LAD #29

In the 1900s roughly 2 million children were found working long hours for jobs that paid very little. The Keating-Owen law regulated child labor and made it illegal for a company to sell products when the workers there were under a specific age. For example, children working in factories, shops, or canneries under age 14 and miners under the age of 16. Wilson passed the law and it remained in place until the government named it unconstitutional during the Bailey vs. Drexel Furniture Company court case over the idea that Congress cannot regulate trade. Although the law was removed from existence, the wrongdoings of child labor continued to be argued and regulated over the coming years.

LAD #28

Wilson begins his first inaugural address by stating that there has been a change in government. He elaborates on the history behind there finally being a large population of Democrats within the heart of the government. Wilson considers this, from the Democratic standpoint, to have been a success. Finally a political party was united in government, a fact he thought to be nothing but a positive turning point for the nation. He continues speaking of the past and the blood, sweat, and tears it took Americans to develop a government as mighty and respected as our own, eventually narrowing down his speech to the topic of the lives that had been lost to achieve this country of greatness. Wilson states that Americans became greedy in some sense and began spending, not money, but human lives on the cost of worldly desires. He states that our growth industrially is obviously a good thing, but having too much of it could turn corrupt and evil. Wilson points out that the government had been used for selfish reasons rather than its original purpose--"for the people, by the people, of the people." But he then changed pace and began moving towards the positive side of all the nation is about. He states that seeing the good with the bad is a great thing in order for them to move forward in worldly affairs. Wilson wants to slide one foot into the future while keeping the other planted firmly in the past--meaning he wants to chase the destiny of the growing nation while still keeping in mind the original bases on which it was created. He wants to maintain the ideas of human rights in such a way that remains untouched no matter how many years pass. Wilson understands how the government is the guiding hand for the people, and promises to guide them without failure towards a greater future.

LAD #27

The main purpose of the Clayton Anti-Trust Act was to start to push government back into the economic lives of people and therefore lessen the power of big businessmen throughout the nation. It begins by stating that those involved in commerce are not allowed to discriminate against others' price choices for their goods and services. Rockefeller had a habit of selling his products at cheaper prices in order to destroy his competition and run them out of business, an act that was now considered illegal thanks to the Clayton Anti-Trust Act. It declared monopolies illegal and stopped the shifting of prices in order to weaken opponents. The act worked to promote free trade by no longer allowing companies to purchase controlling stocks and decrease the impact big business has had on the nation since shortly after the civil war.

LAD #26

Dr. Martin Luther Kind Jr begins his famed speech by acknowledging that the march on Washington will be recorded as the greatest demonstration of freedom in American history. He then takes on a Lincoln-type voice as he states "five score and seven years ago" and begins talking of the Emancipation Proclamation signed during the Battle of Antietam by the president himself. He talks of the proclamation finally freeing blacks from the burdening chains of slavery, but a mere century later they are still not free. In this day and age they are bound by the rules of Jim Crow laws and "Whites Only" drinking fountains, restaurants, bathrooms, and more. Negros, despite slavery no longer holding them down, are now shunned and discriminated against in their own homes. They have been backed into a corner of solitude by the society they were thought to be a part of. Martin Luther King Jr continues by saying how America has broken her long standing promise of equality and a new life, therefore giving Negros country-wide a feeling of frustration towards those who put them in the position they are. He says how all black people want is to have the "security of justice" and to eradicate the discrimination among the color barrier. He takes a shot at those who considered their peaceful march to be Negros simply "blowing off steam" and says that they will neither rest nor back down until they are granted the citizenship they rightfully deserve. People asked when the Civil Rights Movement and those involved in it would be satisfied, to which Martin Luther King JR. replied "we can never be satisfied so long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied." He continues to speak of the great injustice the whites had continually forced upon the black man. He then states that he has a dream of his own that is deeply rooted in the American dream to once again establish the connection between Negros and the country built upon the righteous belief of freedom. "I have a dream," he presses on with one of the most famous lines in all of history, "that one day my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not by judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today." He concludes his speech by commanding not only the audience but those listening who opposed his viewpoint to "let freedom ring" and allowing there to come a time when Negros can finally say that they are free at last once more.

LAD #25

The Dawes Act was the removal of Indians in America to preselected Indian reservations. Each Indian would be given a specific spot of land to call their own and do what they wished with. The head of the family was the person who took on the most amount of land, which was to be expected at that time period. The document continued to explain just how much each Indian would be given land-wise. The select number of Indians who did not receive an assigned reservation to live on could journey anywhere in the United States to live, while those already assigned reservations were stuck living there for the next 25 years. After that only those in the seat of president could decide whether or not to allow Indians more time on the reservation they were assigned.

LAD #24

Bryan's Cross of Gold Speech was a tactic to sway the American people to support the free coinage of silver. The Democratic party was swimming against the tide during the time, the rest of the country wanting to stray away from bimetallism while they wanted to absorb it. But Americans, wanting to stay in touch with the time period, chose to remain trapped in a world ruled by gold along with a number of other countries at that point in history. Bryan continued to state how America wouldn't be alone for long since it was most likely their switch to silver would soon be followed by other countries such as Britain. Bryan continued to state how the destruction of a city would just lead to another rising in its place, but the destruction of a farm meant it would never rise again. Suffering would be inevitable after that and people would only rush to their rescue. Bryan finishes the speech by stating how they cannot--shall not--"crucify mankind upon a cross of gold." (italics added)

LAD #23

Factory conditions grew continually worse after the rise of big business post civil war, leading to the creation of groups such as the Populist Political Party who stood up against corporate greed in order to create better working conditions for the lower classes. The party continued by drafting a document that stated all the impact big business had left on poverty stricken immigrants and the working class. They explained the slums people were living in along with the unionizations taking place. They continued to explain their belief that silver should be used as the number one currency in America, going back to the much debated concept on paper money or coins. Populists considered the government to have failed its people and it to be as corrupt as the big businesses that'd left the country in shambles. They want there to be unionizing of labor workers and no longer monopolized land controlled by powerful businesses. They embodied the idea of a better life for those living in the slums and working with machines that have killed more people than they can count. The party came to an end around the early 1900s, but their fight was not forgotten and continued to grow through those around them searching to better the lives of immigrants and union workers.

LAD #22

After the Cubans revolted against the Spanish, the government, attempting to keep the US out of war for the time being, declared an ultimatum in which the Spanish would stop all forms of fighting and offer an armistice to the Cubans who'd revolted against them. McKinley wanted to push further and completely stop the fighting in Cuba, bringing his ideas to Congress a mere two days after the ultimatum with Spain. He stated that "in the name of humanity. . . the war in Cuba must stop" and continued to inform Congress in all they'd accomplished with Spain two days prior. McKinley reminds Congress about the destruction of the Maine and stated how the war raging on in Cuba is close to compromising their own peace and protection. McKinley believed it was their duty to do something about the conflicts. He pressed stating how if Spain were to leave their promise to end the hostile fighting broken, the conflict would still exist. McKinley's words for peace through force became a reality after Congress agreed to join the fight from the side of the Cubans, plunging America into war a mere three years after their policy of isolation had been put in place.