LAD #37 Brown vs. Board of Education

Summary of the Supreme Court Case Brown vs. Board of Education, 1954:

Little Linda Brown, a young black girl living in Topeka, Kansas, was forced to walk a mile to school through a railroad yard, while a segregated white school only blocks away. Her father appealed to the local NAACP, who used the opportunity to challenge the segregation of public schools in Topeka.

At a U.S. District Court, the judges agreed that the black schools were certainly not equal to the white schools. However, they ruled in favor of the Board of Education because of the Supreme Court precedent of Plessy vs. Ferguson.

Brown and the NAACP appealed to the Supreme Court in 1951, and the case was combined with others challenging public school segregation from around the nation. The Supreme Court heard the case in 1952 and 1953, but were unable to reach final decisions. Finally, on May 17, 1954, Chief Justice Earl Warren read the unanimous decision of the judges, which stated that the segregation of children based on race deprives the minority group of equal educational opportunities. Thus, the "separate but equal" ruling in Plessy vs. Ferguson was overturned, and it was decreed that the plaintiffs in the case were being deprived of equal protection of the law under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Thus, the desegregation of schools across America was ordered. However, although this was an enormous step, school desegregation was still a long ways off. The case did not abolish segregation in public facilities either. However, it did set a precedent that paved the way for integration and the civil rights movement.

LAD #36 The Truman Doctrine

Summary of the Truman Doctrine, in President Truman's March 1947 address before a joint session of Congress:

In his address, Truman emphasizes that the United States needs to aid in the reconstruction of Greece. Greece had nearly all of its financial assets and resources destroyed during WWII, and since the war its government has been defied by thousands of Communist-led armed men. The government is requesting American economic aid, and American advisors to help distribute the aid and supervise the country's reconstruction. Both America and Great Britain had previously been supporting Greece, but to inadequate levels, and Great Britain is no longer capable of supplying aid.

Truman states that Turkey also requires American support. He goes on to discuss the implications of U.S. involvement, saying that the foreign policy of the United Sates is to "create conditions in which we and other nations will be able to work out a way of life free from coercion." He states that the UN was founded to "make possible the lasting freedom and independence for all its members." Then he claims that the U.S. protested the violation of the Yalta agreement in Poland, Bulgaria, Rumania, and other nations. Thus, the U.S. must take immediate action to save Greece and Turkey. Truman proposes spending $400,000,000 to provide authority and assistance to Greece. If Greece falls, than Turkey may also fall, and if both fall, they would have a profound effect upon the other despairing free nations of Europe. As Truman said, "The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want. They spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife. They reach their full growth when the hope of a people for a better life has died. We must keep that hope alive."


"The free peoples of the world look to us for support in maintaining their freedoms."

LAD #35 FDR's Executive Order #9066

Summary of FDR's Executive Order #9066:

On the grounds that the success of WWII depends on the prevention of foreign espionage in America, FDR declares that the Secretary of War is authorized to construct military areas in which "any or all persons may be excluded", and he gave over to the Secretary the discretion to who should enter these areas. He states that the Secretary is authorized to provide food, transportation, shelter, and other accommodations for these groups. He also grants the Secretary the power to enforce compliance with these laws, and grants them the usage of Federal troops.

The wording of this order is very remote and unspecific. Never once is the word "Japanese" used, nor is any suspect group mentioned.

LAD #34 FDR's Pearl Harbor Address (Declaration of War)

Summary of FDR's Pearl Harbor Address to Congress, Dec. 8, 1941:

In a brief but potent message to Congress, FDR summarizes the events of the"...date that will live in infamy...". He mentions not only the Japanese naval and air attack on Pearl Harbor, which cost a great deal of American lives, but also reveals that the Japanese had been deliberately deceiving the U.S. in the recent peaceful diplomatic negotiations. He addresses the scope of the Japanese offensive, who also attacked Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippines, Wake Island, and Midway Island on the same day. He concludes by asking Congress to declare that war opened between Japan and the U.S. when Japan attacked the day before.

LAD #33 Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Inaugural

Summary of FDR's First Inaugural Address, March 4th, 1933:

FDR opens by stating that "...the only thing we have to fear is fear itself...", asserting that the unjustifiable terror of the economic times has been preventing the "retreat" from converting into an "advance". He states that in tough times, the nation will be led out by the people's support of a frank and vigorous leader. He then briefly mentions the economic woes confronting the nation at the time, and he states that America has confronted difficult times before.

He then declares that, "This Nation asks for action, and action now." His first objective is to put people to work. In his own words, this, "...can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our natural resources."


FDR also recommends the re-distribution of land, to shift the load slightly from the terribly overburdened urban centers. This task would be helped by efforts to raise the value of agricultural products, prevent the foreclosure of farms, and government initiatives to supervise the construction of transportation, communications, and utilities to these areas.


FDR necessitates the supervision of banking , and also the end of "...speculation with other people's money...". He also states that he will impress his agenda upon a special session of Congress. Furthermore, he declares that the re-establishment of foreign trade is of secondary importance to re-establishing the American economy at home. Nevertheless, he stresses the importance of establishing a "good neighbor" policy with foreign nations. He also states that during this time, there may be need for a "temporary departure from that normal balance of public procedure", meaning he may need to bend the powers of the Constitution briefly to help fix America's woes.


He ends with the appeal, "In this dedication of a Nation we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us. May He guide me in the days to come."

LAD #32 Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact

Summary of the Kellogg-Braind Peace Pact of August, 1928:

A treaty signed between U.S. and other powers, including Great Britain, Italy, and Germany immediately (for a total of eleven nations) and by France, Poland, Belgium, and Japan within a year. It provided for the renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy, and that should any nation that signed the treaty resort to war for national benefit, that nation would be denied the benefits of the treaty. Furthermore, the hope of the treaty is that the nations who did not sign it would eventually follow the example of the signed powers and themselves renounce war. The United States would be responsible for holding the original Treaty and adding any other nations to the Pact as they wished to be included.

A little more than a year following the signing of the treaty, forty more nations became parties to it.

The Treaty was created by Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg and signed by President Coolidge, and then was later reaffirmed by President Hoover and his Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson.

LAD #31 Wilson's Fourteen Points

Summary of Wilson's Fourteen Points, as delivered in Congress on January 8, 1918:

Wilson first discusses how the Central Powers are willing to "discuss the objects of the war and the possible basis of a general peace." However, he states that while Russia presents a definite statement and program of principles for which to make peace, the other powers seemed more concerned with merely retaining all of the territory that they had conquered. The Russian representatives broke off negotiations.

According to Wilson, the peace of the world relies upon the ability of the powers to negotiate peace out in the open, and not behind closed doors. Furthermore, he asserts that the poor and desperate Russians, under attack of Germany, desire to know the war aims of the Central Powers. He hopes that in some way America and the Central Powers could help the Russians to attain liberty and peace.

Wilson expresses again the importance of the "processes of peace" being created in the open with no secret understandings. He says, "The day of conquest and aggrandizement is gone by; so is the day of secret covenants..."

He then claims that, in ending the war, "we" (is he referring to America, or to the Central Powers?) only demand that "the world be made fit and safe to live in; and particularly that it may be made safe for every peace-loving nation which...be assured of justice and fair dealings by other peoples of the world as against force and self-aggression."

He then presents his Fourteen Points, which include, "Open covenants of peace" (Point 1), "Freedom of the seas" (2), "The removal of economic barriers among consenting nations" (3), "The reduction of national armaments" (4), and "Adjustment of colonial claims" (5), general adjustments of national boundaries (6-13) (with the theory of Self-determination being discussed in relation to the people of Austria-Hungary in 10), and finally Wilson's concept of a League of Nations "for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity" for all nations formed under the 14th article.

Wilson also makes it clear that he does not want to punish Germany, but instead to grant it "a place of equality among the peoples of the world".

He concludes be recognizing the principle of justice that is common in all of his Fourteen Points, and the fact that there is no longer doubt in the concrete terms of his war aims. In conclusion, he asserts that the people of the United States stand behind these principles.