LAD #30: Schenk vs. United States

Schenck was against the drafts that were created in America for young soldiers to enter into the war. He was so against it he sent out circulars to the draftees which urged the draftees that the draft was a terrible thing and they should not back down to intimidation. Although he believed in peaceful ways to repeal the Conscription Act such as protesting. Although, he was arrested for trying to cause insubordination and causing a conspiracy against the Espionage Act. The problem with this case has to do with the first amendment of free speech and if it applied to this particular situation if it put the actions of the government at risk. The case turned out to be in favor of the United States "The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent." Holmes says that the circumstances are presenting a clear danger to the war efforts which is why Schenck is being denied the freedom of speech. The doctrine could have protected him if he was not protesting the draft during a time of war when the draft was necessary to obtain more fighting men. 

LAD #29: Keating-Owen Child Labor Act

       Child labor in America was a rising problem during these times due to the fact that most of America was in poverty so families needed everyone to work. The conditions were so poor that children had 10-12 hours a day of work and unsanitary, dangerous conditions they would become injured and even killed because of these factors. The Keating-Owen act limited the log number of hours they had to work and goods made by children could not be sold over state borders. Over two million young boys and girls ranging from young children to teens were working in mines and factories along with other various jobs. The census that found these results sparked a movement towards reforming child labor. Muckrakers such as Lewis Hine were hired to further expose the terrible conditions with photographs and articles. Writers such as Charles Dickens wrote stories, such as Oliver that also exposed child labor. The Keating-Owens act was proposed in 1906 and the act "banned the sale of products from any factory, shop, or cannery that employed children under the age of 14, from any mine that employed children under the age of 16, and from any facility that had children under the age of 16 work at night or for more than 8 hours during the day." This act was passed by Woodrow Wilson although it was found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court case Hammer vs. Dagenhart. Eventually the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was created and is still in effect today.

LAD # 28: Wilson’s First Inaugural

     Woodrow Wilson was a Democratic candidate; he won his election in 1912 against Taft and Roosevelt who was running as a third party candidate. As Wilson addresses in his debate there has gradually been a change in American government that is now beginning to favor the Democratic Party. He believes this is a good thing because America needs a change in its political point of view. An important point to his inaugural address are the many aspects of the united states that he points out, things he believes are good about the U.S. and things that he believes need to be changed. With the great individuals in American history and the good structure of its government comes some unfortunate bad aspects. These include the unstable state of the economy which was brought on by its economic expansion. Also the fact that the American people have had to suffer because of the poor state America has been in the past. He also expresses that there is a way to change and prevent this suffering, by having the government and the nation’s people try their best to protect and fix the nation for the good of its future. These issues include an alteration to foreign tariffs, the industrial and banking systems and also the agricultural system. Some important things he believes in is the conservation of forests and other natural resources and that citizen’s should be protected by their government and not denied their rights. This includes passing important laws that are concerned with food and drug safety and sanitary laws.

LAD # 27: Clayton Anti-Trust Act

     In the late nineteenth century big business was posing quite a problem for the poor working class of America and there was a problem with the laissez faire government letting big business practically take control of America. Due to the power of industry many trusts and monopolies were created which hurt small businesses and allowed the big business owners to gain even more power. At first the government was in favor of industry because it brought success to America. Although eventually legislations were later passed such as the Sherman Anti-Trust act and the ICC but they were not enforced and sometimes were actually used against the workers. When Teddy Roosevelt became president things actually started changing for the benefit of the workers. Roosevelt even became known as a trust-buster because of his strong policies that were directed at stopping trusts from forming. The Clayton Anti-Trust Act passed in 1914 stated that no corporation could own the stock of another, and fixing prices on goods and transportation was illegal. This act also could not be used against workers.

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.