LAD #20

After the battle of Antietam Lincoln issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation.  In this speech Lincoln freed all slaves in Confederate States.  He said that they would be protected by the Union army and if they wished they could serve in the army as well.  However slaves were not freed in slave states that were fighting for the Union because they were not under martial law and Lincoln did not have that authority, and he also did not want to lose the support of those states.

LAD #19

In Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address he addressed the issues of the Civil War.  He stated that while neither side wanted to go to war it became the only option in preserving peace.  He acknowledged that slavery was the main cause of the war, and that the South wished to spread it and the North wished to abolish it.  He also vows that the Union will not stop fighting until the country is reunited and sectionalism is ended.

LAD #18

The Dred Scott v. Sanford court case was monumental in deciding issues surrounding slavery. In February 1857 the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, reviewed whether the black slave Dred Scott was a free citizen or still property of his owner. He had crossed into a free-state with his owner and believed that this meant he was no longer a slave to his master. Taney decided that Dred Scott was not allowed to even bring this to court because he was not a citizen, but instead "property" of his owner. This decision meant that all slaves were considered property, regardless of what individual states viewed them as, and they can not be represented in a court. Taney also declared that Congress does not have the right to abolish slavery within the states. He concluded his decision by saying that slaves could not be taken from their owners without due process.

LAD #17

Despite not gaining the right to vote until the 1900s, there was a good amount of women's right movements in the mid-1800s.  It was also most famously a time of much conflict over the issue of slavery.  In 1851 Sojourner Truth delivered a speech about women's rights and the respect of men towards women, especially slaves.  In her speech Truth says that society is inhumane, especially towards women and slaves.  She says that while white men generally try to treat women with respect they barely even recognize slave women as people, let alone women.  She says that the reasons men use to justify their superiority are false and that they should be treated as equals.  She says religion is something both blacks and whites, males and females, have in common and they shouldn't be treated differently for those reasons.  She concludes by saying that white men need to reevaluate their reasoning for discriminating against both blacks and women.

LAD #16

The mid-1800s were a volatile and crucial time period in American History.  At the center of the conflict was the issue of slavery.  One of the leading abolitionist was Frederick Douglas, who was a runaway slave. On Independence Day in 1852 Douglas issued a speech questioning the importance of the Declaration of Independence as it does not apply to blacks.  He says he wishes he knew why it did not apply to those of his race, but says he does not have an answer.  He also says that his freedom does not do as much for him as one might think because he is still burdened by the fact that many are still enslaved.  He also says that they need to remember those who could not gain their freedom.  Douglas then says that the nation is in great upheaval and that it has never been darker.

He continues by saying that all the reasons for slavery are shameful to America.  He says that blacks are equal to whites and they are capable and have held the same jobs as them and believe in God as well.  He describes several other cruelties of slavery and leads up to his key question of what is the Fourth of July to a slave?
He says that for a slave it is a mockery and a reminder of the injustices and deprivations of freedoms.  Douglas concludes his speech by saying that slavery makes America one of the most Hypocritical nations in the world.

LAD #15

The Battle of Gettysburg is one of the deadliest battles in American history. After the battle Lincoln delivered his famous speech, the Gettysburg Address on the location.

To begin the speech Abe Lincoln reminds the crowd that not long ago our founding fathers developed a new nation based on liberty and freedom. He then states that the Civil War is a test to see if this nation can endure a war or not. Lincoln then says that he is dedicating a piece of the Gettysburg battlefield to act as a graveyard for those men who fought to preserve that nation. He then says that the men who fought and died on this field have made it sacred, and that we can do nothing to make it more or less so. Lincoln closes the short speech by saying that the men who died will not have died in vain. That they died for a "nation, under God, (that) shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

LAD #14

Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address was an essential speech in the sense that it would set the tone of Lincoln’s presidency in the years to follow. He begins his speech by reassuring the South that they need not to worry because he has no intentions of abolishing slavery in places where it has already existed. Lincoln’s main objective in the address was establishing his goal, preservation of the Union. Lincoln thought the secession was un-American and unconstitutional. Lincoln knew that the Constitution was unclear on some issues like slavery and secession but stated that how these things would be solved would determine the fate of the Union. Lincoln concludes the address by stressing the fact that the states of the nation should be friends , not enemies, so that unity and nationality could be restored to our great land.

LAD#12

In 1850 John Calhoun delivered a speech about a necessary compromise between the Northern and Southern states.  In it he began by saying that he thinks slavery will ultimately be the cause of disunion of the nation.  He questions what possible solutions can be made to preserve that unity and to what extent the country is already separated.  He says the dissatisfaction of the south will ultimately lead to their secession.  He says that it is because the north is becoming too powerful and less willing to give up power, especially in the area of slavery.  He said that when the number of free and slave states were equal this was not an issue, but now that there were going to be more free states the balance would be upset.  Calhoun then says that the North will have to give the South some of what they want and make concessions because the South has already given much up already.  He says that this can start by giving Missouri the right to slavery.  Calhoun concludes by saying that the responsibility of preservation lies in the North and not in the South.

LAD#12

Polk's War message
President James Polk delivered a speech in 1846 addressing the conflict with Mexico and their poor treatment of American citizens.  President Polk states that despite their poor treatment he still would like to attempt to resolve these issues peacefully.  Polk states that both the Mexican and American governments want to have an even negotiation and don't want the other one to dominate the treaty.  Polk states that America already tried to peacefully resolve these issues when John Sliddel was sent to try and purcahase some territory, in particular California and New Mexico, but the Mexicans sent him home without any attempts at negotiation.  Polk also states that he had already built up a small force of troops near the border in the event of an attack, which was a good thing because the Mexicans did attack and a few American soldiers lost their lives.  Polk concludes by saying that the government will continue to work towards a peaceful resolution, but he says that America must prepare for what appears to be an inevitable war.

LAD#11

In July of 1848 a revolutionary movement was started in Seneca Falls.  A group of women and male supporters got together and created the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions.  The beginning of the document started out similar to that of the Declaration of Independence, except instead of rights denied by Britain to men it was rights denied to women by men.  The document then lists several grievances, most of which were focused around the inferiority of women in marriage.  They say that in marriage the wife is subservient to the husband, and she has no say in the relationship, and in essence is property to him.  The women also claim that the laws which dictate this were made without their say since they are not allowed to vote and therefore they have no say in government.  Following their list of grievances the women list resolutions that can be used to solve these issues.  For the most part these grievances center around equality with men, that in marriage they have more rights and they have the right to vote.  They also request the right to education and to participate in business practices if they please.
They conclude by saying that they were made in equality with man by the Creator, and it is their right to promote equality with men within righteous means.