LAD #29 Keating Owen Child Labor Act

Early 1900's large businesses and corporations aided the United States for economic reasons by gave little thought to the American people, especially those working for them. Workers in cities suffered grueling conditions, long hours and little pay. Often times, instead of working toward an education, children would be working day and night in factories, mills, and farms in order to bring in an additional profit for their family, even if just a small one. Problems in the workforce were worsened for young children as they did not have labor laws to protect their rights and they were often hired solely because they could fit into small, dangerous spaces and they could be paid less. Men and organizations like Lewis Hine and the National Child Labor Committee worked endlessly to put a halt to the atrocities. In 1916, their goal was achieved with the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act being put into action, making strides to reform many of the hardships that working youth faced. Its goal was to restrict child labor which would lead to more open jobs for adult men. The act prohibited the sale of goods produced in factories by children under 14 years old, and mines operated by children under 16 years of age. Furthermore, the Keating-Own Child Labor Act prevented children under 16 from working more than 8 hours a day, or at night.

LAD #28 Wilson's First Inaguaral

When Democrat Woodrow Wilson took office, the shift from predominantly Republican to Democratic took place. In his presidential address, he acknowledged the that Democrats now made up a majority of Congress, acquiring more influence in the government. However, he also stated that power within a political party is meaningless unless people use it reform and carry out necessary changes. Wilson also recognized the problems facing the nation such as large businesses and corportatioins taking advantage of the government and society as a whole. While these successful industries were economic advantages of the United States, their impact on the people needed to be considered. During his address Wilson additionally mentioned his disapproval of an extensive tariff, taxation, as well as businesses overtaking the government and people of America.

LAD #27 Clayton Anti-Trust Act

The Clayton Anti-Trust Act was passed by Woodrow Wilson's administration after being introduced by Alabama Democrat Henry De Lamar Clayton Jr. in October, 1914. The act was ordained to strengthen the power of government in dealing with monopolies, a vital part of the process. It also aided to set a foundation for the regulation of business presently practiced by the government. Before, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act was the only act which allowed the government to be involved in the control of  large businesses. Theodore Roosevelt utilized the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in order to become America's first trust buster. Furthermore, the Clayton Anti-Trust Act regulated the decisions of powerful corporations which often times got away with unlawful transactions. The most significant difference between the two acts is that the Clayton Anti-Trust Act can not be used against labor unions.

LAD #26 MLK's Speech

Two of his most important works including his letter from Birmingham jail as well as his "I Have a Dream" speech have remained vital. Today, they are still studied and analyzed by high school students and even prominent writers. King began his revolutionary "I Have a Dream" speech by declaring that it would be one of the most inspiring speeches in America which clearly was true. In his opening he begins with "Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation", an allusion to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address. He goes on to speak of the Emancipation Proclamation which was meant to free the slaves and bring about equality, however it was unsuccessful. Blacks still faced countless prejudices and even dealt with the emergence of the Jim Crow Laws. They virtually received alteration in their rights as American citizens. With this, King states that change needs to take place now and that the American people, no matter one's race, need to come together and be treated as equals. He expresses his feelings that blacks need to receive and have their rights acknowledged in order for peace to emerge in America.

LAD #25 Dawes Act

The Dawes Act addressed policy over Native American's, and created a firm policy over how reservations will be handled and divided. It stated that each head of the family would receive a portion of land that would be divided amongst the family based on age. This act was attempting to assimilate Native American's to American culture that is based off land ownership. In creating this act it may seem that the United States Government was trying to be kind and provide good land to the natives, but in reality it once again took land  away from Indians, and also regulated how they could manage their land.

LAD #24 Cross of Gold

In this speech William Jennings Bryan addresses the economic problem of currency that was a prominent issue. Jennings Bryan believed that the distribution of silver 16x more than gold was foolish and would lead to many more problems. Granted, he was a businessman so this idea of continuing to issue gold in larger quantities than the Populist Party was bias, but Jennings Bryan was the voice for the hard working businessmen who were going to be hurt if this new 16:1 ratio of silver to gold were to happen. Lastly Jennings talks to the fact that the gold standard needs to remain strong during a time where the United States was not at its strongest.

LAD #23 Populist Party Platform

This Populist Party platform was important because the emergence of this party was relatively new. The Populist Party was now developing as the third major party and as a result they needed to state and explain their main beliefs, or platforms. One of the main points of this platform was to help strengthen the common person because big business had gained so much power in the years before that the economy was struggling and became stagnated. The way the populist party proposed to solve these problems was to focus on land, transportation, and economic stimulation. To go along with the transportation aspect, they wanted the railroads to be in control of the National Government. Also the improvement of coinage was a basic platform they held, and they planned to do this through implementing free distribution silver to a 16:1 ratio of gold. Overall this party brought new ideas that combined platforms of both parties, but also some new, never proposed ideas for fixing the problems in the United States.

LAD #22 McKinley's War Message

President McKinley delivered this message as a result of the continual disputes between the Spanish and Cubans. These two countries had many problems that needed to be resolved but when the USS Maine was sunk by the Spanish it really set off the United states, and as a result the support now leaned towards the Cubans. McKinley brought up this event in support of his statement that the United states has been economically and politically effected due to this unnecessary war. This was then followed with the topic of American intervention between the two to end all the disputes, but mainly to end their effect on American's.