LAD #37: Brown v. Board of Education

During the 1950s, the schools for black children were quite inferior to the schools for white children. In Topeka, Kansas, Linda Brown walked a mile to go to her black school, when a white school was seven blocks away. The Browns used McKinley Burnett of the NAACP to support Linda for her desire to integrate schools. He argued that the segregated schools made the black children feel inferior to the whites, making segregation separate but not equal. However, the defense argued that segregated schools prepared children for the segregated world. The case of Plessy v. Ferguson made it unprecedented to rule in favor of the Browns. The court eventually did rule in favor of the desegregating schools, as segregation was against the Fourteenth Amendment. The court abolished "separate but equal" and integrated the schools.

LAD #36: Truman Doctrine

President Harry Truman announced his policy of containment of communism in his Truman Doctrine on March 12, 1947. It spoke directly about Greece and Turkey, two countries in Eastern Europe trying to resist Soviet influence politically and economically. Truman wanted to provide military and economic help to countries fighting against communism because he believed communism threatened the peace of the world and of the United States. This speech lead to $400 millions dollars sent to these countries to aid them in their fight. The United States did this to protect liberty around the world, and set the policy of containment up for the Cold War.

LAD #35: Executive Order #9066

FDR issued his Executive Order #9066 on February 19, 1942. He stated that this document was needed to prevent any acts of espionage or any other actions that were against the United States or its war effort. Roosevelt declared that the Secretary of War and Military Commanders had the power to designate military zones. He granted his support to other federal agencies and bureaus as well, to supply them with all the materials they may need. He ordered all federal agencies to support the war effort with all of their resources such as food, land, shelter, equipment, facilities, utilities, etc. This order led to Japanese internment camps in military zones in America, in which innocent Japanese- Americans were lead to prevent espionage.

LAD #34: FDR's Declaration of War

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, FDR addressed Congress asking for a declaration of war. The attack killed 2,335 people, but did not destroy the US aircraft carriers. Referring to the "date which will live in infamy," he states that the US was at peace with Japan prior, and that the attack was not initiated by the United States. He also tells that an hour before the attack, the Japanese Ambassador delivered a message stating that there was no threat of an attack. FDR also states that the Japanese were also attacking islands such as Wake Island, Guam, and the Philippines. Roosevelt closed by stating that the nation will be defended and that America would take a stand against the attacks of the Japanese. FDR wanted to show Japan and the rest of the world how strong America was, and how they would not tolerate violence toward their country. War was declared on Japan on December 8th, 1941, and three days later on Italy and Germany.

LAD #33: FDR's Inaugural Address

Franklin D Roosevelt took the oath of office in the midst of an extremely difficult time to lead the nation. He inherited the Great Depression from Herbert Hoover, and knew that he needed to take immediate action to relieve the nation. In his First Inaugural Address, he encouraged the nation to maintain it's composure. He believed that conditions would improve soon, and believed that "there is nothing to fear but fear itself". Although he speaks about the economic hardships of the country, he strives to stay positive by saying that the nation has so much to be thankful for. He believes that the wealth of Americans lies not in possessions and materials, but in hard work and integrity. He states that the biggest task to accomplish is putting people back to work, as the unemployment rate was the highest it had ever been. He also assured a strict supervision of all banking, credits, and investments, that there must be an end to speculation with other people's money, and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency. Finally, he closes with his belief that persistence and dedication is needed to overcome the obstacles the nation is facing, and that change will come.

LAD #32: Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact

On August 17, 1928, the Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact was signed in Paris at the French Foreign Ministry. The pact claimed that all the powers that signed the treaty would not use war to resolve "disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them". The only way it allowed arguments to be settled was by passive means- absolutely no war. It also threatened that countries who did not follow the treaty would "be denied the benefits furnished by this treaty". The pact was unsuccessful, but created a diverse bond between the United States, Australia,Canada, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Great Britain, India, Irish Free State, Italy, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, Poland, Belgium, France, and Japan.

LAD #31- Wilson's Fourteen Points

President Wilson was hoping for world peace with the creation of his Fourteen Points. He believed that peace with Russia was possible in a short amount of time, and that the Great War was fought for a moral and justified cause. Wilson's points were: open and public treaties without private dealings, freedom of the seas, removal of economic barriers and establishment of equal trade, reduction of armaments, impartial adjustment of colonial claims, an evacuation and help for Russia, sovereignty for Belgium, a correction of the wrong-doings of the Prussians to France in Alsace-Lorraine, the readjustment of Italian borders, free opportunity for development of Austria-Hungary, evacuation of Rumania, Serbia, and Montenegro, free passage and sovereignty for the Turkish Romanians in Dardanelles, creation of a sovereign Polish state, and an association of nations geared towards world peace and protection. This last point, which created the League of Nations, was thought to be the most important by Wilson because he compromised all of his other points for it's creation. These Fourteen Points were an attempt to settle the "War to End All Wars" and to prevent further conflicts, although this proved to be impossible.