LAD/ Blog #30: Wilson's First Inaugural

Wilson's First Inaugural Address

Woodrow Wilson first acknowledged that people had changed their perspectives on the nation and had a strong desire to rectify the wrong-doing that had been occurring for some time. He believed that the government was powerful and could handle the change that it needed to undergo. He wanted to send the message that the government was able to go against big businesses, but it needed the support of the people to do so. Wilson also states that the government, while the nation prospered under a great economy, had forgotten about its people and the environment. He thought that it was time for a change in perspective and a correction of the wrong-doings, specifically the harmful tariffs, food quality, labor laws, and lack of environmental preservation. These progressive beliefs were his idea of the law's duty to protect the nation it served.

Teddy Roosevelt was another president

who regulated big businesses and was nicknamed

the "Trustbuster".

LAD/Blog #29: Clayton Anti-Trust Act

Clayton Anti-Trust Act

The Clayton Anti-Trust Act was an addition to the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890. It was meant to increase the effectiveness of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which had the greater impact out of the two. The Clayton Anti-Trust Act focused more on the price discrimination, price fixing, and unfair business practices still in use during the Progressive Era. Enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust division of the Department of Justice, the Clayton Anti-Trust Act took down price discrimination and big business merging, which destroyed competition. It stated that discrepancies in prices could only occur due to the quality of the products and prohibited people from selling at lower prices when their intent was to create a monopoly. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the Clayton Anti-Trust Act worked well together, one banning monopolies, and the other prohibiting their formation.

The Celler-Kefauver Act of 1950 prohibited
big businesses from buying up their competition's
assets, which was a loophole they found through
the Clayton Anti-Trust Act.

LAD/Blog #28: Keating-Owen Child Labor Act

Keating-Owen regulations for labor

The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act does not allow manufacturers, producers, or traders to operate unless they have had 30 days without children under the age of 16 working in manufacturing, children 14-16 working more than 8 hours a week, and children under 14 working. A committee was also created by the Attorney General, Secretary of Commerce, and Secretary of Labor to enforce these guidelines. Plus, it allows inspections of the factories to make sure illegal child labor was not taking place and that any violations must be reported so the proper procedure could be used in court. The punishments for violations included jail time and fines. The Act concludes with the statement that it would take affect one year after it had passed. Unfortunately, it did not last very long as the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in Hammer v Dagenhart, since they believed it to be exceeding the government's role in regulating commerce.

Lewis Hine, a muckraker during the progressive movement,

photographed child labor to encourage the reform of 

child labor laws in America

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

MLK's "I Have a Dream Speech" being given 1963

Being the well-known civil rights advocate that he was, Martin Luther King Jr. voiced his stance on the matter clearly in his "I Have a Dream" speech. He believed that white and black communities could be combined together, and peace could fall over the nation. When talking about the Emancipation Proclamation and Lincoln, he stresses the fact that even over a hundred years later after freeing the slaves, African Americans still face lingering oppression and racism within the United States. King then compares the Constitution to a check, which was meant for both black and white races, but nonetheless, the check was marked for "insufficient funds" for blacks. He did not believe that the "bank of justice is bankrupt" and continued to fight against the injustices, stating his dreams where "all men are created equal" and children would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Rosa Parks was another civil rights advocate

who was arrested for refusing to sit in the back of

the bus. This led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott

of 1955-1956.