LAD #20: Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation declares two primary things. Firstly, it requires that any black persons currently bound by the institution of slavery in the Southern states is to be forever free in the Northern Union and that they are to be fully respected and deemed as such by military personnel. Secondly, it provides a list of states in which this proclamation applies. Although some regions throughout Louisiana and Virginia (such as New Orleans) do not have to comply to the contents of the legislation, a list of states composed of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia must adhere to the proclamation. In these regions, claims Lincoln, the slaves once indebted to the institution of slavery are now fully freed of servitude and have rights to be fully maintained in the North.

LAD #19: President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Throughout his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln addresses the issues that Civil War has brought upon the security of the Union. He asserts that prior to the war neither the Union nor the Secessionists truly wanted war. This is due to the reality that there had been many motions for peaceful diplomacy between the two sides that would not result in bloodshed in order to attain what the South was seeking. However, a minute extremist view soon infected both sides and spurred into warfare. With the war starting, neither side truly saw how long the armed conflict would take to resolve, and this precipitated into the main similarity between the North and the South for years to come. Individuals from both sides, seeking to be victorious in their wartime endeavors, sought the aid of God in order to attain this goal. Lincoln claims that this is useless because none of the nations prayers have been answered thus far. Lincoln is unsure about what will happen in the end for this war, and designates this uncertainty as God's plan for the course of the nation. Conclusively, his speech is meant to drive the people of the North to continue their efforts to maintain a coherent, unified nation.

LAD #18: Dred Scott Supreme Court Case

In the appealed case of Dred Scott vs. Sanford, the Supreme Court decision brought forth by eighty-year old Chief Justice Roger B. Taney agreed with the side of Sanford. These agreements were made on the grounds that Scott, as a slave and a child of parents that were forcefully emigrated from another country to the United States, was not a citizen of this sovereign nation and was thus not entitled to the numerous liberties engraved within the Constitution. Glancing solely at the Constitution for his guidance, Taney claimed that their was no contrast between an enslaved individual and any other piece of property. In accordance to this, not only was Scott wrong in his pursuit of equal protections and liberties under the Constitution, but also that he had no right to sue either a State or Federal court. Also, Sanford was, under the Constitution and his God given rights, entitled to treat Scott as nothing more than a material possession. Too, because Scott was indeed the property of Sanford, Taney had no choice but to ensure his ownership over the enslaved man. This action challenged the entitlements possessed within the Missouri Compromise as Scott lived in Illinois, a free state, but was still considered to be property. Likewise, this took away any chance for Scott to be able to sue in a court controlled by the state of Missouri. Conclusively, Taney deemed the Missouri Compromise as nothing more than unconstitutional.

LAD #17: Sojourner Truth Speech

Sojourner Truth delivered her speech to the Ohio Women's Convention in Akron to address formally the two primary issues of racist and sixist prejudices which currently plagued the nation. Although some reforms to the rights of women were being made in the North, Truth genuinely exposes the opposition to these reforms and their flawed methods, stating that their are individuals who seek to aid women out of carriages and over ditches, but no one has ever helped her. This, in turn, brings about her moral question; "Ain't [she] a woman?" Primarily she is addressing the issue that these conservtionalists are indirectly attacking minorities through acts of racism. Thus, these individuals do not deem her to be a true woman because she is of a supposedly inferior race. In her defense she cites specific examples that qualify her as a lady, such as she is knowledgable in plowing, farming, and can work, eat, and be as strong as any man, even exceeding these male "superiors" by bearing and enduring the trials of slavery and child bearing. She further qualifies her claim by claiming that the assertion for a supremacy of male intelligence is flawed and should not hold bearings on the universal rights and liberties of a human being. Conclusively, her personal claim completely countered the arguments that any man could ever raise, stating that Christ, the savior of mankind, was spurred from God and a woman, with man having no influence.

LAD #16: Frederick Douglass' 5th of July Speech

Frederick Douglass, in his speech for the "5th of July," addresses the moral question of what the 4th of July truly means to an African American slave. Immediately Douglass expresses his utter disgust for the practices of the United States in celebrating their historic claims to independence, as it stood for a false sense of successfully terminating tyranny throughout the nation. Here he finds it rather urgent to remind the country that despite their joyous actions more and more enslaved blacks are being neglected and forgotten, allowing them to grow in their beliefs against the injustices throughout America. The idea that these enslaved men are lesser than their white brethren, to beat and whip and starve and alienate and destroy their rights to liberty, their freedoms as Americans are only continually denied. Douglass asserts that such a nation cannot be unified considering the vast success that many of these African American people have had in holding occupations such as whaling, being a father, building houses, constructing bridges, and even developing their faith as a devout believer in God. Conclusively, Douglass claims that despite the noble actions taken on behalf of this nation for independence, a truth not yet paralleled by any other nation, their has also been numerous atrocities against slaves which have occurred within its borders that have not seen anywhere else throughout the world.

LAD #15: The Gettysburg Address

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address held the importance of addressing two primary points; it served to both commemorate those who lost their lives to preserve the Union during the Civil War as well as to stress the importance of this action. However, Lincoln understands that merely words alone are not enough to truly acknowledge the value of the lives lost for the restoration of America. By laying their lives on the line for the North, the preservation of a divided nation was again discovered. Lincoln states that in order to truly commemorate the dead, the living must carry out the ultimate goal of these fallen soldiers. That goal is to protect a free governmental system created by, of, and for the people, one that will undoubtedly represent the same ideals and liberties generated by this nations founders "four score and seven years ago."

LAD #14: President Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

Throughout Lincoln's First Inaugural Address, the primary issue that is examined is the continual division of the North and South through ideological differences regarding slavery. The President wisely refuses to take either side for the conflict, stating that the preservation of the Union is his only goal. He looks towards the United States Constitution in order to guide him to make a decision and, after consideration, he firmly believes that he has no lawful right or inclination to decline the Southern States' rights to slavery. As stated in the Constitution, if an individual is held to labor or service in one state they cannot free themselves from this bondage by entering another. This, clearly, does not make slaves free if they desserted the South to enter a new life in the North. Yet, this does not incline the North to return all fugitive slaves back to their respective owners, for many Southern plantation owners dependent upon slave labor have participated in illegal international trade to acquire such resources. Although Lincoln asserts that this fundamental issue may never be solved, he states that the division of the Union over this issue would not only increase hostilities between the regions, but also make the problem never able to be solved. In this, Lincoln once again stresses the Union of the United States, the very thing that has brought this sovereign nation through a revolution as well as the creation and ratification of the Constitution. The states must interact in a manner that is beneficial to both aspects, regardless of hostile or amicable relations with one another, in order to prevent anarchy from occuring within the states. Lincoln concluded by stating that the North and the South iof the Union must remain friends and refrain from becoming enemies with one another.

LAD #13: John Calhoun's Speech

John Calhoun focuses primarily on the issue of slavery in regards to the unity of the nation throughout this speech to the Senate. Despite the original effectiveness of the 3/5 clause in balancing governmental representation due to population, Calhoun has come to recognize that the North has now gained the upper hand and is thereby in a position to secure control over government action. Calhoun boldly states that all that is necessary to control the government of the United States is a populous majority and a control over most states found in the Senate. This issue is primarily due to the fact that the Union is on the eve of admitting five new Northern states into the nation by recently acquired lands in Oregon, Minnesota, and land from the secession of Texas from Mexico. Regardless of this, no new land has been offered to the southern states. With regards to population Calhoun believes that the tariffs of the past years on imports have been geared towards favoring the upper class, aristocratic elites of the north, giving little in return to southern farmers, thus drawing hopeful immigrants to settle in regions under northern influence. Lastly, the issue of slavery is continually straining national unity due to different ideological views. With the northern abolitionists proclaiming the immorality of slavery, Calhoun defends it as a key component to the social and economic well-being of the South. If slavery were in fact to be abolished, so would the economy of an otherwise prosperous South. He asserts that the only way to preserve the unity of America is for the largely favored North to protect the rights and liberties of the South in representation throughout the new territories, returning fugitive slaves, and halting their efforts to abolish slavery throughout the Union. In this, balance will be restored to an otherwise lopsided democratic system, largely decreasing the threat of secession from such an integral component of the Union.

LAD #12: Polk's War Address

Throughout Polk's War Address, the causes surrounding America's engagement in war with Mexico is explored. Originally, Polk sought to identify a diplomatic solution to the issues surrounding border disputes as well as the many falicies of the Mexican government against American settlers throughout the southern regions of the country and Texas. He ultimately sent an envoy of peaceful negotiators to devise peaceful solutions with the head of the Mexican government, General Herrera. However, a revolution in Mexico precipitated from a shift in power and the thoughts of Mexican government in terms of diplomatic relations with the United States. In this, the Mexican government chose to not accept nor delegate with John Slidell, the American envoy, and no proposals were made between the two nations. Too, Mexico began to engage in hostile attacks with American troops that were sanctioned between the Rio del Norte river and the Nueces in Texas, a region that had become an official piece of the Union following annexation in 1836. Uncertainties between the two military groups grew and resulted in the casualties of 16 U.S. troops, along with Mexican hostility increases, permitting Polk to justify War against Mexico given their history of civilian violence in the past.

LAD #11: Seneca Falls Declaration

An ideal example of an individuals claim to their own right to public respect and civil liberty is embodied in the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions. This example was modeled around the contents of the Declaration of Independence describing that both men and women have inalienable rights, being that they are created equal. It repeats the Declaration of Independence by stating that a governmental system serves the purpose to protect these rights from oppressment and allow for the betterment of the public. According to the Seneca Falls Declaration, both society and government as a whole has ultimately failed at effectively doing this for women, a necessary and integral part of the American community. In this, a similar list of grievances is devised here which explicitly states the injustices found throughout sexist and tyrannical acts towards said women. Some of the grievances provided are that women are denied the right to vote, their rights to property and fair wages, creating a different moral code for men and women, denying women proper education, and supporting the idea that women are mainly morally unjust beings. Conclusively, the Seneca Falls Declaration ends with a list of proper solutions to these issues, citing examples for the equality of men and women, further asserting the rights that these women seek to enjoy.