LAD/Blog #27: MLK Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" Speech

The passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1963 was a landmark act because it was enforced by the government. The act outlawed discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. It also came in the throws of the Civil Rights Movement that rippled throughout the U.S.
One dream that MLK Jr. talked about that I liked was, "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character". Another dream that I liked was, "I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers". I think that these dreams are my favorite because they speak volume to who he was and I am also able to relate to them.

Both the Gettysburg address and the 'i have a dream" speech impacted the nation's mindset following the speech and impacted the lives of those who followed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

LAD/Blog #31: Schenck v. United States

Image
During the Great War Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer thought that the draft violated the thirteenth amendment and they distributed pamphlets that declared their views. The pamphlets said that people should resist the draft peacefully. Schenck was accused of violating the Espionage Act by obstructing recruitment. Both Schenck and Baer were convicted of violating the Espionage Act and later tried appealing this ruling on the grounds of the first amendment. According to Oliver Wendell Holmes, the "clear and present danger test", he said the first amendment regarding freedom of speech is not protected as it approaches creating a clear and present danger of an evil that Congress can protect. He also compared their handing out of pamphlets to a person yelling "fire" in a public place, which is not permitted under the first amendment. Both Schenck v US and Brown v Board of Education were landmark supreme court cases in which the power of the supreme court was teste
Read more

LAD #39: Brown vs. Board of Education

Image
In 1896 the Supreme Court ruled in Plessy vs. Ferguson that racially segregated public facilities were legal, so long as the facilities for whites and blacks were equal. This case became known for "separate but equal" and lasted for the next six decades. The Brown v. Board of Education was made up of four similar cases about school segregation that were all brought to the Supreme Court, where they were combined into a single case. On May 17, 1954 the Supreme Court ruled that separate but equal has no place in public education and that the plaintiffs were being deprived of equal protection under the 14th amendment. Although Brown v Board of Education did not lead directly to the desegregation of schools on its own, especially in the stubborn South as seen by the Little Rock Nine, it sparked the Civil Rights Movement.    In Brown v. Board of Education African Americans fought for the chance to be treated equally, a battle that began much before then, during Reconstruction.
Read more

LAD/Blog #34: FDR's First Inaugural

Image
President FDR gave the first of his four inaugural addresses on March 4, 1933. FDR entered his presidency with the American people at an all time low as a result of the Great Depression which caused suffering for people all across the country. Knowing this FDR began his speech by acknowledging these issues and saying that he would do his best to tackle those them head on. His main message to the people was that "the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself". One of the problems he mentions is the fallen economy in which values shrunk, taxes rose and peoples means to pay had been severely limited.He acknowledges that one of the biggest issues in the country was unemployment and that to fix this the American people needed to be given to jobs.He also talks about the need for strict supervision on banking and credits and investments. His ideas for foreign policy dealt with his good neighbor policy where America needed to respect its neighbors. His speech concluded with asking t
Read more