LAD#26: MLK's "I Have A Dream" Speech

On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gives his famous speech for freedom. He begins by talking about how the slaves were freed by Abraham Lincoln years ago, but blacks are still not truly free. Men and women were issued a check for freedom, but now that check comes back with insufficient funds. He wants to keep pursuing justice along with the members of the Civil Rights Union of America. King and all of his followers demanded a change and freedom. They wanted freedom now, rather than later due to the procrastination of their oppressor, the white man. They would rather see change immediately than a slow change over time. He hopes to obtain equality through a larger non-violent movement. He urges blacks not to have hate in their hearts and not to turn to violence, guns and fists. To him, violence means fighting and unnecessary deaths and cruelty. Blacks must not let these incidents lead them to hate other races and nationalities. With this speech, he speaks out and fights against racial discrimination. The blacks are still fighting for equality and freedom, and will continue to fight until they are content with what they have accomplished.

LAD#25: Dawes Act

The Dawes act was an act that would allow Native American individuals to own their own land within reservations. The land that was to be given out had to do with your age and whether you had a family or not. In the case that there was not enough land for all of the native americans on a certain reserve, the government took many precautions. The Native Americans were given the right to choose what part of land they wanted. When and if two indians chose the same piece of land, it would then be divided into 2 separate pieces and the rest of their land would be in a separate location. If they didn't choose their land within 4 years, an agent would choose for them. Even it a native american did not live on a reservation, they would still recieve their piece of land. All land would be patented and protected by the government. The natives could now be punished for breaking any law, but also protected by the law. Any native american not associated with a tribe had the opportunity to become an american citizen.

LAD#24: Bryan's Cross of Gold Speech

Bryan's cross of gold speech addressed the matter of whether silver should be freely coined at a 16:1 ratio with gold. The speech is opened by Bryan saying that people live and die, but principles are forever and that each day of our lives, we choose which principles to live by. At this time, a group of democrats, called silver democrats, took control of the party and slowly traveled around the country and pushed for the free coinage of silver. The men of the country did not choose to side based on their own personal opinions, but rather the views of their appropriate party. Bryan states that the businessmen of the northeast had too much given to them and they did not think enough about the needs of the common man. He argues that the farmers and miners are just as good as the New England businessmen. He fights for the common man, just like the rest of the country (besides the northeast) because they need the silver to help pay off their debts. He believed that the income tax was good for people and that it was the government's job to be in charge of coining money. A lot of people cared more about the gold issue than the tariff at this time. He urged that we stray away from the gold standard and move towards using both gold and silver.

LAD #23: The Populist Platform

In and wround the late 19th century, the populist party arose as a third power in the presidential elections. They were against power in the hands of the wealthy man and fought for the common man. They were also sometimes know as the farmer's party. This party wished to raise America's standards of living. According to members of the populist party, factory workers were not getting paid enough and working conditions had slumped to far below where they should be. Another populist thought was that corporations were becoming more and more corrupt and decreasing the value of silver so tht they could benefit from the value of gold. The reason for their emergence, they claimed, was that none of the other parties were doing anything to stop the corruption in America. This party supported the rights of workers and labor unions. The government had to start intervening with the railroad system in order to make them happy. They believed that money needed to be circulated to the people faster and more money needed to be incorporated into the economic system. The populist party promised to hold an open ballot, pension for ex- union soldiers, and to protect the rights of the people.

LAD#22: McKinley's War Message

The Spanish and the Cubans started fighting in 1895. This was because the Cubans wanted their freedom from Spain, but Spain refused to give it to them and Cuba resorted to violence. Fueled by the sinking of the Maine a few years later, the United States entered the war on the side of the Cubans.

In McKinley's War Message, he told congress that the raging war was now affecting not only soldiers, but american citizens as well. The atrocities in the war were absolutely appalling to people. The war was having an impact on American economy too. America had much trade with Cuba, and the war weakened Cuba's trade as well as the American economy. The war dragged on for 3 years with no clear winner. McKinley stated that it had gone on long enough and it was time for America to choose: Either stay a neutral nation or pick a side and act as a military ally. He believed that it was about time that the US intervened because the bloodshed needed to be stopped. Our trade, freedom, and the citizens of Cuba needed protecting.