LAD #26: MLK's 'I Have a Dream' Speech

Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous ‘I Have a Dream ‘ speech in March, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington D.C with a crowd of about two hundred thousand civil rights supporters listening. His speech was about how one day he wished that everyone would share the same vision of equality that he did. Despite the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln, MLK felt that the Negro community in America was continuously being oppressed and endured suffering. He encouraged the Negro’s to rise and walk with the whites with the goal that one day they would live happily in a world where all men were truly created equal. The fight for equality had already begun so there was no turning back. MLK hoped that one day there would be no more segregation and the his children would not be "judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

LAD #25: Dawes Severalty Act

In 1887 the Dawes Act was passed. This act took Native American’s land and split it into individual properties. The Native Americans were then relocated to a predetermined area specifically set aside for them. Each person was given a certain amount of land and whoever was registered as the head of the family received one-quarter of the land. The land however was still controlled by the government so the Native Americans did not get to keep the land forever. Native Americans who were not granted an area of land were allowed to live anywhere else in the United States. In addition to distributing individual land plots, the Dawes Act also granted the Native Americans equal rights and the benefits of being under American law. After twenty-five years this act became invalid. 

LAD 24 - Bryan’s “Cross of Gold Speech"

On July 9th, 1896, William Jennings Bryan, spoke at the Democratic National convention in Chicago. First he talked about the true valve of an American worker and how important they are. Bryan believed that the coinage of silver would help the hurting economy. By sharing his feelings he was not looking to start a fight, but in fact he wanted to clear to air and fix the problem. He believed in income tax and felt that the nation needed a leader who could distribute the wealth to the people. He understands that many city people support the gold standard and tries to explain to them that their wealth comes from the poor and the poor need the coinage of silver. 

LAD #23 - Populist Party Platform

Preamble: 

  - country is run in corruption 

  - goal: restore the government to help people have their say and influence that has been  lost

  - populist party wants:

            -labor unions to stay legal

            -railroad will belong to the people or if the government steps in the corporation owns the people

            -a man should receive his full profit without industry taking it away 

Finance:

  - demanded a free coinage of gold and silver 

  - wanted the amount of circulation to increase

  - believed that the countries money should be held in the hands of who provide for it and profit from      it 

Land/Transportation:

  - telephones, telegraphs, and railroads should be run by the government for the good of the people 

Overall, the party wanted to compromise with the government in order to benefit America as a whole and have it prosper in the upcoming years. 

LAD #22: McKinley's War Message

President McKinley addressed Congress in the spring of 1898 to discuss the war between Cuba and its mother county, Spain. The war was affecting American trade with those countries and many people were becoming anxious over in America. McKinley urged Congress to somehow try and stop the war. One suggestion was to use neutral intervention in order to create a compromise between Cuba and Spain. A second and easier option was to pick one side and fully support it. After further analyzing, McKinley decided that neutral intervention would be more beneficial for the U.S. despite the fact that it would be more difficult to execute. He said that the U.S. must recognize its relation to the conflict because its citizens have the right to protection and property. The U.S. was related to the conflict because of political, economical, and social reasons, and after the ordeal with the Maine, there U.S. was highly involved. McKinley did not have the power to end the war; it was left up to Congress.