LAD #32: The Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact

On August 27th, 1928, The Kellog-Briand Peace Pact was signed.  This pact prohibited war "as an instrument of national policy" stating that war could only be used in self-defense.  It was named after the US Secretary of State Frank Kellogg, as well as the French foreign minister Arstide Briand.  Originally only between America and France, Kellogg proposed it to be opened up to other countries, in hopes of keeping the US out of the European Alliance system.  In all 15 nations including the US, France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Japan signed the pact.  Along with these nations, 31 other nations agreed to adhere to the pact by the time it was put into effect on July 24, 1929.

LAD #31: Wilson's Fourteen Points

President Woodrow Wilson created his famous Fourteen Points to bring peace to the Great War with a treaty.  In a speech he delivered summarizing these points, Wilson was able to justify going to war as a effort to bring peace to Europe.  His points are as follows: 
1. Peace
2. Freedom of the seas
3. Removal of economic barriers
4. Guarantee that national armaments will be reduced
5. Adjustment of colonial claims
6. Russian territory should be evacuated, and that Russia should be welcomed into the society of free nations
7. Belgium should be evacuated and restored
8. All French territory should be freed
9. The borders of Italy shall be reajusted
10. The citizens of Austria-Hungary shall be given the opportunity to independently develop
11. Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated and restored, with Serbia getting more rights and independence
12. The Turkish portion of the Ottoman Empire should have a secure sovereignty.
13. An independent Polish state should be created.
14. The League of Nations should be formed.

LAD #30: Schenck vs. US

The Schenck vs. US Court Case was very influential during the early 1900s in that it upheld the Espionage Act of 1917.  On March 3rd, 1919, Charles Schenck was arrested for mailing out flyers denouncing the draft.  Being the leader of the Socialist Party, there grew outrage over his charges as many stated that the first amendment protected his freedom of speech.  So, he challenged the Espionage Act which made it illegal to interfere with wartime activities.  He did not win however as Supreme Court Justice Holmes stated "The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic. [...] The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent."

LAD #29: Keating-Owen Child Labor Act

The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act passed in 1916 prohibited factories, companies, as well as stores that employed children under 14 from selling their products. Along with this, people were not allowed to buy products from businesses with children under 14 working.  Furthermore, this act regulated the hours that 16-year-olds could work.  The goal of all this was to completely put an end to child labor.  This act came about after the 1900 census showed that close to 2 million children were working in terrible conditions as child laborers. This statistic finally opened up peoples eyes enough to call for changes to occur.  The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act was ruled unconstitutional however in 1918 in the Hammer vs. Dagenhart case, but another act getting rid of child labor was passed once again in the same year.

LAD #28: Wilson's First Inaugural Address

On March 4th 1913, President Woodrow Wilson presented his first inaugural address. In it he discusses how the democrats gained control by winning the majority in the Senate as well as in vice president and president.  He goes on to explain that this is more than just a party success in Washington, but instead a success for the country as a whole.  He then talks about the citizens of the nation and that it will be one of his goals to help them do good, and steer away from evil.  Wilson strongly believes that government's job is to look out for the welfare of its people and he says that he will try to make sure that this happens.

LAD #27: Clayton Antitrust Act

The Clayton Antitrust act solved the problem of dealing with trusts by breaking up all of the bad trusts during the 1900s.  It was able to do this by introducing many new regulations on trusts and Big Business in general.  First off, businesses could not make prices fluctuate according to who was buying it.  If a company were to do this they would be fined.  Next, this act made it officially illegal to sell bribes.  Also, special deals had to be offered to everyone, not just a specific group of customers.  Along with this, if you were to accept a special deal you could also be fined and arrested.  This act also made it so that one company could not sell another company's product.  To protect workers, if someone were to get hurt on the job, they were now allowed to sue the company they were working under.  All in all, this act decreased the monopolistic control of big business.