Blog #34: FDR's First Inaugural

Roosevelt begins his Address by stating that America must not shy away from the present issues that are a result of the Great Depression. He explains that just as it has done in the past, the country must face these economic problems with strength. He then goes on to list the issues, which include rising taxes, overproduction on farms, unemployment, and more. He says that although America has plenty of resources, companies have failed to use them wisely, causing the previously listed issues. He states that happiness does not come from the possession of money, but rather from the joy of achievement and creative effort. The nation requires not just moral change, but action to accomplish that change as well.
The first action that needs to be taken is that the government needs to decrease unemployment. By doing this, the economy could once again thrive, and the use of natural resources could be stimulated and reorganized. The second action that must be taken is to fix overpopulation by reducing prices of land/homes, raising prices on agricultural products, unifying relief activities, etc. Finally, to prevent further economic trouble, there must be strict supervision over economic activities, an end to speculation of other people's money, and a provision for a strong and effective currency.
To accomplish these tasks, Roosevelt states that a new Congress must be created and that he must have assistance from several states. At this point in time, American economic issues need to come before international affairs in order to keep the country strong.
At one point, Roosevelt mentions his "good neighbor policy" and says that the United States will behave like a good neighbor by respecting both itself and the other countries of the world.
He explains that the American people must be willing to sacrifice for the good of the common discipline, and that they must be willing to strike down problems that are presented.
He notes that the Constitution has always allowed America to prosper, and that because of such principles, America is the strongest nation in the world. However, he says that if the course of action he created in order to fix the current crisis fails, then he will ask Congress to establish a broad Executive power to wage war against the economic problems within the nation.
Roosevelt finishes his Address by stating that the people depend on him to fix the issues at hand, and with faith, strength, and hope, he gladly takes on that responsibility.

Roosevelt's most famous quote from his First Inaugural Address is: "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Franklin D. Roosevelt gives his First Inaugural Address

Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address reminds me of Winston Churchill and his speeches, especially the one in which he says "we shall fight on the beaches." I find the two speeches similar, because both Roosevelt and Churchill were encouraging the American people not to fear the present issues, but rather to fight the problems with courage. The biggest difference, however, is that Roosevelt was referring to the economic issues of the Great Depression, while Churchill was referring to the issue of WWII.

Blog #33: Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact

After the Great War, many nations desired peace and came up with multiple methods in order to obtain international peace. Aristide Briand, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, proposed a peace pact that would serve as an agreement between the U.S. and France stating that war would be outlawed between them. As good as Briand's intentions were, President Coolidge and Secretary of State Franklin B. Kellogg did not agree with this. They believed that this would obligate the U.S. to protect France in the future. Instead, they suggested an extension of the pact in which all other nations would be invited to join in outlawing wars of aggression (not including self-defense).
This proposal gained a large amount of support, and the final version of the pact stated that war was outlawed as a national policy and that disputes must be settled by peaceful means. The U.S. Senate ratified the pact in a vote of 85-1 after it established that its participation did not limit its right to defend itself or require it to fight any country that might violate the agreement.
However, it soon became clear that the Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact (aka the Pact of Paris) could never be a success. This is because it was too difficult to prevent countries from going to war. For example, in the Mukden Incident, the Japanese invaded Manchuria, but since the U.S. and the League of Nations did not want to go to war, they did not even take action to enforce the pact. Additionally, there was some confusion surrounding the definition of "self-defense." Ultimately, such an agreement was too idealistic to prevent WWII and other conflicts that followed.

-Total # of countries to sign the pact: 62

-What would need to happen to enforce Pact: The involved countries would have to agree never to cause conflict with each other again. They would need to ignore their disagreements and refrain from defending themselves, because that would likely cause a greater conflict or even war.

The Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact is depicted in this cartoon as exactly what it turned out to be. The pact was originally perceived to be the answer to achieving peace in the world, but it blew up right in the world's face when it failed to prevent WWII and other conflicts that followed.

The Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact can be compared to Wilson's 14 Points, because both were extremely idealistic attempts at peace. They were both created with good intentions (Wilson and Coolidge both wanted peace rather than war), yet both failed to prevent future conflict (especially because the 14 Points weren't even passed).

Blog #32: Wilson's 14 Points of Peace

Wilson opens his 14 points by stating that the world should no longer keep secrets from each other, but rather be open to achieve peace. He mentions that the United States entered the Great War to create a world fit to live in, and that the war must immediately be ended. He goes on to list the only ways he believes that peace can be achieved- his 14 points.

I believe that Wilson's 14 Points are somewhat idealistic. For example, his second point mentions that the sea should be free for navigation by all nations in both peace and war. This is not realistic, because during times of war, rules are often bent, and certain forces can take control of parts of the sea or prevent others from going certain places in order to defend themselves. Another example is when Wilson sums up every point by stating that the nations cannot be "separated in interest or divided in purpose." This is not realistic considering that people have varying opinions and often do not agree on how to do certain things.

Point #14 calls for "a general association of nations" that would be useful to form agreements about political independence as well as territorial rights for states. This was later called the League of Nations.

Within the Treaty of Versailles, some of Wilson's 14 Points can be found. Although the Treaty is harsher on the Germans than the 14 Points, there are still many similarities between the two. One of these similarities is the requirement for Germany to give back the territory it had taken, which is also listed in point #8. Another similarity is that Germany was required to join the League of Nations once it proved its peace. This is similar to point #14, which called for an international committee made up of nations that would maintain peace. Finally, point #13 (free sea navigation for Poland) is found in the Treaty of Versailles, because a Polish corridor was built so that Poland could have access to the sea.

This political cartoon represents Wilson's 14 Points.  Many people saw them as the only way to peace.

Wilson's 14 Points remind me of Benjamin Franklin's 13 virtues, because just as Wilson believed his points were the way to peace in the world, Franklin believed his virtues were the way to peace in personal life.

Blog #31: Schenck V. United States

The Schenck V. United States issue began when socialists Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer handed out leaflets that said the draft violated the 13th Amendment, which outlaws involuntary servitude. They hoped to urge the public to disobey the draft peacefully. However, Schenck was charged with conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act of 1917, and he argued that such a conviction violated his 1st Amendment right.

Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes responded by saying that during wartime, the courts must obey the government regardless of constitutional rights, a rule that is part of the "clear and present danger doctrine." He compared handing out the leaflets to shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theatre, which is not permitted under the 1st Amendment. In fact, handing out the leaflets posed as a disruption to the drafting process, and therefore it was not deemed legal.

Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes

In Gitlow V. New York, Benjamin Gitlow distributed 16,000 copies of a document that called for a communist revolution in the United States and urged labor strikes/class action to take over the state's power. However, similar to Schenck V. United States, free speech was limited in this situation (it was a "clear and present danger") and Gitlow was arrested for violating New York's "criminal anarchy" law (made it a felony to encourage overthrowing a government by force/violence).