LAD#29- Truman’s Doctrine

In February 1947 Great Britain notified the United States that it could no longer aid the Greek government in its war against communist insurgents. The next month president Harry S. Truman asked congress for $400 million in military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey. He argued in what became known as the “Truman Doctrine” that the United States must support free peoples who were resisting communist domination

LAD#28- FDR's First Inaugural Address

On March 4^th 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the 32^nd president of the United States, and began what would be the longest running presidency in the history of the United States. In the beginning of his speech he states that “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself” he means that the only thing holding this nation back is fear that slows our progress. He continues on to list the problems with the current government, the biggest of which being unemployment. However, he then lists the positives that are still present within this nation. In the next few paragraphs he states that money isn’t everything, and that his administration intends to help get the nation back on tract, and that their biggest challenge was to get people working again as that will jump start the nation. In the following paragraphs he lists other things that need to be done in addition to creating jobs. Nearing the end he states that this effort will need the help of all Americans and that with that, America will endure, it must endure. He concludes by basically restating that America will come back, and asks for the help of god.

LAD#27- Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact

The Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact was a quite interesting act that 62 countries signed, including America. The Act was signed on August 27, 1928, and outlawed war as a method of foreign policy. Also known as the Pact of Paris (apparently one of many treaties to come out of Paris). In mid1927, foreign minister of France, Aristide Briand, proposed that the U.S. government sign a treaty outlawing war between these two countries. Frank B. Kellogg, the U.S. Secretary of State, responded with a proposal for a general treaty against war, eventually this led to the Pact of Paris which was signed. All parties who signed agreed that settlement of any conflicts, regardless of any circumstances, these nations were to avoid war. Although 62 nations ultimately ratified the pact, its effectiveness was not very large by its failure to provide measures of enforcement, as the way to enforce it was to go to war, which was exactly what it outlawed, so ultimately it failed because it contradicted itself.

LAD#26- Schenck vs. US case

The Supreme Court Case of Schenck v. The US all started when a man named Charles T. Schenck was found to be telling soldiers who had been called up into the military by the draft not to show up. He sent out flyers to many of the draftees telling them to refuse to join, and to use peaceful action like petition, for the removal of the Espionage Act. Mr. Schenck was arrested in violation of the Espionage Act on June 15, 1917. The Supreme Court ruled that The Espionage Acts were Constitutional. “The court alleges overt acts in pursuance of the conspiracy, ending in the distribution of the document set forth.” Justice Wendell Holmes spoke the Court’s opinion and in a famous quotation he stated that Schenck was not protected under the First Amendment in these actions, “The question in every case is whether the words used at used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.” As the court ruled, words spoken and actions taken during wartime are punishable even when they may not be during peace. Overall this was a very interesting decision by the court that has been looked back on numerous times since it occurred.