LAD #21: Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth

Carnegie starts off with an elaborate, humanistic view of the widening income gap. The wealthy and the poor are becoming two very different groups of people. He believes that this change is for the best. He thinks that the people who are wealthy deserve to have much more than people who aren’t because they are more beneficial to society.

Carnegie however does not really believe that power should be concentrated in the hands of the few, and thinks that the common man should strive to learn more about his government and society so that he can play a more active role. He goes into an intricate description of options pertaining to the use of surplus wealth. Either it can go to the descendents of one family, or it can be given to the public for public welfare. Carnegie disapproves of the first method, believing it un-American and monarchal. He feels that each citizen has a right to earn their own money.

For the second method, Carnegie advises people not to wait until after death to make use of their funds, because after their death, their wishes can be twisted. Even though this method is most fruitful for the people, it is littered with disadvantages.

Despite the growing income gap, Carnegie believes the United States to be ideal in terms of economy. He believes that the rich and the poor have varied opportunities to make money, and that it is a choice how much money one has. However, this comes with the provision that the wealthy man should aspire to live an honest, non-indulgent lifestyle, and that he must look out for and try to get money to the poor people within the economy through employment or otherwise. 

LAD #20: Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863, and effectively freed all slaves within “any States or designated part of a State.” The government and military will be fully involved in enforcing their freedom. The Proclamation goes so far as to state that anyone who defies this order and tries to inhibit slaves from leaving will officially be in rebellion against the United States. President Lincoln and the military forces he commands will openly suppress this rebellion. This will be in full effect for the first 100 days after the Proclamation is established. The states that are affected by this are Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth.

Lincoln again states that all slaves that reside in these areas are free and that their freedom will be maintained by the military and government. He suggests that the newly freed slaves find paid work and abstain from violence. He also says that some of these freed slaves will end up in the United States military.

LAD #19: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Lincoln acknowledges that since it is his second election, there is less reason to make a long speech. He discusses the “great contest” that the nation is facing and provides an optimistic point of view on the subject. However, he clearly gives no prediction on its outcome.

Four years ago, the nation was anxious about a civil war and Lincoln had desired to preserve the union without warfare. Neither party wanted war, but in a way it was inevitable. He talks about slavery and how it was a reason for the North to keep fighting this war. He suggests that neither party expected the war to be this close or indecisive. He appeals to humanistic and religious values, stating that both sides read the same Bible and pray to the same God. Lincoln furthers this by saying that slavery was brought by God, but continued past its appointed time by man. Above anything, Lincoln wishes for the war to end with the side of justice winning. He talks of peace at the end, extending his focus to all nations around the world despite the fact that the United States is in the midst of a civil war. 

LAD #18: Dred Scott decision

The slavery debate in the South was raging in the late 1850s. The famous Dred Scott case embodied both the pro-slavery and abolitionist movements in the North and South sections of the United States. Many intelligent Americans were informed of the Dred Scott Case, and its implications for the future of expansion and the future of slavery in the United States. It was stated that the decision belonged fully to the Supreme Court Chief Justice Taney. His decision was wildly argued over and he got a lot of personal dislike from the people. He did not expect blacks to be able to be a part of the American political community, including both slaves and free blacks in the same category. With this assumption that Scott was never a full citizen of the United States, Taney was able to declare that he should not be allowed to sue in Federal Court at all. He says that the Constitution does not differentiate between slaves and other property, and thus Dred Scott is still a slave even after being relocated to the Missouri territory. 

LAD #17: Ain't I a Woman

Truth makes detailed references to the several miniature revolutions and reform movements going on in America at the moment, and speculates on when the white men will start to react violently over all of these power usurping issues.

She then goes on to detail her own personal experiences as a Southern black women, with her children sold off into slavery and her own experiences as a slave.

She relates this back to the reform movements that she is here to support, and points out a religious relate. She relates women today to both Eve and the virgin Mary, pointing out that women are strong and just as worthy as men.  

LAD #16: Fredrick Douglas's "5th of July" Speech

Douglas begins by addressing his fellow citizens, who presumably include both slaves and free men. He questions the idea and spirit of independence, announcing his belief that independence is a right all are entitled to. He states that the day of independence, celebrated the day before on July 4^th, is important but not wholly justified with many in the nation still not free. He addresses those who may mock him, scorning and shaming them. He goes so far as to call upon religion to prove his point. He eventually gets through to the fact that he is talking about American slavery. He attempts to get all Americans to empathize with the slaves and their opinion on freedom and things. He calls slavery “hideous” and “revolting.” Douglas’s goal is to prove that black and white men are equal in every way and calls to the stand the fact that many black people are doctors, gold diggers in California, and many other things other than slaves. He calls slavery the act of robbing a man of his liberty.

In conclusion, Douglas states that the Fourth of July is only a bad occasion for enslaved black people to feel the fact that they are not free and nowhere near independence. He condemns free Americans for not doing anything about slavery and questions the values that America truly stands for. 

LAD #15: Gettysburg Address

Lincoln takes us back to the beginning of the nation, when unity was the only option and the forefathers of the United States accomplished the nearly impossible feat of uniting the new nation. The current civil war has disrupted that union, but more importantly, it has caused American men to lay down their lives, and that is consecration enough for the grounds at Gettysburg. He commands respect for the battlefield and assures that the war and all it implies will never be forgotten from here. His final line puts in his hope for freedom and peace within the nation.