LAD #29

Summary of the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act

The Industrial Revolution was very beneficial to the United States but with the benefits came the downsides, a major one being child labor. The factory conditions were extremely poor and children were forced to work long hours doing things that were detrimental to their health and well-being. The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act was designed to help solve some of these issues. This act reformed the issues faces by child laborers. It restricted child labor by prohibiting the sale of goods made in factories by children under the age of 14, prohibiting the operation of mines with children under the age of 16, and prohibited children under 16 from working more than 8 hours a day.  Although, congress passed the act and the president signed it into law, the supreme court later ruled it unconstitutional because it overstepped the government's power to restrict interstate commerce. Reforms and additional legislation continued to fight for child labor laws throughout the 1800s and early 1900s. 

LAD #28

Summary of Wilson's First Inaugural

In 1912, Democrat Woodrow Wilson became president after a split in the Republican Party between Republican Taft and Progressive Roosevelt. Wilson recognized the shift to Democratic power in the government and wanted to let the people know that this switch will bring about positive change for the nation. He talked about the need for changes to be made in society and in the morals of the people. Wilson wanted to help get rid of problems like selfishness and corruption that were hurting the nation. He commented on all of the good that came out of the Industrial Revolution and how strong the United States was, but also acknowledged the bad. He vowed to help fix the problems that arose from the revolution and end the current laissez-faire status of the government. Some of the major reforms he talked about were over issues like labor conditions, sanitary laws, and pure food laws. Wilson wanted to reform the nation and for the good of the people and he knew the way to do this was through reforms.

 

LAD #27

Summary of the Clayton Anti-Trust Act

The Clayton Anti-Trust Act was passed on October 15, 1914 as a supplement to existing laws against unlawful restraints and monopolies. This act made it illegal for anyone in commerce to discriminate in price between different buyers in order to lessen competition or create a monopoly. However, it did not restrict adjusting price to quality or quantity and still allowed for businesses to select customers in bona fide transactions. Businesses were also forbidden from making sales or fixing prices on the agreement that the lessee or purchaser doesn’t use goods of a competitor where it would lessen competition or allow a monopoly. Finally, it forbid corporations from acquiring the whole or any part of the stock of another corporation in situations that would lessen competition or create monopolies.

LAD #26

Summary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech

 In March of 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington D.C. Thousands of civil rights supporters gathered to listen. The speech was his way of expressing how he hoped someday everyone would share the same vision of equality. He told the crowd that even since the Emancipation Proclamation the black community is still oppressed and facing many cruel sufferings. He also expressed his dream that one day blacks and whites would walk and live together happily and peacefully and everyone would be equal. He points out that the U.S. is supposed to be a place where "All men are created equal" but that hasn't been realized yet because of the ongoing oppression and discrimination. MLK tells the nation that the fight for equality has begun and will not weaken until all men, blacks and whites, are truly created equal. He desired a world for his children where they would not be judged or hated because of the color of their skin. He  tells the civil rights supporters that things will not get better today or tomorrow but they have to go back to the south or the slums of the north and continue to fight because one day equality will be achieved. He closes by saying that once the nation realizes and accepts all of God's children to be equal then and only then will freedom ring. 

LAD #25

 Summary of the Dawes Act of 1877

The Dawes Act was passed in 1877 and was concerned with the handling of Native American land.  The act took the Native American’s land and split it into shares as individual properties. In order to determine how much land was granted to an individual, their age, gender, and family status would be used. Each person was given land with the head of the family receiving 1/4 of the land. However, this land was still controlled by the government, so they did not get to keep the it. The spots were predetermined so Native Americans had to go to the area specifically set aside for them. Anyone who wasn't given an area of land was allowed to live anywhere else in the U.S.  This could occur at any time if the President decided land was beneficial to agriculture. With the Dawes Act, it was now legal for the government to purchase the land and sell it to American citizens in order to settle it. The Act also gave Native Americans equal rights and benefits under American law but pushed for assimilation and the Native Americans were expected to adopt white culture. Finally, the Act gave the government the right to place transportation methods such as railroads and highways on land given to Native Americans.

LAD #24

Summary of William Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold" Speech

William Jennings Bryan spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in July of 1896. He spoke about several ideas from the Populist Party perspective, especially on bimetallism (the idea that the country should coin both silver and gold). He discussed the value of the currency but stressed that the Democrats did not want to be hostile to the Republicans despite their ideas on bimetallism being very different. He believed that the coinage of silver would benefit the suffering economy that was caused by Republican big business. His goals were not to start a fight but instead to open a discussion to fix the problems. Income tax was another thing he believed in. He thought that the nation needed someone (the government) to help distribute the wealth to the people and that banks shouldn't have this power. He is aware of the fact that many people support the gold standard but explains that their wealth comes from the poor who depend upon the coinage of silver. Bryan brings up the fact that the Republicans are supposedly in support of the gold standard but are also trying to replace it, which is contradictory. This was possibly an attempt to copy Britain, which also shouldn't be done because foreign pressures shouldn't control American economic decisions. His speech, with both Populist and Democratic views, excited the people. They cheered and celebrated with his final lines,“you shall not press down on the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind on a cross of gold.” 

LAD #23

Summary of the Populist Party Platform

The Populist Party Platform began with a Preamble that stressed the poor state of the nation as a result of excessive corruption. Major issues include wages, worker's rights, ballots, silver, and the lack of power held by the common people.  The party wants to restore the government and help the people have a greater influence to solve these issues destroying the country. The Populist Party supports labor unions, believes that the workers should receive the full profit without industry taking away, and that railroads need to stop controlling the people, the people should control the railroads and government should step in to help. Next, the party discussed finances. They wanted a strong national currency issued by the government. They also wanted free coinage of gold and silver, the amount of circulating medium to increase, a graduated income tax, the money in the hands of the people, and for postal savings banks to be established by the government. As far as land and transportation are concerned, the party wanted telegraphs, telephones, and railroads to be run by the government for the good of the people. Overall, the goal of the Populist Party was to compromise with the government in order to benefit the American people and to help the nation become less corrupt and more prosperous in the future.

 

LAD#22 McKinley's War Message

Summary of McKinley's War Message

President McKinley addressed Congress in 1898 as a result of the ongoing war between Cuba and Spain. The war was causing damage to America as trade was affected and the public was becoming worried. In his address, McKinley urged Congress to find a way to stop the war then he followed that with some ideas to create peace. The first was to use a neutral intervention to create a compromise between the two nations. The second was to pick one side to support. McKinley believed that neutral intervention would be the best option even though it would be harder to accomplish. He stressed the relevance of the conflict and its damaging affects to the United States mentioning the rights to protection and property. McKinley listed various political, economic, and social issues that the U.S. was dealing with as a result of the conflict as a way to emphasize the importance of getting involved. He also brought up the sinking of the Maine which was a very severe outcome of the fighting that directly affected the U.S. McKinley finished his address by telling Congress that after discussion, Spain agreed to a suspension of hostilities recently. He informed Congress that he did not have the ability to end the war by himself and he was leaving the issue to Congress.