LAD #26 Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" Speech

Summary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech", given from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, August 28, 1963:

King starts by acknowledging how 100 years ago Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. However, 100 years later, the black man is still the impoverished outcast in society. He claims that they are all in Washington today to "cash a check", which had been promised to every American by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence. However, in the past when the black man has attempted to cash the check, it has always returned marked "insufficient funds".

King also "reminds America of the fierce urgency of Now", and that there is "no time to...take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism". He foretells that "those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual."

However, he also speaks to his people, warning them that "In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds." He states that "We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence." He also asserts that the Negros cannot develop a distrust for all white people; that both of their fates are inextricably tied up together.

He states that the Negros will never be satisfied as long as they are victims of police brutality, as long as they cannot stay in the same hotels as whites, as long as they cannot vote or voice their opinion for government. He makes a shout-out to all of the present victims of persecution in the crowd, who were persecuted for creatively standing up for their rights. He encourages them to "continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive."

He then proclaims his famous phrase, "I have a dream". And I will include the lines, not because I am lazy in my summarizing, but because they are powerful and moving and I'll enjoy reading them again:

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

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."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."²

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

                Free at last! Free at last!

                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!³

LAD #25 The Dawes Act

Summary of the Dawes Act, adopted by Congress in 1887:

The Act gives the power to the President to divide up the communal tribal lands held by the Native American Indians, and split them up into shares for each individual. The amount each Indian receives is determined by his age, gender, and family status. The President may perform this function whenever the land of reservations is deemed advantageous for agricultural purposes. Furthermore, it allows the government to purchase any excess Indian lands and sell them to American settlers. In addition, the Act provides for the assimilation of Indians into American culture. The Act excludes the 5 Civilized Tribes and several others. Finally, it makes it clear that the government retains the right to build railroads, highways, and construct telegraph lines through appointed Indian lands.

LAD #24 William Jennings Bryan's Cross of Gold Speech

Summary of William Jennings Bryan's Cross of Gold Speech, July 9th, 1896:

Bryan opens by saying that, as a person, he could run against the talented politicians for the Democratic nomination. However, he claims that the race is a matter of principle, and that it is the humanitarian principle which he supports that is running. He claims that every working man is a businessman, and that the hard-working, Westward-moving pioneers are as supported by the party as the Eastern Elite. he speaks to defend families against "the encroachment of aggregated wealth". He supports the Democratically-introduced income tax law that was recently declared by the Supreme Court to be unconstitutional. Against common Democratic beliefs, he supports the governmental control of money and banking. He discusses in great depth the issue of the free silver over the Republicans's gold standard. He discusses how the Republican nominee, McKinley, is losing popularity because his party once endorsed the gold standard, but now only supports it until international decisions change to bimetalism. He is thus confidant that his party will win in the Presidential election. He then completes his speech by describing how the Democratic party supports the struggling masses of workers who build the country's wealth. He says that the U.S. should turn to bimetalism before other nations and lead the world, as opposed to waiting for other nations to adopt it first. He concludes:


"Having behind us the commercial interests and the laboring interests and all the toiling masses, we shall answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them, you shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold."

LAD #23 The Populist Party Platform

Summary of the Platform of the Populist Party as of July 4th, 1892:

In the Preamble, the Populists give an inflamed introduction to their beliefs, primarily emphasizing how they pledge to correct two primary evils: the broad degeneration of society to build up the few wealthy bond-holders, and the faults of a solely gold-based currency.

In their official platform, they lay out their more specific goals if they were to be elected:
That labor unions will be permanently supported,
That wealth belongs to the laborer who earned it,
That the government will start managing railroads,
And that any land held unnecessarily by railroads or by aliens be reclaimed for use by legitimate settlers.

Financial Aspirations include:
Demands for the unlimited coinage of silver in addition to gold; for a graduated income tax; that money remain in public circulation, with the government taking only what it needs; and that savings banks be established by the government for public deposits.

They also make a list of resolves, including to support ex-Union soldier pensions, to sympathize with the workingman for shorter hours, to provide for the direct election of senators, and to support the income tax to reduce tax strains on domestic industries, etc...

LAD #22 President McKinley's War Message

Summary of President McKinley's War Message to Congress, April 11, 1898:

In 1898, Cubans had been fighting the Spanish for independence for three years. In March, the U.S., who had been neutral up to this point, demanded that Spain grant an armistice to the Cuban rebels. On April 9th, Spain sent a cable agreeing to the demands. Nevertheless, two days later, President McKinley presented a War Message to Congress to fight on the Cuban's side against the Spanish, only briefly noting at the end of the message that Spain had already agreed to suspend hostilities. Eight days later, Congress adopted a joint resolution to go to war with the Cubans against the Spanish.

In his speech, McKinley cited the loss of American investments in Cuba and the "irritation, annoyance, and disturbance of our citizens...[which] shocked the sensibilities and offended the human sympathies...". He states that intervention is justified "in the cause of humanity", to protect the rights of American citizens in Cuba, because of the damage to commerce and trade, and on the grounds that the conflict is a menace to American peace and an expense to the government. He then contemplates what kinds of intervention America could take, and notes that America has for several years already attempted to pacify the two nations into peace and prosperity. He cites extensively the destruction of the Maine by Spanish forces (although it has since been found that the ship sunk due to internal engine issues). Finally, he requests Congress to grant him the power to "secure a full and final termination of hostilities between the government of Spain and the people of Cuba...", and the ability to secure for the island a stable government. Finally, he mentions how Spain notified America two days ago that they were suspending hostilities in Cuba, and includes that he hopes Congress will take this fact into account.