Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth

Carnegie thought that the major difference between millionaires and workers was necessary because it was important for progression. He also believed that there were three main methods for people to spend their money: they could leave it to their family, give it to the public, or give it away while they were still alive. The first method was the most unfair because children were unworthy of all that money. The second method was just a way to get  rid of all the money and it would be heavily taxed. The third method was the best option, because it was the most ideal. Plus, it is essential for wealthy men to act as role models and set an example of modesty.

LAD #20: Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation was effective in declaring two things. It stated that any black people that were being held as slaves in Southern states, which were current rebelling against the Union, were declared "forever free" in the Union and that they should have been fully respected by military and naval personnel. It also declared all the states in which the proclamation was effective. These states were Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. There were certain areas in Louisiana and Virginia that did not fall under the proclamation, like New Orleans, but the rest of the territories were required to consider their slaves fully free of their servitude.

LAD #19: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

In Lincoln's second inaugural address, he stated that his address would be short because most people were aware of what was going on with the state of the Union, unlike the time of his first address. At that time, southerners were determined to separate from the Union and form their own nation. Lincoln expressed his belief that neither party was interested in war, but the South was prepared to fight, and the North was willing to fight if it meant that it would prevent the nation from collapsing. Lincoln went on to point out slavery as one of the main causes of the war and then began to speak from a religious standpoint when he expressed the differing interests of the North and the South. He claimed that whatever God wanted was going to happen throughout the war, and that the side that God prefers will be the side to win. He ended the speech by expressing his desire for the nation to achieve long lasting peace. 

LAD #18: Dred Scott Decision

Read Chief Justice Roger Taney's Decision in the Dred Scott vs. Sanford Supreme Count case and summarize 

The Supreme Court decision for the Dred Scott vs. Sanford case was made by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. Taney supported Sanford, saying that Scott, as a child of parents that immigrated to the US, was not a citizen of the US and therefore was not guaranteed the rights that are given to citizens in the Constitution. He referred to the Constitution and claimed that it made no distinction between slaves and other forms of property, which meant that Scott never had any right to claim any rights of liberty granted by the Constitution, and he also didn't have the right to bring the case to court. On the other hand,Sanford, Scott's owner, was a legal citizen of the US so he deserved all the rights granted by the Constitution and therefore his property was protected by the government. The court therefore had to ensure his ownership over Scott, but this decision challenged the Missouri Compromise, because even though Scott lived in a free state, Illinois, he was considered property and therefore had no right to sue in the slave-state of Missouri. In the end, Taney ruled that the Compromise was unconstitutional. 

LAD #17: Ain't I a Woman

Summarize the "Ain't I a Woman" Speech

At the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio, Sojourner Truth gives a speech in which she remarks upon two major injustices: racial prejudices and sexist prejudices. She admits that there has been some effort made to improve women's rights in the North, but she also points out the opposition against these reforms. She disagrees with their way of thinking, claiming that there are people who have helped women out of carriages and over ditches, but no one has ever helped her. She poses the question, "Ain't [she] a woman?" She goes on to defend womanhood by giving examples of her strengths as a woman; she explains that she is able to farm and work as hard as men, as much as men, and even has the strength to do things they can't do like give birth to thirteen children and watch them helplessly when they are sold into slavery. She shuts down anyone who thinks that women are less intelligent than men, claiming that intelligence is irrelevant concerning respect, because respect should be a universal and unconditional endowment.

LAD #16: Frederick Douglass' "5th of July" Speech

Summarize Frederick Douglass' 5th of July Speech

Frederick Douglass posed the question of what a slave is in the context of the 4th of July. Douglass expresses his contempt towards the practices of the people of the US concerning slavery. He feels that his emotions are intensified by the celebration and claims of independence which supposedly successfully eliminated tyranny. Douglass reminds the country that even though most Americans are celebrating their freedom, there are neglected blacks slaves who have and still are feeling the injustices of America. Americans treated black people as inferior to them, but Douglass reminds the people that they have no right to think that way considering black people have been just as successful as white people, and also do the same things as the white people, like build houses, have families, farm, and worship God. Douglass states that Americans have made noble claims for their independence, but they are have also committed hypocrisy because there is no other country that has allowed such injustices on human lives like America.

LAD #15: Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Summarize Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

The purpose of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was to pay tribute to soldiers of the civil war who gave up their lives in order to preserve the Union as well to stress the importance of such a demanding cause. Lincoln also understood that by no means could any value be placed upon the sacrifices that were made by the soldiers. They paid the ultimate price to reserve the land with their blood. Lincoln continues, saying that the living cannot serve the dead simply by appreciation, but instead with their devotion to the same cause that martyrs support: a free government that is created of, by, and for the people, and one that will serve to protect the citizens' rights as intended by the founding fathers of the nation.