LAD #21- Dawes Act

This Dawes Act stated that the lands in the reservations should be allotted to each individual, and that the President should allot the lands to each individual Indian. The reservation allotments were selected by the Indians, and they were negotiated by special agents appointed by the President. The United States would hold the allotted land, on the basis that it would benefit the Indians whom lived on it. Any Indian who adopted a civilized way of life was declared an American citizen, and the reservations were granted running water, with inspectors to make sure it was of good quality. Some of the tribes ere not included in this, but each tribe was given $100,000 with which to live on.

LAD #20- Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” Speech

This speech was delivered by William Jennings Bryan at the Democratic National Convention. It was over the issue of whether to allow for the free coinage of silver at a ratio of silver to gold 16:1. This would increase the total amount of money in circulation, and would thus help the cash-poor and debtors. Bryan was the forerunner Democratic nominee for president. He said that he wanted to speak to the people on the basis of saving humanity. It was widely that the Democrats were those who were supporters of silver coinage. He stated that all people were equal, whether they were a coal miner or a legislator in Congress. HE wanted to stand up against the gross possessors of wealth in the country. He was also one in favor of the income tax, as it took more money from the wealthy, who were more easily able to do away with it. He also thought that the government should be in control of money, and that power should not go in the hands of banks. He also stated that if the gold standard was a bad thing, that the United States should not wait to do away with it, but rather be the first to do away with it. Republicans thought that if the upper-class was prosperous, that their wealth would leak down into the lower classes. Many Democrats, however, thought that if you made the lower classes more prosperous, then it would leak up the other levels of society. Cities are in favor of the gold standard, for if you burnt them down, they would reappear. However, if you burnt down all the farms, everything would wither away. The country would no longer be able to function. Thus, Bryan was in favor of the silver coinage system.

LAD #19- Populist Party Platform

The Populist Movement came from the farmers’ alliances in the 1870’s and 1880’s. They soon became almost a third party, in accordance with neither the Democrats nor the Republicans. They opposed concentrated wealth, such as was seen in banks and big business, and thus were also against many of the achievements of industrialism. They wanted to have equal rights for men and women. They wanted labor unions, and wanted wealth to belong to those who earned it. They wanted a national currency, and free and unlimited coinage of silver and gold, under the restrictions to the ratio of 16 to 1. They wanted the amount of circulated money to be increased, and were in favor of an income tax. They wanted wealth to be in the hands of the people, and thus were against centralized wealth. They wanted government-owned railroads, telegraphs, and telephones. They demanded a free ballot, immigration quotas, shortened labor hours, were against the maintenance of a large standing army, and wanted to limit the tenure of the President’s office to be for one 4-year term.

LAD #18- McKinley’s War Message

In 1895, the Cuban people revolted against their Spanish rulers. The United States took a policy of neutrality, but sent a letter to Madrid demanding the Spanish to cease all fighting and grant Cuba an armistice. The United States, headed by President McKinley, were on the side of the Cubans. McKinley gave a speech to Congress stating that the state of affairs in Cuba was hurting the Untied States’ economy. Trade was suffering, and the property of Americans based in Cuba was lost. However, a clear victory was not probable. The grounds to the agreement settled upon by the United States was that this was of the utmost importance to the United States because Cuba geographically was located so close to the United States. Also, the United States owes tit to the Cuban people for their right to the pursuit of happiness, and that the current conditions in Cuba were limiting their legal protection. Also, the United States was given a right to intervene, for it was hurting the United States directly, for their trade and commerce was suffering. Also, as stated before, the conditions faced by Cuba were in such close proximity to the United States that they could not be ignored. The destruction of the American ship the Maine, showed the destruction of the brutality affecting the United States, as we were neutral and our ships were being harmed. The United States also wanted a stable government to be pronounced in Cuba, and the United States stated that it would continue to give food and aid to the Cuban people, for at that time, it was lacking. President McKinley then handed the issue over to Congress after he clearly stated his pro-action approach.