LAD #20: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Summary:

(March 4, 1865)

A president's second inaugural address ought to be shorter than his first, and it should describe the course of the past four years and the hoped course for the next four. All dreaded the Civil War, but inevitably it came. The colored slaves, one eighth of the population, mostly located in the South, were a cause of this war. Neither side expected it to last this long. Both sides pray to the same God, and it is His will that this war has come when it has. Let us finish this work and make lasting peace with ourselves and all nations.

photo- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Abraham_Lincoln_second_inaugural_address.jpg

LAD #19: Emancipation Proclamation

Summary:

(January 1, 1863)

All slaves within rebellious states are free. The executive branch and its military and naval power will uphold the freedom of these people. A state is not in rebellion if it is represented in the Congress of the United States. This is a necessary war measure. The freed people should not engage in acts of violence, and they should attempt to earn legitimate wages. They are invited to join the Union army. This emancipation is an act of justice and warranted by the Constitution.

photo- http://mtviewmirror.com/wp-content/uploads/the-emancipation-proclamation-american-school.jpg

LAD #18: Dred Scott Decision

Summary:

(1857) The court decided that no black person, including a free black person, had the privilege to sue in court. Even though Scott had traveled to Illinois he was still considered property.

photo- http://figures.boundless.com/7308/full/dredscott.jpeg

LAD #17: Ain't I A Woman

Summary:

(Sojourner Truth, 1851)

Even though I'm a woman, nobody has ever treated me like a white woman. I have worked like a man and borne 13 children. It is now up to us to turn this world right side up.

photo- http://a3.files.biography.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,g_face,h_300,q_80,w_300/MTE1ODA0OTcxODA3OTY2NzMz.jpg

LAD #16: What to the Slave is the 4th of July?

Summary:

(Frederick Douglass, 1852)

Black people have no reason to partake in the festivities of the Fourth of July because independence doesn't extend to them. The jubilee is a mockery of the suffering of millions, and American reigns in hypocrisy.

photo- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Frederick_Douglass_portrait.jpg

LAD #15: Gettysburg Address

Summary:

87 years ago, this country was founded on the principles of democracy. Now we are engaged in a civil war that will test whether that country can stand. The world will not remember what we said here, but it will remember what happened here. The living must take up the work of those who died at this battle site so the devoted will not have died in vain. This country will have a new birth of freedom for the government of the people, by the people and for the people that will not perish from this earth.

photo- http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/gettysburgaddress.htm

LAD #14: Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

Summary:

With a Republican president, Southerners are afraid that their "peace and personal security" will be endangered. Lincoln assures them that he has no right or inclination to interfere with slavery where it exists. The state's have rights and an invasion would violate those rights. Lincoln promises to uphold the Constitution. He discusses the fugitive slave situation briefly. The union is perpetual and is older than the Constitution. If one state leaves, the union is less perfect than the Constitution. Federal laws must be followed in all states and secession is considered insurrection or revolution. On issues not explicitly solved in the Constitution, the majority and the minority have to cooperate. "The central idea of secession is the essence of anarchy." Slavery is the major issue between the sections, and the sections cannot physically separate themselves. The government belongs to the people in it, and the people have a right to amend it. The sections should not be enemies, but friends.

photo- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Abraham_lincoln_inauguration_1861.jpg

LAD #13: Calhoun's Speech

Summary:

(March, 1850) The issue of slavery has caused agitation that endangered the Union. It is caused by the long-standing and widespread discontent of the southern states. This discontent comes from the balance of power in the government, as the North has the majority of the population and more states. The imbalance was not only caused by time, but also by legislation. First, the North is trying to claim the territory recently gained from the treaty with Mexico. Second, the South is unfairly burdened with taxes. With this legislation, the government has disrupted the equilibrium between the North and South. The North also holds contempt for the issue of slavery, an institution necessary for the South. The South will have to choose between abolition and secession. In order to preserve the union, the North needs to do justice for the South, since the South doesn't have the power to fix the situation.

photo- http://www.shmoop.com/jackson-era/photo-john-c-calhoun.html

LAD #12: Polk's War Message

Summary:

(1846) The US has a strong desire to establish peace with Mexico. In October of 1845, Mr. John Slidell was sent to Mexico to settle the Texas border and negotiate peace. Then the revolutionaries who overthrew the Mexican government in December of 1845 refused to speak with Mr. Slidell. Texas at this point was under the protection of the US and part of its revenue system. In the spring of 1846, the troops at Del Norte were instructed to act peacefully until war was declared or an act of hostility was committed. The belligerence of the Mexican troops lead to a small battle near the Rio del Norte. The grievances of the US citizens are ignored and no attempt is made by the Mexicans to solve them. Commerce with Mexico is all but destroyed. As Texas is an independent republic that has chosen to annex itself into the US, and Mexico has invaded the US. The two nations are now at war.\

photo- http://fineartamerica.com/featured/5-james-k-polk-1795-1849-granger.html

LAD #11: Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments

Summary:

1. Declaration

The history of men is the history of the oppression of women. Women are not allowed to vote, are not allowed to own property, and are only allowed to hold subordinate positions within the church and society. The institution of marriage is thoroughly oppressive and constricting.

2. Resolutions

It is a woman's right to participate in religious and intellectual activities through speaking, teaching and writing. It is up to women to secure the right to vote for themselves and throw off long-standing oppression.

photo- http://interactive.wxxi.org/files/images/highlights/SenecaFalls.jpg