LAD #37: Brown vs. Board of Education

This case occurred as a result of Linda Brown wanting to attend a white school in Topeka, because it was close to her house and more convenient that taking the railways to a black school. She sued the Board of Education for denying her the right to attend the school, and was backed by the NAACP in court as an underprivileged child. This case challenged the "spate but equal" policy put into place because of Plessy vs. Ferguson. The NAACP advocated that the feeling of inferiority among a black student when separated would disrupt their learning, and the Supreme Court overturned the "separate but equal" clause in public schools. This result of this cause was a large step in the Civil Rights movement for African Americans.

LAD #36: Truman Doctrine

Communism was still feared, and Truman created the doctrine regarding Greece and Turkey of the Balkan Peninsula. These nations were struggling, and Truman believed that Congress should allow the United States to support these nations with financial aid, so that democracy could be preserved. President Truman did not want the Soviet Union to overpower these nations after WWII, so he believed the United States should intervene if necessary. Truman notes that the last time the United States decided not to take action in a situation similar, we found ourselves at war.

 

LAD #35: FDR's Executive Order #9066

In this order, FDR stated that he had the right to do anything in his power to protect the United States from destruction of national defense materials, utilities, and premises. He advocated that military establishments could be placed anywhere necessary, and these were meant to hold people who supported the Japanese Government. Specifically, these military areas were built to hold Japanese families. Approximately 120,000 Japanese people were held in this camps.

 

LAD #34: FDR's Declaration of War

On December 7th, 1941 the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred on Oahu Island. FDR believed that this was an appropriate reason to declare war, and told this to Congress. He famously categorized the attack on Pearl Harbor as, "a day that will live in infamy" and stated that war was a fair response to the attack. He believed that the Unites States had an adequate military and support system for the war. FDR was not going to let this act of terror go unsettled. Japan had also attacked Guam, Hong Kong, and the Philippines, proving that they had it coming for them. FDR inspired the people saying that he would protect the United States from further attacks.

LAD #33: FDR's First Inaugural Adress

Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered this speech on March 4th, 1993. On a positive note, he starts off his speech by stating that the Unites States will revive and prosper after he fixes an economic crisis. He said that although the nation was suffering economically, there were ways to come out of this depression. He gave the people the hope they wanted by stating, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." He told the people that they should not focus on money itself, but rather on the values of hard work and determination. Since the unemployment percentage was immensely low, that was FDR's number one aspect to fix. As another large supporter of preserving democracy, FDR was willing to listen to what the people had to say.

 

LAD #32: Kellogg Briand Peace Pact

After WW1 ended, the Treaty of Versailles proved to be unsuccessful and wasn't ratified by the United States. Another post-war treaty on a minor scale was the Kellogg Briand Peace Pact, which was created between the United States and other European Nations. The pact outlawed solving problems between nations by declaring war, unless it was for the purpose of defense. It encouraged rather the use of diplomatic strategies to resolve disputes. The Pact also required that nations associated with it obtain ratification of it from their government, and after this the pact would be put into effect. Although the pact contained appetizing ideas, it proved to be unrealistic because of future wars.  

LAD #31: Wilson's 14 Points

The conclusion of the Great War left many open options regarding how to handle the aftermath. Wilson's 14 points supported a more lenient policy to be placed upon Germany. France, Italy, and Britain believed that Germany should pay off a colossal amount of debt, but Wilson saw this as unrealistic due to the state of destruction that Germany was in. Wilson pointed out that the land in Russia that the German Military incorrectly claimed to be theirs was occupied by other ethnicities. Wilson's 14 points were: no more secret treaties, freedom of the seas, the removal of economic barriers, reduction of weapons, adjustment of colonial claims in the interest of the natives and colonizers, evacuation of all Russian territory, Belgium should be independent, France should be ultimately liberated and allowed to recover Alsace Lorraine, all Italians have the right to live in Italy, self-determination granted to Austria-Hungarians, self-determination granted to Balkan states, Turkish people should be governed by Turkish government, Poland should be independent and have sea access, and the League of Nations should be created.