LAD #19: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Summary of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address -

Lincolns began his second term on March 4, 1865.  He commences by discussing the anxiety that Americans were feeling about the possibility of a Civil War when he stood there four years ago.  Now, Americans are anxiously waiting for the end of the war.  Everyone understands that slavery was the cause of this war but no one expected this conflict to last as long as it had at this point.  It is time for Americans to reunite and heal the nation and create a lasting peace.

LAD #18: Dred Scott decision

Summary of Chief Justice Roger Taney's decision in the Dred Scott V Sanford case -

Roger Taney ruled that slaves were property in the Dred Scott V Sanford case.  The constitution did not explicitly state a distinction between slaves and other types of property.  Taney declared the Missouri Compromise as unconstitutional because it denied slave owners their property.  Though Dred Scott stayed in a free state, Illinois, he filed the lawsuit in a slave state, Missouri.  As property, a slave, Scott was not allowed to sue; therefore the case was dismissed.

LAD #17: Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman" speech

Summary of Truth's "Ain't I a Woman" speech -

Sojourner Truth delivered this speech in December of 1851 at a Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio.    She begins by talking of what the man thinks women need.  They think women need aide in getting into carriages and being lifted over ditches; however, she does not receive that treatment.  She declares that she works as hard as a man does, and she can eat as much as a man can, and she can bear as much a man can.  She has had 13 children and had to experience the pain of selling them off.  After each of these statements she asks "and ain't I a woman?"  She wonders what intellect has to do with equal rights.  She mentions that without women there would be no men.  All people, white or black, male or female, should be equal.

LAD #16: Frederick Douglass' "5th of July" speech

Summary of Douglass' "5th of July" speech -

Frederick Douglass, a former slave, became a member of the Abolitionist Movement.  He delivered his 5th of July speech in Rochester in the year 1852.  The bulk of the speech was him questioning what blacks have to Independence Day for they do not feel that freedom.  In reality, Douglass feels despair during this day because it reveals the distance between a whites and blacks.  While the white man celebrates, he says he must mourn; he declares that the "Fourth of July is yours, not mine".  America's greatest sin is slavery and no other country is as guilty as the United States in regards to their treatment of blacks.

LAD #15: Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Summary of the Gettysburg Address -

President Lincoln gave this speech, 152 years ago tomorrow, following the Battle of Gettysburg which was the turning point of the war.  Lincoln commences the address with "four score and seven years ago..."  America was created.  He compares the civil was to the American Revolution and discusses the foundation the United states was founded upon.  He states that they are gathered to honor the soldiers who have given their lives so that the nation could live on.  Furthermore, it is up to Americans to dedicate themselves to establishing a new freedom and that their government "of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth."

LAD #14: Lincoln's 1st Inaugural Address

Summary of Lincoln's First Inaugural Address -

Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president, swore into office on March 4, 1861.  Lincoln begins by discussing the issue of slavery and the southern states.  Lincoln did not want any states to secede so he reassured them that though he is a republican he has no interest in taking away their slaves and he wants to keep peace.  He also assured that slaves who escaped from a slave state to a free state would still not be considered free.  Then, Lincoln goes on to state that the country is not allowed to be broken apart for the Constitution binds the states together.  So, if any state wanted to secede then all the states would have to agree.  Overall, his speech is a message on how he would do anything to keep the country unified.

LAD #13 - John Calhoun's Speech

Summary of Calhoun's The Clay Compromise Measures

On March 4, 1850, John C. Calhoun's most famous speech was delivered by another senator due to Calhoun being too ill.  Calhoun believes that the issue of slavery will be the cause of a disunited America.  His thoughts go largely ignored, so he then asks how the union can be saved and what has endangered the Union.  Calhoun believed the main factor of the division between the North and South was slavery.  The North and South were like polar opposites, and Calhoun though that the differences could be traced back to the act of owning and selling slaves.  Additionally, the North's representation in the Senate was increasing as America expanded and gained more states.  Calhoun stated that slavery was necessary and it was the South's right to have slaves.  Neither the new economical system nor immigrants were beneficially impacting the South. The Union could be preserved if the North just restored the balance that was once between the two areas.

LAD #20: Emancipation Proclamation

Summary of the Emancipation Proclamation -

Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862.  It stated that on the first day of the year 1863, all slaves would be free and the federal government will work to recognize and maintain their freedom.  He asks these free slaves to not be violent unless it is self defense and to work hard for reasonable wages.  Freed slaves are also able to join the armed services of America.

LAD #12 - President Polk's War Message

Summary of Polk's War Message, 1846

James K. Polk delivered a speech to Congress on the reasons we should go to war with Mexico.  Originally, Polk sought after a diplomatic solution to the border disputes and to the unjustified actions of the Mexican government to American settlers along that border.  As a result, Polk sent an envoy, John Slidell, to negotiate, but Mexico turned Anerica away and refused to hear any of their propositions.  Mexico then invaded United States territory.  All efforts to maintain friendly ties failed.  The U.S. decided to send in troops to defend the newly annexed territory and its citizens.  Mexican troops were invading our land and killing our soldiers.  This is why Polk saw it justified to go to war.

LAD #11 - Seneca Falls Declaration

Summary of The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions -

The Seneca Falls Convention, held from July 19-20, 1848, was the first convention for women's rights.  It was organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucrecia Mott.  It advocated for both the emancipation of women and slaves.  Throughout history, men have held all the power over women.  Women can not vote, can not own property, and is required to be obedient to her husband.  Man made it so that women must depend on men to live their lives.  Women believed that these rules were unjust and felt that they were entitled to the same rights as men, as they too were American citizens.  God is supreme and he dictated that one should pursue true happiness.  As the superior being, this statement resolved that women were created equal to men, that they should have the right to vote, and that it was their duty to attain that right.