supremacy of diplomacy, territorial disputes, the evacuation of Russian territory, equality in trade, absolute freedom of navigation of the seas, and the formation of an association of nations.

The Treaty of Versailles was turned down by the Senate, and only four of Wilsons points made it in the post-bellum reconstruction policy of the European nations involved in World War 1.

Lad #24

The Sherman Anti-trust act backfired, and was used in many cases against workers. Workers were crippled, since they were not able to strike. Strikes got in the way of commerce, and thus, were basically outlawed with this act.
The Clayton anti trust Act was passed to help actually curtail big business, instead of generalizing the "hindrance of trade", and limiting worker's rights to strike.
This act helped outlaw unjust practices, and made illegal anything that was of harm to the consumer and the market. It limited the formation of trusts and monopolies. Also, it eliminated the chance of one person owning several companies in an industry, or 'virtual monopoly'.

Lad #23

This report shows how many children were facing harsh working conditions, in factories and mines. With his thought-provoking pictures, Lewis Hine brought the hideousness of child labor into the foresight of the public. The Keating-Owen bill was a harsh progressive bill, banning the trade of any product that had touched a child's hand on the production line. Many products such as textiles or coal were banned from distribution under this bill, because they employed child labor. This bill was labeled too radical and farfetched, and was therefore declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

LAD #22

Woodrow Wilson delivered his inauguration speech after winning the election of 1912. Woodrow Wilson, a progressive president, stated that he was going to usher the United States into a period of great propserity for all. Some of his goals included curtailing big business and eliminating governmnental corruption. Wilson concludes that the inauguration was in honor of the improvement and reform of the United States government, instead of celebration for his presidency. This inauguration sets Wilson up for a successful reform campaign.

LAD #19

Big Business was one of the major problems of the Gilded Age. The populist party was composed primarily of people against big business, most of them angry farmers. They did not fit the catagory of liberal or conservative, but represented themselves through an independent party. Those in the populist party stood against a concentration of wealth among the wealthy elite, and a more stable or fair system of electing officials. The populists were eager to rid monetary indulgences from the office of any politician. The Populist Party wanted to reduce the power of Big Business and its impact on the government, and wanted more power in the comman person's hands. Needless to say, they sided with abused workers who could not afford to buy the products they toiled away making. They wanted to see more wealth go to the workers, and were pro-union. Another main issue was income tax. Populists felt that income tax should be a gradual rate, so that those who could not afford to pay as much were not subjected to the same flat rate, and those who were wealthy did not get away with paying only microscopic portion of their earnings.
The populist party were against immigration, because they made working conditions worse for the common man, in that immigrants would work at a lower standard, for less pay. Like unions, they called for short hours and more pay.

LAD #20

The Cross of Gold speech, at the Democratic National Convention of 1896, was delivered by William Jennings Bryan. It was mainly dealing with the Democrat's desire to make silver the standard instead of gold. Bringing up some forgotten views, Bryan's speech mainly concerned bimetalism, or the integration of both metals. Bryan brings up the fact that the Western people have lest money then those in the east, and therefore cannot afford gold. People in the East have tarrifs and a strong industrial source of income, so they can afford it. Bimetalism would alleviate these problems because a certain value of silver would be in fixed proportion to a certain value of gold. The problem was that these values fluctuated. However, Bryan delivered the speech in defense of the West and in defense of bimetalism in regards to what the dollar is really worth.

LAD #21

The Dawes Act, or the General Allotment Act of 1887, was composed of eleven basic provisions. Firstly, the President may survey the arable tribal land, and divide it up between the individual Native Americans, and their families. The Second provision deals with who will pick allotment for a minor or orphan child. The third requires settlers to certify the allotment, and they must be able to produce a copy of certification. The fourth provision ensures that Native Americans both on and off the reservations are eligible for equal allotment of land. The Fifth states that the government will hold the land in trust for 25 years, before ownership goes to the family. The Sixth states that under the Land Patent process, landholders will be American citizens with full priviledge. The Seventh provision simplifies the distribution of irrigated lands and/or deals with water rights. The Eigth exempts the Five Civilized tribes, and other groups from land allocation. The Ninth section deals with funding of the allotments. The Tenth act ensures that Eminent Domain will be reserved for the government on all allotments. Finally, the last segment contains a provision for Southern Indians, primarily the Ute tribe.

LAD #18

McKinley's War Message was a letter to Congress explaining the current state of relations between the United States and Spain, due to the ongoing Cuban insurrection. He explains that the United States must take action because the neighboring rebellion is causing "effort and expense in enforcing its neutrality laws, [irritation], annoyance, and disturbance among our citizens, and, by the exercise of cruel, barbarous, and uncivilized practice of warfare, shocked the sensibilities and offended the human sympathies of our people."
Next Mckinley states that he had offered many untried resolutions the previous December. These resolutions included recognition of the insurgents as belligerents, recognizing Cuba as independent, forcing a compromise between Spain and Cuba, or finally, intervention in favor of either Spain or Cuba. Annexation, to McKinley, was not an option.
He brought up points from Grant's review of the Cuban insurrection. Grant had found the recognition of Cuban independence to be indefensible. Grant also concluded that recognizing belligerence "was not warranted by the facts according to the tests of public law." Mckinley follows with stating that intervening to find common ground between the two contestants was somewhat rational, and he explained briefly the case in which intervention would be defendable.
He begins to conclude in remembrance of the Maine, saying that its destruction demonstrates the state of things in Cuba. He reccommended the constant shipping of food and supplies to Cuba, but other then that, decided that it should be up to Congress to decide the fate of both the United States' course of action, and the situation on the Cuban island.

LAD 17

"The problem of our age is the administration of wealth". Carnegie states that the gap between the rich and the poor is much wider than what it was a hundred years ago. He feel that such a social structure makes it impossible for there to be any sort of brotherhood between the rich and the poor; yet he believes it is beneficial in that it stimulates progress in the human race. His quote "Much better this great irregularity than universal squalor", indicates that he is partial to a gap in the social classes with progress in the race than everyone toiling together.
Carnegie asks, "What is the proper dispersal of wealth after the government has thrown it in the hands of the few?". In discussion of the surplus of wealth, Carnegie explores three possibilities of its disposal. The first is rather obvious; it is left to the family via a will. It can be donated to public purposes, or finally, it can simply be spentfinally, it can be spent during their lives by its possessors.
The first method does nothing to change the gap between the poor and wealthy, but the other three help bring the two closer together. The surplus of the few becomes the property of the many, in Carnegie's words.
In closing, Carnegie details principles of responsible men of wealth. Not to display extravagence, to moderately provide for the wants of those dependent on him, and to use his judgement to calculate a benefit for the community in doing them.

LAD #16

The Northern Abolitionists had been waiting for a document like the Emancipation Proclamation, since the issue of slavery grew so large. Slavery, no doubt, caused the Civil War, so Lincoln sought not only to discontinue this dividing factor, but also to free all of those bound to slavery due to their skin color. The Emancipation Proclamation, although not a constitutional law, was still followed because it was considered a presidential power. The effect of this document was huge, as it ended the controversial issue of whether slavery should be legal; although it is a shame that such a decisive action was taken after the country was weakened by Civil war.

LAD#15

At the time of this speech, the South had lost the Civil War, and slavery had been officialy outlawed. Instead of celebrating, or scorning the south, Lincoln said that both sides should be ashamed of settling their differences violently. At the start of the Civil War, Lincoln had sought to preserve the union, and with his relatively neutral speech, he showed that he followed through his first term, with that intention in mind. He also made it clear that he thought slavery was evil, although he divulges this in the Emancipation Proclamation. Also, this historic speech defended Lincoln's views of reconstruction.

LAD #14

The case of Dred Scott v. Stanford is arguably one of the most influential supreme court cases in its era. Cheif Justice Taney addressed the issue of slave citizenship, and ultimately declared slaves as property. Since suing is a practice reserved for citizens, Taney ruled that Scott could not sue, because he was a slave, not a citizen. The most important deduction by Taney was his ruling that the government could only act within what the constitution allowed. Accordingly, the government could not hamper citizens in the pursuit of life liberty and property. Since Dred Scott was his masters property, the court could do nothing. Subsequently, the Missouri Compromise was declared unconstitutional.