LAD #37: Brown Vs. Board of Education

Summary: The court case started with a black elementary school girl from Topeka who had to walk to her low quality school every day even though it was further away than the white school. Her father contacted the NAACP to challenge segregation in court.

The NAACP lost the early battles due to the court's decision to uphold Plessy V. Ferguson, but later on in a review, the court overturned the Plessy case. It was decided in 1954 that the black children were not receiving equal education as the white children and thus separate but equal was not equal by any standards.

Though the victory was groundbreaking for the desegregation of schools, a long journey remained to desegregate the whole United States, including public facilities. Still, the case provided a precedent that gave the NAACP and black people leverage to achieve their ends.

LAD#36: Truman Doctrine

Summary: After the fall of the Axis powers in 1945, a new enemy would dominate U.S. foreign policy. Having recently fought a war on the side of the U.S.S.R., direct confrontation was unlikely, but a new war had begun. Containment was king in this Cold War, a doctrine initiated by Harry S. Truman.
Greece would be the first target of this new doctrine. The impoverished Greeks had been ravaged by war, with an idle U.N. unable to do anything against the threat of Russia in Northern Greece.
 Greece, as Truman stated, was in desperate need of U.S. resources in order to oust communism and rebuild their country.
Turkey was another nation that required aid in order to modernize and democratize. The U.S. was quick to give Turkey such aid. 750 million dollars were sent to Greece and Turkey after the Second World War by the U.S. The doctrine helped the United States affirm what it saw itself as; a promoter of peace and liberty. Granting fledgling nations the resources they needed became a precedent in years to come, as well as the suppression of communism throughout the world.

LAD #35: Executive Order 9066

Summary: Executive Order 9066 granted FDR's secretary of War and other military officials the right to use their power to gain residence in local and foreign areas for U.S. troops. The order supported this by asserting that said residences require adequate food, shelter and transportation for the troops. To maintain control of their areas, the troops are granted support from local police and other agencies.

LAD #34: FDR's Declaration of War

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Summary: December 7th, 1941 was a day that FDR famously said "would live in infamy" due to the ferocious Japanese assault of the U.S. airbase at Pearl Harbor. It was with confidence that he asked Congress to go to war, putting faith in the will of the American people coupled with the power of the armed forces. Letting Japanese aggression go on unabated would create major problems in the Pacific, just as letting Nazi Germany flourish would in Europe. Japan destroyed any hope of peace with their attacks on Peal Harbor, and the time had come to wage a righteous conflict against the aggressive island nation. FDR urged American entry into the war, and by the consent of congress, we won it.

LAD #33: FDR's First Inaugural Address

Summary: FDR makes his first few words crystal clear; We are in peril. After a stock market crash and ensuing economic panic, he faces a long road to recovery. He reassures the people that although it may seem to be a continually looming threat, it wasn't as bad as people believe. Fearing this depression is dangerous, and he asserts that, "The only thing to fear is fear itself". Roosevelt recognizes that, yes, the economy is in shambles and the farmers are rioting and everyone's savings are gone and traders have no hope, but it was his almost reckless hopefulness that characterized his first inaugural.

The problems that led to this Great Depression were selfishness, as evident in the stock traders; problems that could be rectified. The ethics that plague this nation must be reversed in the direction of good will, and the government must join in this fervor, with relief efforts, subsidization and government employment. To cure these ills will allow for greater trade not only within, but internationally.

To dig this great nation out of this depression will take "collectivism" and self sacrifice, evident in the selfless actions of the founding fathers. Roosevelt's rock solid confidence was a beacon of hope to a struggling nation.

LAD #32: Kellogg Briand Peace Pact

Summary: This Act, like W. Wilson, represented a reconciliatory attitude towards post war politics. It was a ubiquitous treaty, signed by Great Britain, Italy, Germany, France, Japan, Poland and Belgium by 1929. The Pact renounced war and, in a way, gave an incentive for nonviolence. Nations that violated the pact and waged war would be renounced and denied any benefits granted by taking part in the treaty. The primary proponent of the Treaty was the Untied States, who not only wanted to prevent war amongst the signees, but the whole world. The United States brokered the Treaty, allowing or disallowing admission. The Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg, with the support of President Herbert Hoover, wrote the treaty.

Article I Proposes that war be denounced as a tool of foreign policy
Article II Asserts that signees will only use peace to address issues
Article III Outlines the signing and ratification process

Eventually, more than forty nations would enter the pact.

LAD #31: Wilson's 14 Points

Summary: It was obvious to Wilson, being one of the level headed leaders at Versailles, that the suggested Treaty would be far too harsh on the already struggling Germany. One simply had to look back at the Civil War and see the hatred and loathing in the South that came from a harsh Reconstruction Policy. Instead of condemning Germany and forcing her to pay reparations, Wilson sought to follow the path of reconciliation. The attitude of the United States leading up to this point was to "make safe the world for freedom and democracy". The 14 points were bullets aimed at those who would suppress these freedoms. The points included some of the following:
-The outlawing of secret negotiations
-Freedom of the seas
-Reduction of worldwide militaries
-Belgium should be independent
-Self-determination for those in Austria-Hungary
-Independence for Poland
-League of Nations
Europe was left all but eviscerated after this "Great War", and the allies boiled with anger over the alleged German atrocities and damages. The 14 points would've been the keystone in a successful bridging to a safer Europe.