Herbert Hoover, Financing Relief Efforts (1931)
Main Points:
1. The best way to help people during times of
national difficulty is through mutual self-help and
voluntary giving.
My own conviction is strongly that if we break
down this sense of responsibility of individual
generosity to individual and mutual self-help in the
country in time of national difficulty and if we start
appropriations of this character we have not only
impaired something infinitely valuable in the life of
the American people but have struck at the roots of
self-government. (p. 109)
Herbert Hoover, Financing Relief Efforts (1931)
2. Federal aid to the hungry and poor encourages expectations of future
paternal care and weakens Americans’ self-reliant character. It also
weakens Americans’ willingness to help each other and give to each
other, and thus enfeebles the bonds of common brotherhood.
Quotation of President Grover Cleveland by President Herbert Hoover: The
friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to
relieve their fellow citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and
quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encouraged the
expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens
the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence
among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which
strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood. (p. 110)
President Herbert Hoover: The help being daily extended by neighbors, by
local and national agencies, by municipalities, by industry and a great
multitude of organizations throughout the country today is many times
any appropriation yet proposed. The opening of the doors of the Federal
Treasury is likely to stifle this giving and thus destroy far more resources
than the proposed charity from the Federal Government. (p. 110)
Herbert Hoover, Financing Relief Efforts (1931)
Herbert Hoover, Financing Relief Efforts (1931)
Main Points:
1. The best way to help people during times of
national difficulty is through mutual self-help and
voluntary giving.
My own conviction is strongly that if we break
down this sense of responsibility of individual
generosity to individual and mutual self-help in the
country in time of national difficulty and if we start
appropriations of this character we have not only
impaired something infinitely valuable in the life of
the American people but have struck at the roots of
self-government. (p. 109)
Herbert Hoover, Financing Relief Efforts (1931)
2. Federal aid to the hungry and poor encourages expectations of future
paternal care and weakens Americans’ self-reliant character. It also
weakens Americans’ willingness to help each other and give to each
other, and thus enfeebles the bonds of common brotherhood.
Quotation of President Grover Cleveland by President Herbert Hoover: The
friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to
relieve their fellow citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and
quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encouraged the
expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens
the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence
among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which
strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood. (p. 110)
President Herbert Hoover: The help being daily extended by neighbors, by
local and national agencies, by municipalities, by industry and a great
multitude of organizations throughout the country today is many times
any appropriation yet proposed. The opening of the doors of the Federal
Treasury is likely to stifle this giving and thus destroy far more resources
than the proposed charity from the Federal Government. (p. 110)
Roosevelt consciously abandoned the term
“progressive” and chose instead to employ
“liberal” to define himself and his
administration. In so doing, he transformed
“liberalism” from a shorthand for weak
government and laissez-faire economics into
belief in an activist, socially conscious
state, an alternative both to socialism and to
unregulated capitalism. (Foner, The Story of
American Freedom, pp. 201-204.)
Redefining Liberalism
Freedom, Hoover insisted, meant unfettered
economic opportunity for the enterprising
individual. Far from being an element of liberty,
the quest for economic security was turning
Americans into “lazy parasites” dependent on the
state. For the remainder of his life, Hoover
continued to call himself a “liberal,” even though,
he charged, the word had been “polluted and
raped of all its real meanings.” (Foner, The Story
of American Freedom, p. 205.)
Socialist Party Platform (1932)
Norman Mattoon Thomas
Socialist Party Platform (1932)
Norman Mattoon Thomas (1884-1968)
• Took over leadership of the Socialist Party after the death of
Eugene Debs in 1926.
• Was the party’s presidential candidate six times.
• Polled his highest vote in 1932 with 880,000 votes.
• Some members of the socialist party were: W.E.B. DuBois,
Margaret Sanger, and Helen Keller.
“Democratic Socialism," is defined by the Socialist Party as “a
political and economic system with freedom and equality for
all, so that people may develop to their fullest potential in
harmony with others.” The party further states that it is
“committed to full freedom of speech, assembly, press, and
religion and to a multi-party system” and that the ownership
and control of the production and distribution of goods “should
be democratically controlled public agencies, cooperatives, or
other collective groups.”
(source: http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1669.html)
Socialist Party Platform (1932)
Main Points
1. Socialist feel there are many flaws with the capitalist system,
which is now in the process of breaking down, resulting in
human suffering.
“We are facing a breakdown of the capitalist
system…Unemployment and poverty are inevitable products of
the present system.”
2. The Socialist Party believes that workers are exploited by a
capitalist economy.
“Under capitalism the few own our industries. The many do the
work. The wage earners and farmers are compelled to give a
large part of the product of their labor to the few. The many in
the factories, mines, shops, offices and on the farms obtain but a
scanty income and are able to buy back only a part of the goods
that can be produced in such abundance by our mass
industries.” (http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1669.html)
Socialist Party Platform (1932)
3. By voting for the Socialist Party you can help remove the
struggles that the capitalist system has created.
“The Socialist Party is to-day the one democratic party of the
worker whose program would remove the causes of class
struggles, class antagonisms, and social evils inherent in the
capitalist system.”
“[The Socialist Party] proposes to transfer the principal
industries of the country from private ownership and
autocratic, cruelly inefficient management to social
ownership and democratic control…It proposes the following
measures…”
The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism; but under
the name of liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the
Socialist program until America will one day be a Socialist nation
without knowing how it happened.
The Socialist Party Platform of 1932
Programs Adopted by the Roosevelt Administration
A federal appropriation of $5,000,000,000 for immediate relief for those in
need to supplement state and local appropriations.
Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA), May 12, 1933
A federal appropriation of $5,000,000,000 for public works and roads,
reforestation, slum clearance, and decent homes for the workers by the
federal government, states, and cities.
Public Works Administration (PWA), established by the National Industrial
Recovery Act (NIRA), May 17, 1933
Civilian Conservation Corps (Reforestation) Act (CCC), March 31, 1933
Home Owners Loan Corp. (HOLC), established by the Home Owners
Refinancing Act, April 13, 1933
Other agencies
Legislation providing for the acquisition of land, buildings, and equipment
necessary to put the unemployed to work producing food, fuel, and
clothing, and for the erection of housing for their own use.
Various experimental communities were established toward these ends.
The six-hour day and the five-day work-week without a reduction in
wages.
The Black bill for the establishment of a thirty-hour week was not passed by
Congress.
A comprehensive and efficient system of free public employment
agencies.
Each state now maintains such offices throughout its jurisdiction.
A compulsory system of unemployment compensation with adequate
benefits, based upon contributions by the government and by employers.
Provided by the Social Security Act, 1936, with additional contributions by
employees.
Old age pensions for men and women sixty years of age and over.
Provided by the Social Security Act, 1936, for those sixty-five years of age and
over.
Health and maternity insurance.
Provided by the Social Security Act, 1936.
Improved systems of workmen's compensation and accident insurance.
Senate bill 2793, introduced May 9, 1935, by Senator Wagner, culminated in
passage by Congress of the Wagner Act, a comprehensive labor-management
act.
The abolition of child labor.
Statutory education requirements and minimum work age laws.
Government aid to farmers and small homeowners to protect them against
mortgage foreclosure and a moratorium on sales for nonpayment of taxes
by destitute farmers and unemployed workers.
Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), March 16, 1933
Farm Credit Administration (FCA), March 27, 1933
Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), 1938
Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
HOLC
Adequate minimum wage laws
Established by the National Recovery Administration (NRA), created by NIRA,
May 17, 1933. In 1935, the NRA was found to be unconstitutional by the untied
States Supreme Court. Nonetheless, minimum wage limits still exist.
Source: http://www.drfurfero.com/books/231book/ch03f1.html
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Inaugural Address
Aimee Williams
April 12, 2007
HIST 419
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
1882-1945
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Born Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1882 to a wealthy family in the Hudson Valley in
New York
He graduated from Groton Preparatory School and then attended Harvard where he
earned a law degree
After school he became a Wall Street Lawyer and married Anna Eleanor Roosevelt in
1905 (his fifth cousin once removed!!)
Roosevelt aligned with the Democratic party and won a seat in the New York senate
n 1910
He later became assistant secretary of the Navy during Wilson’s administration
In 1921 Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio and was confirmed o wheelchair with
brief periods of being able to stand with assistance
Despite hardship Roosevelt emerged as governor of New York in 1928
He was inaugurated as president of the U.S. on March 4, 21933 in the middle of the
Great Depression
His first one hundred days in office his 15 major proposals for economic relief were
passed
Main Points of Inaugural Address
• He began by reassuring the people of the U.S.
that the country will endure through this
adversity
– “This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will
prosper. So first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we
have to fear is fear itself…”
• Contributes problems to banking and business
(calls the bankers and businessmen “Money
changers”
– “True they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of
outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the
lending of more money. They have no vision, and when there is no
vision the people perish.”
Main Points continued…
• States that America must take action to put people back to work
as soon as possible
• Suggests using the government amend the American system
and aid recovery (1st time this was ever done)
• Identifies two safeguards that must be made:
– “there must be strict supervision of all banking credits & investment”
– “provision for an adequate but sound currency”
• Introduces Ideas for Improvement
–
–
–
–
–
“Engaging on a national scale in a redistribution effort”
“Raise value of agricultural products”
Increase “power to purchase”
“Preventing…growing loss though foreclosure”
“Unifying relief activities”
Main Points Continued…
•
Roosevelt states that in foreign policy the U.S.
will, like a good neighbor respect the rights of
others
• Finally Roosevelt makes a personal promise to
the people that if Congress does not help him he
will ask for Executive power
Historical Significance
• The importance of Roosevelt’s Inaugural
Address was that it gave the American
people HOPE for a better tomorrow
• With this address he assured them that he
was not going to put patches on the
problems as the previous administration
did but he actually had plans in mind for
changes.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The Four Freedoms
Delivered 6 January, 1941
WHAT THEY ARE
• The FIRST is freedom of speech and expression -- everywhere in
the world.
• The SECOND is freedom of every person to worship God in his
own way -- everywhere in the world.
• The THIRD is freedom from want -- which, translated into world
terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every
nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants -- everywhere in
the world.
• The FORTH is freedom from fear -- which, translated into world
terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point
and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to
commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor-anywhere in the world
Norman Rockwell, Our Four Freedoms, (1943)
• Harry S. Truman was born in
Lamar, Missouri on May 8,
1884.
• In 1905, shortly after graduating
from high school, Truman
served in the Missouri National
Guard.
• Part of the 129th Field Artillery
and sent to France, he and his
unit saw action in several
different campaigns.
• He was promoted to captain,
and after the war he joined the
reserves eventually rising to the
rank of colonel.
Harry S. Truman
in the Military
Harry and Bess
Truman
• On June 28, 1919, Truman
married Elizabeth Virginia
Wallace.
• Their only child, Mary
Margaret, was born on February
17, 1924.
• He ran a men's clothing store in
Kansas City but due to the postwar recession it failed.
• Truman began politics in 1922
as one of three judges of the
Jackson County Court.
• In 1934, Truman was elected to
the United States Senate where
he gained national prominence
as chairman of the Senate
Special Committee to Investigate
the National Defense Program.
• On January 20, 1945, he
took the vice-presidential
oath, and after President
Roosevelt's unexpected
death, he was sworn in as
the nations' thirty-third
President.
• Truman's presidency
focused on foreign policy
which was centered on the
prevention of Soviet
influence by which he
proposed The Truman
Doctrine.
President
Harry S. Truman
Main Point 1: At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose
between alternative ways of life. The alternatives are between a free society and
totalitarianism. The choice is too often not a free one.
• “The peoples of a number of countries of the world have recently had totalitarian regimes
forced upon them against their will. This imposed aggression undermines the foundations of
international peace and the security of the United States.”
• “Should we fail to aid Greece and Turkey in this fateful hour, the effect will be far reaching to
the West as well as to the East.”
•
•
•
Sub-Point 1: One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished
by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual
liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression.
“We shall not realize our objectives, unless we are willing to help free peoples to maintain
their free institutions and their national integrity against aggressive movements that seek to
impose upon them totalitarian regimes.”
“If we falter in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world-and we shall surely
endanger the welfare of this Nation.”
Sub-Point 2: The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed
upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio;
fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms.
•
“The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want. They spread and
grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife. They reach their full growth when the hope of a
people for a better life has died.”
“If Greece should fall under the control of an armed minority, the effect upon its neighbor,
Turkey, would be immediate and serious. Confusion and disorder might well spread throughout
the entire Middle East.”
Main Point 2: I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support
free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by
outside pressures.
• “One of the primary objectives of the foreign policy of the U.S. is the creation of
conditions in which we and other nations will be able to work out a way of life free
from coercion.”
• “This was a fundamental issue in the war with Germany and Japan. Our victory
was won over countries which sought to impose their will, and their way of life,
upon other nations.”
Main Point 3: I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own
destinies in their own way.
• “Great responsibilities have been placed upon us by the swift movement of
events.”
• “The free peoples of the world look to us for support in maintaining their
freedom.”
• “Our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is
essential to economic stability and orderly political process.”
J. Edgar Hoover
1895-1972
Background
• Born January 1, 1895 in Washington, D. C.
• Parents: Dickerson and Anna Hoover
• Hoover did not obtain a birth certificate until he
was 43, which fueled suspicions, in and out of
the bureau, that he was of African-American
descent – a family out of Mississippi tried to
prove these allegations, but failed.
• He kept detailed records on himself, teachers,
and family members starting at a young age.
• At age 11, started his own newspaper, The
Weekly Review, that he sold to family and
friends for 1 cent.
Background continued…
• His school nickname was “Speed”
because he thought fast and talked fast.
• Hoover’s father, Dickerson, spent the last
eight years of his life in an asylum. His
cause of death was listed as “melancholia”
– clinical depression.
• 1916 – graduated with a law degree from
George Washington University Law
School.
• Hoover became a Freemason in 1920.
Background continued…
• Hoover’s failure to marry
and his constant
companionship with
Clyde Tolson, led to many
rumors about his
sexuality.
• Clyde Tolson was the
sole heir to Hoover’s
estate and was also
buried next to Hoover.
• Hoover was also an avid
dog lover.
Head of the FBI
• Hoover joined the Bureau of Investigation, later
known as the FBI, in 1921.
• In 1924 at the age of 29, Hoover was appointed
acting Director of the BOI and by the end of the
year he was officially named Director.
• Hoover remained the Director of the FBI until his
death on May 2, 1972 at the age of 77.
• The FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. is
named after Hoover. Because of the
controversial nature of Hoover's legacy, there
have been periodic proposals to rename it.
Head of the FBI
• During his reign over the FBI, Hoover built an
efficient crime-detection agency, established a
centralized fingerprint file, a crime laboratory
and a training institution for police.
• He dictated every aspect of his agents’ lives
from who their friends should or should not be,
who they should or should not marry, what
organizations they could or could not join;
decided where they would live; monitored their
morals; even told them what to wear and what
they could weigh; and bestowed praise and
awards, blame and punishments, when he
decided they were due.
Head of the FBI
• The FBI, under Hoover, collected information on all
America's leading politicians. Known as Hoover's
secret files, this material was used to influence their
actions. It was later claimed that Hoover used this
incriminating material to make sure that the eight
presidents that he served under, would be too
frightened to sack him as director of the FBI..“
• Presidents Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and
Lyndon Johnson each considered firing Hoover but
concluded that the political cost of doing so would
be too great. Richard Nixon twice called in Hoover
with the intent of firing him, but both times he
changed his mind when meeting with Hoover.
Head of the FBI
• Hoover ignored the existence of organized crime in
the U.S. until famed muckraker Jack Anderson
exposed the immense scope of the Mafia's organized
crime network. It has been suggested that Hoover did
not pursue the Mafia because they had incriminating
evidence (photos) against him in respect to his sexual
orientation.
• Despite all of these allegations, during his long career
of public service, Director Hoover received three
presidential awards, sundry citations by Congress,
and following his death was the first civil servant in
U.S. history to lie in state in the Rotunda of the U.S.
Capitol.
Political Views
•
•
•
•
Conservative
Anti-communist
Against suffrage for women
Opposed the Civil Rights movement
Major Issues of the Time
•
•
•
•
•
1st Red Scare (1917-1920)
Espionage Act of 1917
Sedition Act of 1918
The Palmer Raids
House Committee on Un-American
Activities
• WW II
• Iron Curtain in Europe
"Uncle Sam bids good riddance
to the deportees"
(from J. Edgar Hoover's
memorabilia and scrapbook
in the National Archives).
• The more famous of
the Palmer raids was
December 21, in
which 249 people
were dragged from
their homes, forcibly
put on board a ship
and deported.
Intended Audience
• Hoover delivered “The Communist
Menace” before the House Committee on
Un-American Activities on March 26, 1947.
The Communist Menace
Main Points
1. The Communist Party of the United States
intends to destroy the American
businessman, take over our government,
and throw the whole world into
revolution.
 “The Communist movement in the United
States…stands for the destruction of free
enterprise, and it stands for the creation of a
“Soviet of the United States” and ultimate
world revolution.”
The Communist Menace
Main Points continued…
2. The American programs to help society
such as, social security, veterans’ benefits,
and welfare are all communist ideas used
to lure the support of unsuspecting
citizens.
“The American progress which all good
citizens seek, such as old-age security,
houses for veterans, child assistance and a
host of others is being adopted as window
dressing by the Communists to conceal their
true aims and entrap gullible followers.”
The Communist Menace
Main Points continued…
3. The greatest threat of communism is not how many Communists are
in this country, but their ability to insert themselves into positions
of power and their ability to persuade through lies and deception.
Americans should FEAR the communist infiltration of their
government and society.

“What is important is the claim of the Communists themselves
that for every party member there are 10 others ready, willing,
and able to do the party’s work. Herein lies the greatest
menace of communism. For these people who infiltrate and
corrupt various spheres of American life. So rather than the
size of the Communist Party the way to weigh its true
importance is by testing its influence, its ability to infiltrate.”

“…When the Communists overthrew the Russian government
there was one Communist for every 2,277 persons in Russia.
In the United States today there is one Communist for every
1,814 persons in the country…”
Historical Significance
• 2nd Red Scare (1947-1957)
• 1947 - Ronald Reagan and wife Jane Wyman provide to
the FBI names of SAG members believed to be
communist sympathizers.
• 1947 - Top Hollywood executives decide not to employ
individuals who refused to answer questions about
communist infiltration of the film industry
• McCarthyism starts(1950): Sen. Joseph P. McCarthy
says he has a list of 205 communists in the State
Department.
• 1950 - California Legislature passes a bill requiring state
employees to sign a loyalty oath.
• 1953 - Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, convicted of
conspiring to commit espionage on behalf of the Soviet
Union, are executed.
Brown vs. Board of Education
Presented by: Kathy Kerley
Historical Background
• After the end of the American Civil War in 1865, (Reconstruction
period) the federal government was able to provide some
protection for the civil rights of the newly-freed slaves.
• When Reconstruction ended in 1877 and federal troops were
withdrawn, southern state governments started passing Jim
Crow laws that prohibited blacks from using the same public
facilities as whites.
• Fourteenth Amendment did not help because the Supreme Court
ruled, in the Civil Rights Cases (1883), that the amendment
applied only to the actions of governments, not private
individuals.
• In 1896, Plessy vs. Ferguson was passed. This was a landmark
decision that upheld segregation and the “separate but equal”
doctrine.
Historical Background
• The “separate but equal” doctrine was challenged by Charles
Houston, the head of the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People’s Legal Defense Fund.
• He traveled through the South with his student, Thurgood Marshall
(later appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967), filming
rundown black schools and gathering any information to help with
his appeal.
• In 1950, Thurgood Marshall took over for Houston.
• The case was first argued against the Board of Education of Topeka,
Kansas in 1952. The court was divided about overturning Plessy vs.
Ferguson and asked to have the case reargued in the new term in
1953, paying special attention to the intention of the Fourteenth
Amendment.
• Chief Justice Fred Vinson, who strongly opposed overturning Plessy
vs. Ferguson, died and his successor, Chief Justice Earl Warren,
favored ending segregated education by focusing on the harm done
to black children who were segregated and relying on sociological
evidence supporting this idea.
Brown vs. Board of Education Facts
• Brown vs. Board of Education was not the first challenge to school
segregation. In 1849, African Americans filed a suit against an
educational system that mandated racial segregation in the case
Roberts vs. City of Boston.
• This class action suit was filed on behalf of thirteen Topeka, Kansas
parents and their twenty children.
• Oliver Brown, the case namesake was just one of the nearly 200
plaintiffs from five states who were part of the NAACP cases brought
before the Supreme Court in 1951. The Kansas case was named
after Oliver Brown as a legal strategy. He was the head of the roster
because he had an intact, complete family, and it would be received
better by the Supreme Court than a single parent.
Main Points
Chief Justice Warren delivered the opinion of the Court.
 Although the buildings, curricula, qualifications and salaries of
teachers and other “tangible” factors are equal to the white schools,
the issue is the effect that segregation has on public education and
black students.
“Our decision, therefore cannot turn on merely a comparison of
these tangible factors in the Negro and white schools involved in
each of the cases. We must look instead to the effect of
segregation itself on public education.”
 Education is an important factor in the development of professional
training and social skills, and those students that are segregated are
deprived of equal educational opportunities, even when the facilities
are equal.
“…To separate [children] from others of similar age and
qualifications solely because of their race generates a
feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may
affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely to ever be
undone.”
Main Points
 Segregation is detrimental to the psychological and educational
development of the negro group, which in turn will deprive them of
benefits that they would receive if they were not segregated.
“Segregation of white and colored children in public
schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children.
The impact is greater when it has the sanction of law, for
the policy of separating the races is usually interpreted as
denoting the inferiority of the negro group. A sense of
inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn.
Segregation with the sanction of law, therefore, has a
tendency to [retard] the educational and mental
development of negro children and to deprive them of
some of the benefits they would receive in a racially
integrated school system.”
 The Court ruled that in the public education the “separate but
equal” doctrine had no place, and the students were deprived of
equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth
Amendment.
Historical Significance
• This ruling dismantled the legal basis for racial segregation in
schools and other public facilities.
• It became a critical chapter in the maturation of our democracy. It
reaffirmed the sovereign power of the people of the United States
in the protection of their natural rights from arbitrary limits and
restrictions imposed by state and local governments. The same
rights that were recognized and in the Declaration of
Independence and guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
• The Brown decision initiated educational and social reform
throughout the United States and was a catalyst in launching the
modern Civil Rights Movement.
The Southern Manifesto (1956)
Linda Brown and her new class mates after the Supreme
Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
Sen. Strom Thurmond prepared
first draft of Southern Manifesto
repudiating the Supreme Court's
1954 school desegregation
decision. February 1956.
Source:
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/marsha
ll/manifesto.htmlCourtesy: Strom Thurmond Institute
The Southern Manifesto
In 1956, 96 congressmen from the former
Confederate States wrote the Southern
Manifesto to voice their opposition to the
1954 Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board
of Education. It was signed by 77 members
of the House of Representatives and 19
Senators, including the entire
congressional delegations of the states of
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana,
Mississippi and South Carolina.
Main Points
The Southern Manifesto
1. The Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of
Education is a clear abuse of judicial power.
We regard the decision of the Supreme Court in the schools
cases as a clear abuse of the judicial power. It climaxes a
trend in the Federal judiciary undertaking to legislate, in
derogation of the authority of Congress, and to encroach
upon the reserved rights of the States and the people.
Main Points Continued…
The Southern Manifesto
2. The doctrine of separate but equal is an established legal principle,
almost a century old, and the Supreme Court has no legal bases to
overturn it.
The original Constitution does not mention education. Neither does the
14th amendment nor any other amendment. The debates preceding the
submission of the 14th amendment clearly show that there was no intent
that it should affect the systems of education maintained by the States.
•The very Congress which proposed the [14th] amendment provided for
segregated schools in the District of Columbia.
•In 1868, 26 out of the 37 states
approved of segregated schools
•The doctrine of separate but equal
schools originated in the North in the
1849 case of Roberts v City of
Boston.
•In the 1896 case of Plessy v.
Ferguson, the Supreme Court
declared that separate but equal
facilities did not violate a citizen's
right under the 14th amendment.
Main Points Continued…
The Southern Manifesto
3. The Supreme Court’s unwarranted decision in Brown v. Board of
Education is creating chaos and hurting relations between whites
and blacks.
This unwarranted exercise of power by the Court, contrary to the
Constitution, is creating chaos and confusion in the States
principally affected. It is destroying the amicable relation between
the white and Negro races that have been created through 90 years
of patient effort by the good people of both races. It has planted
hatred and suspicion where there has been heretofore friendship and
understanding.
4. Outside agitators threaten to destroy the system of public
education in much of the South.
Without regard to the consent of the
governed, outside agitators are
threatening immediate and revolutionary
changes in our public-school systems. If
done, this is certain to destroy the
system of public education in some of
the States.
Thurgood Marshall with James Nabrit Jr. and George E.C. Hayes after their victory in
the Brown v. Board of Education case before the Supreme Court, May 17, 1954.
Main Points Continued…
The Southern Manifesto
5. The Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education
violates States’ rights and is unconstitutional.
We decry the Supreme Court’s encroachments on rights reserved to
the States and to the people, contrary to established law and to the
Constitution.
Linda Brown
Main Points Continued…
The Southern Manifesto
6. We Southerners will refrain from lawless acts, even as we confront
the wrongs of the Supreme Court and provocations by outside
agitators.
In this trying period, as we all seek to right this wrong, we appeal to
our people not to be provoked by the agitators and troublemakers
invading our States and to scrupulously refrain from disorders and
lawless acts.
September 4, 1957: In Little Rock, Ark.,
shouts of approval greeted Paul Davis
Taylor as he waved a Confederate flag at
Central High School.
September 5, 1957: A jeering Student follows
Elizabeth Echford as she tries to enter Central
High School.
Erin Dickison
Oral Presentation
Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Historical Background
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)
was the most famous leader of the American civil rights
movement, a political activist, a Baptist minister, and was one
of America's greatest orators. In 1964, King became the
youngest man to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (for his
work as a peacemaker, promoting nonviolence and equal
treatment for different races). On April 4, 1968, King was
assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
In 1977, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal
of Freedom by Jimmy Carter. In 1986, Martin Luther King Day
was established as a United States holiday. In 2004, King was
posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.[1] King
often called for personal responsibility in fostering world
peace.[2] King's most influential and well-known public address
is the "I Have A Dream" speech, delivered on the steps of the
Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 1963.
Early Life
Martin Luther King, Jr., was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the second child of the
Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King between his sister, Willie Christine (September 11,
1927) and younger brother, Albert Daniel (nicknamed 'A.D.'; July 30, 1930 – July 21, 1969). According to his
father, the attending physician mistakenly entered "Michael" on Martin Jr.'s birth certificate.[3] King sang with his
church choir at the 1939 Atlanta premiere of the movie Gone with the Wind. He entered Morehouse College at the
age of fifteen, as he skipped his ninth and twelfth high school grades without formally graduating. In 1948, he
graduated from Morehouse with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in sociology, and enrolled in Crozer Theological
Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania and graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) degree in 1951. In September
of that year, King began doctoral studies in Systematic Theology at Boston University and received his Doctor of
Philosophy (Ph. D.) on June 5, 1955.[4]
Assassination
In late March, 1968, King went to Memphis, Tennessee in support of the black sanitary public works employees,
represented by AFSCME Local 1733, who had been on strike since March 12 for higher wages and better
treatment: for example, African American workers, paid $1.70 per hour, were not paid when sent home because of
inclement weather (unlike white workers).[16][17][18] On April 3, King returned to Memphis and addressed a rally,
delivering his "I've been to the Mountaintop" address. King was assassinated at 6:01 p.m. April 4, 1968, on the
balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.[19] Friends inside the motel room heard the shots and ran
to the balcony to find King shot in the throat. He was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Hospital at 7:05 p.m. The
assassination led to a nationwide wave of riots in more than 60 cities.[20] Five days later, President Lyndon B.
Johnson declared a national day of mourning for the lost civil rights leader. A crowd of 300,000 attended his
funeral that same day. Vice-President Hubert Humphrey attended on behalf of Lyndon B. Johnson, who was
meeting with several advisors and cabinet officers on the Vietnam War in Camp David (there were fears Johnson
might be hit with protests and abuses over the war if he attended). At his widow's request, King eulogized himself:
at the funeral his last sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church, a recording of his famous 'Drum Major' sermon, given
on February 4, 1968, was played. In that sermon he makes a request that at his funeral no mention of his awards
and honors be made, but that it be said that he tried to "feed the hungry", "clothe the naked", "be right on the
[Vietnam] war question", and "love and serve humanity". Per King's request, his good friend Mahalia Jackson sang
his favorite hymn, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord", at the funeral.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.#Early_life
Main Points
First Main Point - "I am in Birmingham because injustice is here"
Martin Luther King Jr. was accused of being an "outside agitator" and he responded to his critics by
saying that the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights specifically invited him to
Birmingham because of the almost non-existent response to African Americans right to basic
human rights.
But more importantly, he says he is there because he is an American and as an American he has
the duty to go anywhere in the U.S. to fight the injustice African Americans face.
He says, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Anyone who lives inside the United
States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds. You deplore the
demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express
a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations."
Second Main Point - Direct Nonviolent Action is Necessary
"As in so many past experiences, our hopes had been blasted, and the shadow of deep
disappointment settled upon us. We had no alternative except to prepare for direct action, whereby
we would present out very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local
and the national community. Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches and so forth? Isn't
negotiation a better path? This is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks
to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to
negotiate is forced to confront the issue."
Third Main Point - Freedom Must be Fought For
"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be
demanded by the oppressed. Justice too long delayed is justice denied."
Martin Luther King, Jr. points out the African Americans have been waiting for 340 years for equality and have
been denied time after time. They have been told they must "wait". He cites that all the past wrongs, such as
lynching or being called vile names, has taken a toll on the African American community. On one hand, causing a
resignation to the status quo. However being told to “wait” for equality was causing some African American's to
hate the white man. He feared that this hatred might lead African Americans to consider the possibility of violent
action.
Fourth Main Point - Civil Disobedience
"One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility
to disobey unjust laws. An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law
that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust."
He stated that it is imperative that a free people must disobey any law that is unjust and fight for true justice.
One can see Thoreau's influence in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s writing. He specifically uses the term "civil
disobedience" in his letter. Martin Luther King Jr. was also influenced by Dubois. However, he did not directly
quote Dubois because Dubois was considered to be very controversial by many and King did not want to alienate
anyone. He also sights many instances in history when people who sacrificed their very laws to disobey laws that
were inhuman and unjust, such as, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who refused to obey the laws of
Nebuchadnezzar. He also points out that early Christians also broke laws in order to practice their new
religion. He references the American revolutionaries and how they broke English law by "throwing" the Boston
Tea Party. He also points out how the Jews were treated by the Nazis during WWII and says that, despite the law,
he would have helped his Jewish brothers.
Fifth Main Point - Failure of the White Moderate
Martin Luther King, Jr. did not place all the blame on the KKK for the continued
disenfranchisement of African Americans. He states that he is disappointed in the white
moderate. He says that the white moderate says, "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I
cannot agree with your methods of direct action." He states that the white moderate wanted the
African Americans to wait until "a more convenient season" to seek their rights.
Martin Luther King, Jr. warns that if people do not listen to African Americans who are using
nonviolent direct action to achieve equality, it is almost certain that a frustrated populace will turn
to black-nationalists ideologies that might lead to violent action.
Sixth Main Point - Disappointment in Organized Religion
Martin Luther King, Jr. states very plainly that he is not disappointed in the Christian faith
itself. Rather, his disappointment lies with the reverends, priests, and rabbis that, he felt, should
have sympathized and helped the African Americans achieve equality. He did point out many
exceptions of how different ministers, and other church officials, had tried to help African
Americans achieve equality. However, overall, far too many fellow ministers remained silent or
accused him of being a "rabble rouser".
"So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So
often it is an archdefedender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the
church, the power structure of the average community is console by the church's silent and often
even vocal sanction of things as they are."
Seventh Main Point - Endorsing Injustice is Immoral
"You warmly commended the Birmingham police force for keeping "order" and
"preventing violence. I doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police
force if you had seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. I
doubt that you would so quickly comment the policemen if you were to observe their ugly
and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you were to watch them push
and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you were to see them slap and
kick old Negro men and young boys; if you were to observe them, as they did on two
occasions, refuse to fives us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. I
cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department."
One should not be praised for endorsing a law that keeps other people in a second class
status. The police were upholding laws that were unjust and used excessive force into
the bargain. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s opinion, no commendation should have been
given.
“The Letter from Birmingham Jail or Letter from Birmingham City Jail, was an open
letter written on April 16, 1963 by Martin Luther King, Jr., an American civil rights leader.
King wrote the letter from the city jail in Birmingham, Alabama, after a peaceful protest
against segregation. The letter is a response to a statement made by eight white
Alabama clergymen on April 12, 1963 titled "A Call For Unity" which agreed that social
injustices were taking place but expressed the belief that the battle against racial
segregation should be fought solely in the courts and not taken onto the streets. King
responded that, without forceful, direct actions such as his, true civil rights could never
be achieved. As he put it, ‘This 'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never.' He asserted not
only that civil disobedience is justified in the face of unjust laws, but also that ‘one has a
moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.’"
The letter was first published as "Letter from Birmingham Jail" in the June 12, 1963
edition of The Christian Century [Source: reprinted in Reporting Civil Rights, Part One (page 777- 794) - American Journalism 1941 - 1963. The Library of America]
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_from_birmingham_jail
This letter was very important because it clearly explained that change would
never happen if African Americans remained silent and simply hoped that the
white moderate would grant them the freedom they had so long been denied.
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this letter especially to several ministers who had
rebuked him for taking direct action against unjust laws. This letter was aimed at
them but, it cannot be denied, that the letter has had a very great impact on this
nation.
The Negro Family: the Case for National Action (1965)
Patrick Moynihan
Historical Context
•Born in Tulsa, OK in 1927
•Studied at City College of New York and Tufts University
•Taught at Syracuse, Harvard and MIT
•He is the only person in American history to serve in four consecutive administrations
•As a professor of sociology at Harvard, he gained notoriety when he wrote The Negro
Family, also known as, the Moynihan Report
•In 1976 he won a US Senate seat for the state of New York as a Democrat
•He retired from the Senate in 2001
• Main Points
• “At the heart of the deterioration of the fabric of
Negro society is the deterioration of the Negro
family.”
• All of the problems plaguing the Negro society,
unemployment, poverty, crime and drugs, can be
attributed to the deterioration and dysfunction of the
family. This deterioration and dysfunction is the
result of what we have studied in previous
documents: Harriet Jacobs, Ida B. Wells and
Alexander Stephens.
• “As a direct result of this high rate of divorce,
separation, and desertion, a very large percent of
Negro families are headed by females.”
• Many Negro families are headed by females. This
weakens the family structure due to a lack of an all
important male figure in the household.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Main Points
“The Negro was given liberty, but not equality. Life remained hazardous and
marginal. Of the greatest importance, the Negro male, particularly in the South,
became an object of intense hostility, an attitude unquestionably based in some
measure of fear.”
“Unquestionably, these events worked against the emergence of a strong father
figure. The very essence of the male animal, from the bantam rooster to the four-star
general, is to strut. Indeed, in 19th century America, a particular type of exaggerated
male boastfulness became almost a national style. Not for the Negro male. The
“sassy nigger” was lynched.”
The Jim Crow laws, lynching and persecution by whites psychologically damaged the
Negro male. He was not allowed to strut, be boastful, or become a true man and
equal member of society like his white counterparts. This psychologically damaged
the Negro male. This damage caused him to view himself as a second-class citizen
and the normal responsibilities of manhood have escaped him. He lacks an example
of how to be because of the perpetual persecution and degradation.
“The impact of unemployment on the Negro family and particularly on the Negro
male, is the least understood of all the developments that have contributed to the
present crisis… The fundamental, overwhelming fact is that Negro unemployment,
with the exception of a few years during WWII and the Korean War, has continued at
disaster levels for 35 years… As jobs became more and more difficult to find, the
stability of the family became more and more difficult to maintain…”
“In essence, the Negro community has been forced into a matriarchal structure
which, because it is so out of line with the rest of the American society, seriously
retards the progress of the group as a whole, and imposes a crushing burden on the
Negro male and, in consequence, on a great many Negro women as well.”
• Main Points
• This, I believe, is the key main point of the document. The unemployment of
the Negro male has caused the Negro community to be led by women. This
weakens the whole community. It burdens the females because they have
the play the roles of mother and father and it burdens the males because
they do not know how to play their roles as father, protector and provider.
• “It was by destroying the Negro family under slavery that white America
broke the will of the Negro people. Although that will has reasserted itself in
our time, it is a resurgence doomed to frustration unless the viability of the
Negro family is restored…”
• Here Moynihan sums up how the Negro family began its deterioration and
asserts that things have improved. However, the progress is in jeopardy if
the Negro family is not allowed to grow, develop and succeed. Moynihan
calls for the government to aid in the restoration of the Negro family.
• Historical Significance
• The Moynihan Report was written in the middle of the civil rights movement.
Moynihan was one of many voices advocating change and reform during the
sixties. Moynihan also shed light on and brought up the psychological aspect
of the detriment and decay of the Negro community. He also highlighted the
fact that unemployment in the Negro community was a real problem and that
the government should do something about it.
Farewell Address
(1961)
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Evelyn C. Sims
History 419
Dr. Michael Perri
04/19/07
Historical Context
• Leader of the Allied forces in
Europe during WWII
• U.S. had a history of quick postwar military demobilization
• American war hero & politician
• Nicknamed “Ike”
• 34th U.S. President (Rep.)
• During 1953-1961 term:
–
–
–
–
–
Ended Korean War
Pressured USSR during COLD WAR
Nuclear Weapons – high priority
Launched Space Race
Enlarged Social Security program
1890-1969
Historical Context
(continued)
– Began Interstate Highway System
– Supported 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
• Segregated schools ruled unconstitutional
– Proposed the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 & 1960
– Placed the Arkansas National Guard under federal control &
sent Army troops to escort the “Little Rock Nine” (1957)
– Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the Union
– In efforts to portray America as a godly nation in
contrast to the “atheistic” Soviet Union, he was
Instrumental in the addition/adoption of
• “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance (1954)
• “In God We Trust” as the US motto (1956)
• “In God We Trust” on paper currency (1957)
• Delivered this television speech to the
American people from the Oval Office
on January 17, 1961
Main Point 1
• As president, Eisenhower accomplished
much and met the expectations of the
American people - that the President and
Congress should put aside political party
affiliation and work cooperatively toward the
common goal of the nation’s best interest.
•
•
“Our people expect their President and the Congress to find
essential agreement on issues of great moment, the wise resolution
of which will better shape the Nation.”
“. . . Congress and the Administration have, on most vital issues,
cooperated well, to serve the national good rather than mere
partisanship, and so have assured that the business of the Nation
should go forward.”
Main Point 2
• After three major wars in the 20th century,
America has emerged to be the most
powerful nation and should use that power
to fulfill our basic purposes for world peace
and human betterment.
•
•
•
“America today is the strongest, the most influential, and most
productive nation in the world. . . . America’s leadership and
prestige depend, not merely upon our unmatched material
progress, riches and military strength, but on how we use our
power in the interests of world peace and human betterment.”
“Throughout America’s adventure in free government, our basic
purposes have been to keep the peace; to foster progress in
human achievement; and to enhance liberty, dignity and integrity
among people and among nations.”
“Any failure traceable to arrogance, or lack of comprehension or
readiness to sacrifice would inflict upon us grievous hurt both at
home and abroad.”
Main Point 3
• Americans must make it a priority to confront
COMMUNISM; but as we find new solutions to
face this new crisis, we must use good
judgment that seeks balance and progress.
•
•
•
“Progress toward these noble goals is persistently threatened by the
conflict now engulfing the world. . . We face a hostile ideology – global
in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose, and insidious in
method.”
“Crises there will continue to be, in meeting them, whether foreign or
domestic, great or small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that
some spectacular and costly action could become the miracle solution
to all current difficulties. A huge increase in newer elements of our
defense; development of unrealistic programs to cure every ill in
agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and applied research – these
and many other possibilities in itself, may be suggested as the only way
to the road we wish to travel.”
“But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader
consideration; the need to maintain balance in and among national
programs. . .”
Main Point 4
• To intimidate COMMUNIST aggression,
America has developed the Military – Industrial
– Complex,
but with it comes “potential for the disastrous
rise of misplaced power.”
•
•
•
•
•
“Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential
aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.”
“We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of
vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women
are directly engaged in the defense establishment.”
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of
unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial-complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced
power exists and will persist.”
With the technological revolution, scientific research has become “more
formalized, complex, and costly.”
“… a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual
curiosity… The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by
Main Point 5
• The government and the citizens need to
consider future generations by conserving
resources. IF we fail to do so, we risk the loss
of democracy for them.
•
“As we peer into society’s future, we – you and I, and our government
– must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own
ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We
cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without
risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want
democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the
insolvent phantom of tomorrow.”
Main Point 6
• The Cold War has dictated an attitude of
“fear and hate” that needs to be changed to
one of “mutual trust and respect” by making
disarmament an imperative so that we can
avoid another major war that could destroy
civilization.
•
•
•
“Down the long lane of history yet to be written America knows that
this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a
community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud
confederation of mutual trust and respect.”
“Disarmament, with mutual honor and confidence, in a continuing
imperative. Together we must learn how to compose differences,
not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose. Because this
need is so sharp and apparent I confess that I lay down my official
responsibilities in this field with a definite sense of disappointment.”
“. . . as one who knows that another war could utterly destroy this
civilization which has been so slowly and painfully built over
thousands of years. . . “
Main Point 7
• He offers America’s “prayerful and continuing
aspiration” to all people of the world that
those who seek freedom will receive it AND
those who have freedom will understand the
responsibilities that come with it, working to
right the wrongs to attain world peace.
•
•
“We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their
great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall
come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may
experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have freedom will
understand also, its heavy responsibilities. . . “
“ . . . and that in the goodness of time all peoples will come to live
together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect
and love.”
Historical Significance
• His candor surprised many people when he warned them
about the Military-Industrial-(Congressional) Complex
• Americans were informed of the need for checks and
balances
• This speech challenged the American people to employ
intellect and decency as an alternative to war in resolving
conflicts. In doing this world peace could be possible.
• He is commended for telling the truth to the public and has
been called “a prophet for our time” when “we’re riddled with
scandals in the congress about lobbyists and special interest
groups and their impact on policy making” (Guerrasio, para.
9, http://www.indiewire.com/people/2006/01/eugene_jarecki.html)
• He left the White House as a very
popular president. He had avoided war,
but regretted that he was unable to achieve
détente.
Questions for Discussion
• Has any part of Eisenhower’s
warning come true?
• What preventative steps did
Eisenhower recommend?
Jimmy Carter, Energy and National Goals (popularly
known as the "malaise" speech) (1979)
Main Points:
1.Americans suffer from a lack of confidence.
•
I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental
threat to American democracy.... I do not refer to the
outward strength of America, a nation that is at peace
tonight everywhere in the world, with unmatched
economic power and military might.
•
The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a
crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the
very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We
can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the
meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of
purpose for our Nation.
2. Americans have lost faith have lost faith in their government
and in their ability to shape their government.
Our people are losing that faith, not only in government itself
but in the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and
shapers of our democracy….
3. Americans have become adicted to consumerism, which has
sapped their confidence and sense of purpose.
In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, closeknit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now
tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human
identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what
one owns. But we’ve discovered that owning things and
consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning.
We’ve learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the
emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose….
4. The sad truth: many Americans have lost
respect for onced honored institutions.
As you know, there is a growing disrespect for
government and for churches anf or schools, the
news media, and other institutions. This is not a
message of happiness or reassurance, but it is the
truth and it is a warning….
Question: Is this statement true. If it were true, do
Americans really want to hear the truth, or do they
prefer messages of reassurance from their
leaders?
5. By coming together to meet the engery challenge, we can
win for our nation a new sence of confidence, contol and
destiny. However, we must take the following measures:
1. Never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977.
2. Set import quotas
3. Commit national funds and resources to develop alternative
sources of fuel
4. Utility companies cut their use of oil by 50% and switch ot
other fuels, especially coal.
5. Establish an engery mobilization board to cut through
roadblocks to completing key energy projects.
6. All of us need to embark on a bold conservation program.
A. I ask Congress to give me authority for mandatory
conservation and for standby gasoline rationing.
6. Americans must make sacrifices in their
consumerism to meet the crisis.
…I’m asking you for your [own] good and for your
Nation’s security to take no unnecessary trips, to
use carpools or public transportation whenever you
can, to park your car one extra day per week, to
obey the speed limit, and to set your thermostats to
save fuel. Every act of engery conservation like this
is more than just common sense—I tell you it is an
act of patriotism….
APPRAISAL
Appraisal of the speech’s effectiveness: Terrible.
People have a need to feel good about
themselves, and they seek leaders who make
them feel good.
Leaders who criticize their people soon lose their
people’s support, even if their message is valid.
Support for the Contras
By Ronald Reagan
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Born February 6, 1911, to Nelle and John
Reagan in Tampico, Illinois.
He attended high school in nearby Dixon
and then worked his way through Eureka
College
There, he studied economics and
sociology, played on the football team,
and acted in school plays.
A screen test in 1937 won him a contract
in Hollywood. During the next two
decades he appeared in 53 films.
Reagan became governor of California,
the most populous state, in 1967
Ronald Reagan won the Republican
Presidential nomination in 1980 and
chose as his running mate former Texas
Congressman and United Nations
Ambassador George Bush.
He became the 40th president.
Anastasio Somoza
Debayle
& Sandinista Soldiers
Main Points:
• The United States does not start
wars.
– “We will never be the aggressor. We
maintain our strength in order to deter and
defend aggression, to preserve freedom
and peace. We help our friends defend
themselves.”
• “Central America is region of
great importance to the United
States.”
– …San Salvador is closer to Houston, Texas,
than Houston is to Washington, D.C.
– “…[I]t’s become the stage for a bold
Main Points
• The war in El Salvador is
resulting in massive waves of
refugees.
– “Concerns about the prospect of
hundreds of thousands of refugees
fleeing Communist oppression to
seek entry into our country are wellfounded.
• The Communist threat is
moving closer to the USA.
Main Points
• The Communist Sandinistas rule
Nicaragua under the veil of Democracy.
– “…Castro cynically instructed them in the
ways of successful Communist
insurrection. He told them to tell the world
they were fighting for political democracy,
not communism.”
• The Contras have taken up arms
against the government.
– “Many of those who fought alongside the
Sandinistas saw their revolution betrayed.
– “Thousands who fought with the
Main Points
• With the help of the Soviet Union and Cuba,
the Sandinistas are funding terrorism.
– “Shortly after taking power…began
supporting aggression and terrorism
against El Salvador, Honduras, Costa
Rica, and Guatemala.”
– “…Nicaragua is still the headquarters for
Communist guerrilla movements….”
• The Communist presence in Nicaragua is
growing.
– “There were 165 Cuban personnel in
Nicaragua in 1979. Today that force has
grown to 10,000.”
– “Communist countries are providing new
Andrew Sullivan
This Is a Religious War: September 11 was Only the Beginning
Background Information:
Andrew Sullivan was born in England on August 10, 1963 and is a
renowned journalist in both the United Kingdom and the U.S. He is the
former editor of The New Republic for his battling lifestyle between
conservative Catholicism and active gay lifestyle with HIV. He is also a
pioneer in the genre of Blog Journalism. Sullivan also briefly wrote for
The New York Times Journal. He is often compared to Camille Paglia,
another homosexual who argues from a non-leftist perspective.
Historical Context:
This article was written after the attacks on September 11, 2001 on the
Twin Towers in New York City. It was written in response that people
were not calling this a “religious war” when he clearly saw that it was.
Andrew Sullivan
This Is a Religious War: September 11 was Only the Beginning
Main Points:
1. This is a religious war between Islamic Fundamentalism and faiths of all
kinds
“Rather, it is a war of fundamentalism against faiths of all kinds that are at peace with
freedom and modernity.”
“This is a religious war between “unbelief and unbelievers” in bin Laden’s words.”
“In 1998 he [bin Laden] also told followers that his terrorism was “of the commendable
kind, for it is directed t the tyrants and the aggressors and the enemies of Allah.”
2. This is not the first time fundamentalism has crept into the secular realm
“What, after all, were the totalitarian societies of Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia if not
an exact replica of this kind of fusion of politics and ultimate meaning? Under Lenin’s
and Stalin’s rules, the imminence of salvation through revolutionary consciousness
was in perpetual danger of being undermined by those too weak to have faith…so
they had to be liquidated or purged.”
“It is harder for us to understand that in some twisted fashion, they [Nazis] truly
believed that they were creating a new dawn for humanity, a place where all the
doubts that freedom brings could be dispelled in a rapture of racial purity and destiny.”
Andrew Sullivan
This Is a Religious War: September 11 was Only the Beginning
Main Points:
3. The defeat of fundamentalists has been and is an arduous task
“Perhaps the most important thing for us to realize today is that the defeat of
each of these fundamentalists required a long and arduous effort. The conflict
with Islamic fundamentalism is likely to take as long.”
4. The critical link of Western and Middle Eastern Fundamentalism is the
pace of social change
“The critical link between Western and Middle Easter fundamentalism is surely
the pace of social change. If you take your beliefs from books written more
than a thousand years ago, and you believe in these texts literal, then the
appearance of the modern world must terrify you.”
“If you believe that women should be consigned to polygamous, concealed
servitude, then Manhattan must appear like Gomorrah…It is not a big step to
argue that such centers of evil should be destroyed or undermined as bin
Laden does, or to believe that destruction is somehow a consequence of their
sin.”
Andrew Sullivan
This Is a Religious War: September 11 was Only the Beginning
Main Points:
5. The other critical aspect of this faith is insecurity
“American fundamentalists know they are losing the culture war. They
are terrified of failure and of the Godless world they believe is about to
engulf or crush them.”
“They talk about renewal, but in their private discourse they expect
damnation for an America that has lost sight of the fundamentalist
notion of God.”
6. Security from American Taliban: The Constitution
“And the surprising consequence of this separation is not that it led to
a collapse of religious faith in America – as weak human beings found
themselves unable to believe without social and political reinforcement
– but that it led to one of the most vibrantly religious civil societies on
earth.”
“It is a living tangible rebuke to everything they [Islamic
fundamentalists] believe in.”
George W Bush
Born July 6, 1946 New Haven, Connecticut, to
George H W and Barbara Bush
Grew up in Midland and Houston, Texas.
Yale University, bachelor's degree, history
Harvard University, Master of Business
Administration
Married Laura Welch on November 5, 1977
Twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara.
Career and Public Service
• Owner, oil and gas business
• Partner, Texas Rangers Baseball Team
• Governor of Texas
• Elected President of the United States
January 20, 2001
Main Points
– Saddam Hussein has been deceitful and
manipulative.
• The United States and other nations have pursued
patient and honorable efforts to disarm the Iraqi
regime without war while the Iraqi regime has used
diplomacy as a ploy to gain time and advantage.
Main Points Con’t.
• This regime has already used weapons of mass
destruction against Iraq’s neighbors and
against Iraq’s people.
***The danger is clear***
• Preemptive strike is justified: The United
States of America has the sovereign
authority to use force in assuring its own
national security.
Main Points Con’t.
• We are now acting because the risks of
inaction would be far greater.
• The security of the world requires
Saddam Hussein disarming now.
• Free nations have a duty to defend our
people by uniting against the violent
nations.
Historical Significance
• Saddam Hussein has been captured and
is now on trial for crimes against humanity.
• His sons have been killed.
• It is too soon to make predictions about
the outcome of the war or the Iraqi people.