LAD #20: Emancipation Proclamation

Emancipation Proclamation

The first part of this document declares the freedom of all slaves within any state and that these persons rights shall be withheld within the military and naval authority as well as the rest of the people. this is a promise to all slaves and they shall no longer be worried about being suppressed in rebellions due to being a slave nor held back by the executive branch. This promise would begin on the first of January in 1863. But this document only works for those states and areas that are under rebellion and that if a state wanted to declare themselves not in a rebellion, representatives would have to prove this to congress including those like Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and others. He then encouraged slaves to find jobs and this would make people pay them properly and allow them to join the Army. He approves this letter with the seal of the United States to be put into place.

LAD #19: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

At first Lincoln starts out his speech by talking about how he feels that this address is not nearly as important as his first since he is more just continuing his plans and ideas rather than starting new ones since he is the same person and has the same ideas as before. He then talks about why the civil war started. He believed that since the nation was divided,  it started because although he believed the union could be spared without war, others would not settle for the saving of the union without the war. Therefore the war had to happen. He believes the cause of the war was also that all of the slaves (1/8 the pop) were mostly in the south. But although some people wanted this war, neither side expected it to be as bad and long as it was.He then talks about God's role in the war and how people would pray for help but he could not answer either side because they all had the same beliefs of him and it was over the issue of slavery. He sums it up by saying that the God and him want to care for the nation and let it achieve unity and peace within it.

LAD # 18: Dred Scott Decision

Dred Scott Decision

In this case, a judge had came up with a majority vote yet his decision was not actually the majority, because of this a new judge, Taney, was decided to come up with many different outcomes for the case and the jury would decide along with Taney. On the day of the reading of the answer, Taney stated that as having Negros ancestors come into this country and sold as slaves, the generations to follow even those whom are free, cannot be considered a citizen of the United States, therefore they do not have the rights of a citizen. Without these rights Scott, being a negro, could not sue in federal court. This then brought his attention to the Missouri Compromise and if this was constitutional. He declared that in every part of the United States, life, liberty, and property, is given to citizens so to have declared territory unable to contain slaves, this cannot be constitutional since if someone decides to pick up and move to this new territory, these slaves are still their property so in the constitution they should be allowed to have their slaves there, therefore declaring the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. Then last he went back to this particular case and declared that since Scott was from Missouri, he was still a slave even though he had been living in the free state of Illinois. So the ruling in favor of Sanford was kept.

LAD #17: Ain't I A Woman?

Ain't I A Woman?

Sojourner Truth delivered this speech at a Women's convention in Akron Ohio. This speech was about the difference in treatments between black and white women. She starts by talking about how men will say that women need to be helped into carriages, lifted of ditches, and have special privliges everywhere but then she says, Ain't I A Woman? Because she is never lifted over puddles or have special treatment. She mentions how she works in the field and eats just as much as men do as well as having children and watching them get sent to slavery. Shes a women but gets no special treatment, whats with that? People would say that its the intellect that sets them different from the white woman or even just the minorities from the majorities? Nothing since even if its less, it is still there. Then she mentions how people would say that woman should always be suservient to men because God was a man. But she comes back with, where would God be without a woman to give birth to him? This speech is in summery about how even though she is black, she is still a woman and should be treated the same as well.

LAD #16: Fifth of July Speech

Fifth of July Speech

In this speech by Fredrick Douglas, he begins by bringing up the idea to the people that why would he represent the nations independence and celebrate the great freedoms of the United States if when it was created, his freedoms were not there. He says how he is not and will not be part of this "glorious anniversary" because of this. He talks about how this day is for others and not him, how others will rejoice while he mourns, how this day brought happiness prosperity and liberty to others while death to me. He asks if the people are trying tomake a mockery of him by asking him to speak on this sacred day since he shall not be one of the ones to rejoice about the Fourth of July. He preaches about how blacks can do all the same things, and would work, plant plow, have faith, use metals, be lawyers, etc. and yet they cannot celebrate this day because they were not free on this fourth of july. This day would be a day of bleeding for them and although are "men", cannot celebrate it because were not truly free. 

LAD #15: Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

This is first started with Jefferson talking about how when the country was first created, everyone was equal and now the nation is in a war testing to see if the nation created can handle and push through this. Lincoln says that these men fighting have put their nation before their life and we should be thanking those who have put their life at rist for this ground we stand on. And because of this, they set aside a portion of the field of battle as a place for those who had died in war and lived their last breathes fighting for the country. And that because of these men who both died and lived through this war, a new era of freedom is ready for the people. 

LAD #14: Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

In this address, President Lincoln starts by talking about the south and the slaves within the south. He talks about how slave owners may feel threatened by having a republican president and how they may feel that their rights and his party will take over instead of what they want. But he says that he is not going to change the current state of slaves and that if a slave runs away into free territory, they are still a slave and must be returned to the owner of him. He says this since he believes in the constitution and since this is stated in it, that he will protect this. The next topic he talks about is how the union has been faced with the threat of breaking apart and the threat is worse than ever. He says that this is threatening the destory the union and this must not happen. Lincoln believes that since the union was created first, it is more important than the constitution and if there is an arguement threatening to break apart the union due to the consitution, than it must not be able to happen. Also that the union may not be destroyed only by the wishes of a group of states rather than majority. And that if this governement is hurting states and they want it changed, the only way to do this is through the amendment process. He ends by putting the future of the south with them since he says that he will only attack if they do first.

LAD #13: John Calhoun's Speech

John Calhoun Speech

This speech written by Calhoun was given by a senator because he was unable to make it due to being sick. In this speech he addressed the issue of slavery. The southern states had many reasons and wished to secede from the nation. The south believed that the not only pushed the issue of slavery down the southerner throats but had too much power over the government. The northern states would try to add as many states as they could to the union because they wanted to be able to gain the most representatives in the house as well as the Senate. This would give them a majority over the south and give them more influence in the government. This was one reason for the upset of the south but the main was still the issue of slavery.  Calhoun ends his speech by saying that the North would need to help please the south and give them equal say because if it came down to forcing the south to abolish slavery, they would clearly secede from the nation.

LAD # 12: Polks War Message

Polks War Message

This document deals with the relations between Mexico and the United States. The Unites States government has tried to settle disputes with the Mexicans on boundary issues and relations but the Mexican government refuses to listen. They had come into American territory and killed our people causing worse tensions as well. On October 13, 1845 America sent an envoy to Mexico to try to adjust all the disputes but this did not work for they could not come up with an agreement. Pol went into great detail about the envoy like the removal of the Vera Cruz, and other internal problems. Polk then talks about how the Mexicans had been planning to invade and one spot of this was Texas so in order to try and limit this and not allow then to attack, soilders were line up along the border. When the Mexicans attacked a group of soldiers looking out for the Mexicans along the Nueces River of the Texas- Mexican border, Polk stated that he knew he must declare war and so this document was used to ask the Congress to allow this war to happen to enable Polk to end the war as quickly as possible to try to create peace with Mexico by creating a large army which is what he believed would bring it to the end fastest. 

LAD #11: Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions

Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions

This document, written on July 19, 1848, is about women declaring their rights along side those of men. This document is the same basic structure of the Declaration of Independence and is like it in all ways except dealing with their information between them and their inferiority to men. First in this document, the beginning of the Declaration of Independence is put in but in the places where men was written the document has "men and women" showing how they believe women should have the same freedoms that men do. Next just as in the Declaration, there is a list of grievances by the women. This includes things like how women are lesser than men in marriages, property rights, roles outside the house, education, and how men destroy women's confidence and self respect in able to live dependent of men. After the many grievances, the document gives some solutions that the woman have come up with in order to solve this problem. Some include men encouraging woman to speak and teach, present new positions of opportunities and jobs, the right to elective franchise, the same responsibilities and capabilities as men, and for women to not be seen as inferior to men.