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

          “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." Martin Luther King Junior was known for his great speeches that he would present and his “I Have a Dream” speech is probably the best and definitely the most famous speech that he had ever given. This speech was meant to call together all people, of every color to end the mistreatment of blacks that had been occurring without stop for centuries in America. Even with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation blacks have not been able to practice their rights to the fullest and America has not been a nation of equality. He states that inalienable human rights come with being an American and that a person of a different color other than white qualifies to this just as much as any white would. His speech was meant to push people to stand up to injustices such as this and push themselves towards achieving equality for themselves. Although he also stresses that they should stand up for themselves as civilly, respectfully and be as sophisticated about the matter as they can. King believed that violence is never the answer to such a delicate situation as fighting for equality for blacks in America. Though, he also believes that people should never stop fighting for their rights especially if they are being unfairly treated by discrimination. King truly believed that this dream of wiping out discrimination was still possible. It is not unreasonable if the people who are behind the cause never waver in their determination and dedication to reach true equality. “No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

LAD #25: Dawes Act

    

      The purpose of the Dawes Act was to replace tribal lands owned by the Native Americans and replace them with land that was individually owned properties. This act also gave power to the president that allowed him to take the land from the Indian tribes and give it to a single Indian worker. Each head of a family was allotted one-quarter of a section. Each single person over eighteen was allotted one-eighth of a section. Each orphan child under eighteen was allotted one-eighth of a section. This was another attempt of the government to assimilate the Indian people into the American society by redistributing their land. The Indians also had the choice of applying to become an American system and begin working for the government. It was also said that if there was not enough land then it would be divided up by a class system and patents would be given out by an agent for ownership of the lands. After five years of being on the land they would be able to keep the land forever which was a change from the government having total control over their lands, the government would normally just take the land if they needed it. The surplus lands were also open to non-Indians and for railroad use. This act was passed by the congress in 1887.

LAD #24: Bryan’s Cross of Gold Speech

    William Jennings Bryan, a democrat from Nebraska, gave the speech called the “Cross of Gold” and after this speech was given in 1896 Bryan was nominated to run as a candidate for the 1896, 1900 and 1908 elections by the democratic national convention. Bryan believes, and shows this belief in his speech, that the “money question” is the dominant issue in America and in the election. He supports the workingman and even praises the settlers in the west for working with nature, which is just as important as the business man’s work. He also praises people like Andrew Jackson for wanting to remove power from the wealthy and return that power to the common man. He supports income tax, the coinage of silver and opposes the national bank currency. He does not want the wealthy to “crucify mankind on a cross of gold”. His speech is mostly centered around endorsing the free coinage of silver at a 16 to 1 ratio to gold. Bryan’s party was actually called the silver democrats. By listening to Bryan’s speech it is easy to tell that he is passionate about what his party is running for and the support of the common man.

LAD #23: Populist Party Platform

The formation of this party was one of the responses to industrialization; it was a party that was opposed to big business. This party also emerged from the farmer’s alliance in the 19^th century. It was also the third independent party in presidential elections. The populists also were very opposed to the corruption that big business caused. This party was angered that the workingmen of America were being denied their rights because of the few extremely rich. The Populist Party also blamed these problems that were occurring in America on the other parties, saying that they were not doing anything to stop the various issues that were occurring. They believed that it was time for the government to take control over business and help out the workingman. Along with supporting the workingman the Populist Party supported labor Unions as well. The Populist Party also wanted the government to begin taking over certain things such as controlling the railroads and telephone companies to better help the everyday person. They also wanted to restrict immigration to allow for more American workers to get jobs. They also called for fairness in elections and fairness in taxes, also the abolition of armies of mercenaries such as the Pinkerton system. All in all the Populist Party Platform was all for the people.

LAD #22: McKinley's War Message

    McKinley’s main focus in this message was his disconcert that was directed towards the war in Cuba between the Cubans and the Spaniards where America was originally staying Neutral. McKinley feels that the war has been creating a large problem for the people of America because of the amount of effort needed to maintain the war and the immense problems that occurred because of the war. Included in these issues is that America was now forced to face enormous losses in their commerce and trade with Cuba. These losses caused the American people to become frustrated with their nation. There was also the problem with the brutal fighting practices that were developing in the war. The horrific warfare that was occurring greatly disturbed the American people. Due to the problems that were occurring in America because of the tensions between Cuba and Spain McKinley wanted to achieve armistice and end the bloody war as peacefully as possible. He believes that it is America’s duty to protect its own men and that this is a very important thing that should be done also that America owes it to Cuba, to provide them with the rights that they deserve. The reason McKinley wanted to intervene between Cuba and Spain was to try and fix the many problems that were occurring because of their tensions. What he believes is of the utmost importance is bringing peace back to America by stopping the menace that has brought so much trouble to America. Such as his concern with how close to home the fighting was which was shown from the destruction of the Maine. He finally states that the issue is now in the hands of the Congress and he has tried as hard as he can to prove to them that something has to be done because the fighting has become intolerable. Staying neutral was not going to help anyone in the war so something had to be done.