John F. Kennedy, Ich bin ein Berliner !

Who is speaking?:
President John F. Kennedy is giving his well known Ich bin ein Berliner (Translation: I am a Berliner) speech, 1963.

Who is the audience?:
Directly this speech is concerning the Germans of West Berlin, yet at the same time it is also directed to all people of the world, even East Germany and other nations alike“…beyond the freedom merely of this city of Berlin and all your country of Germany, to the advance of freedom everywhere, beyond the wall, to the day of peace with justice, beyond yourselves and ourselves to all mankind.” That statement leads me to believe that this speech was not only meant for the people of Berlin to hear, but for everyone.

Who does the speaker represent?:
I believe Kennedy is representing his own political opinion, so he is representing himself. In which as he is the President of the United States, he is also representing America as a whole.

What is being said?:
Kennedy is voicing his opinion about how West Berlin needs to be sociably “aloud” back from seclusion. He is standing against communism, and he is telling the Germans that they will (in an ideal situation), no longer be held to what had happened by the hands of prior generations of Germans. “In eighteen years of peace and good faith this generation of Germans have earned the right to be free, including the right to unite their families and their nation in lasting peace with goodwill to all people.” Kennedy mentioned the Berlin wall and admitted that our democracy was not flawless, but makes a valid point that we as a government had never needed to “ …put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us!” He is pointing out the obvious contrast of communist and democrats in this speech. The most important message I received from this text was that Kennedy was a firm believer that all men were equal, “Freedom is invincible, and when one man is enslaved, no man is free.” Kennedy is supporting West Germany in the difficult times they are enduring with East Germany.

How is it being said?:
Kennedy is speaking assertively, yet makes remarks showing the people of West Berlin that he cares and has an understanding of what position they are in. He made remarks in German to personalize his speech to the people, emphasizing that he was there to be a comfort, not a threat. “Today in a world of freedom, the proudest boast is “Ich bin ein Berliner!” Kennedy is well prepared and speaks with confidence in this speech. Kennedy was sending a message, and it was one that was easily understood.


What justification is being used to legitimize the request?:Let me first clarify that in this speech Kennedy is requesting that freedom be given to all people, and he is asking Europe to let down their guard to Germany so that all nations can grow past the point of which they are all at now “What is true to this city is true to Germany: Real lasting peace in Europe can never be assured as long as one German out of four is denied the elementary right of free men, and that is to make a free choice.” Kennedy repeatedly points out the difference between his beliefs of right and wrong when it comes to government power, and even throws in statements from other people to point out how wrong some assumptions are-“There are some who say that “Communism is the wave of the future!” Let them come to Berlin!”

What is the historical significance of this speech?:
John F. Kennedy was publically defining his opinion that each individual deserves the right to make their own decisions. He was “protesting” against the wall that divided East and West Germany, “For it is an offense not only against humanity, separating families, dividing husbands and wives and brothers and sisters and dividing a people who wished to be joined together!” Kennedy was aware the separation between the two sides of Germany, and he used this to make clear that the United States military and government were still strong and in charge, so to say.

How does this document’s premise or theme fit into the historical context you are reading about in your textbook?:
This document fits directly into what we read about last week. This event I would say would have been somewhere in between pages 1064-1067 along with the details about Khrushchev, and the “iron curtain”. Because these are both related to what was in the speech about the Berlin Wall and the separation of East and West Germany.

The Brown Decision;

Who is speaking?
Document One: Chief Earl Warren
Document Two: One of the hundred plus members of Congress who signed the manifesto pledging resistance to the Supreme Court rulings
Document Three: High School Boy in Oak Ridge, Tennessee,1957
Document Four: High School Girl in Louisville, Kentucky,1957
Document Five: High School Girl in the Deep South, May 1966
Document Six: High School Girl in the Deep South, May 1966

Who is the audience?
Document One: The Court, and all of the American people from a distance.

Document Two: Was meant to counter the Supreme Court ruling of Brown v. Board of Education.

Document’s Three, Four, Five and Six: To the people of America.

Who does the speaker represent?
Document One: He represents the voice of the Supreme Court, in Brown v. Board of Education, May 1954

Document Two: This document represents those who disagreed with the ruling in the Brown v. Board of Education case.

Document’s Three, Four, Five and Six: The speakers all represent themselves and their own personal encounters.

What is being said, argued and/or requested?
Document One: He is stating that the act of segregation of public schools based on race, even if the facilities and other material things in the school are equal in value, it is still denying the children of the minority group of an equal education. And such segregation will cause problems in the community when the children grow up and realize how mistreated they where, and it will then be unchangeable. So the doctrine of “ separate but equal” is then vetoed. In which, separating educational facilities depending on race are found unconstitutional.

Document Two: The Southern Manifesto accused the Supreme Court of "clear abuse of judicial power." in the Brown v. Board of Education case. It then states "We pledge ourselves to use all lawful means to bring about a reversal of this decision which is contrary to the Constitution and to prevent the use of force in its implementation” as a conclusion.” Hence, them saying that they will change the ruling, they also say that the diminishing of the “separate but equal” act only hurt the relationships between the two races, are they say “good people of both races”, which is ironic because of what they are pledging resistance from.

Document’s Three, Four, Five and Six: All these stories tell of they like it better at integrated school, even with the extra strife it causes them as individuals. They all also talk about how they knew they were “unwanted” by the whites, but wanted better activities or schooling. Document five gives the most shocking story about how six African Americans were shunned from the school, only to later return with a court order, and when they did return all the students and most of the teachers left.

How is it being said, argued and/or requested?
Document One: This is all being said very factually. He list the problem, states what was decided on the problem ( that segregation of school by race does not make for equal educational opportunities), then states McLaurin in which a African American is being held to intangible considerations, after this he looks into long term and states the problems this could have for our communities, and then restates his conclusion. What he is saying is clear and yet not coming off in an aggressive manner, it’s just very assertive.

Document Two: This document is written more in an insult forum. It “calls out” the Supreme Court a lot for their ruling in 1954. It is set up in a very opinionated way, and it is contradicting what the petition is for when is says things about both races having good relationships before the transformation of African Americans legal and political rights.

Document’s Three, Four, Five and Six: All of the children seem to be disappointed in what they are living right then but they seem to be hopeful for the future. In document four the young lady states “It’s not the school, it’s the community.” What insight.

What proof and/or justification is being used to legitimize the request?
Document One: It states “…To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone..” this was said to make the point that by separating the children, it would only raise children with issues and then their issues would become the communities issues.

Document Two: It states that the Constitution of the United States along with the 14th Amendment do not say anything about education, and because the Supreme Court made the decision to support getting rid of children public school segregation that they are using their power in a unacceptable way.

Document’s Three, Four, Five and Six: Nothing is being proven besides the mistreatment in these stories. Document three is talking about wanting to play on a basketball team at school and he can’t “Mostly it’s the fans or board of education that decides against me…” Then in document four she says she was treated alright at school but could not participate in extracurricular activities because once off school grounds everything is segregated again. In document five the girl is faced with a empty school to go to everyday because no one would go to school with African Americans enrolled as students. And document six said that the fact that the whites didn’t want the African Americans there was apparent. All of these are showing the discrimination that African Americans had to go through.

What is the historical significance/relevance of this document?
Document One: This was the Supreme Court’s decision to make it clear that change was going to happen, starting off the transformation of African American status during the 1950’s and 1960’s. This was a landmark ruling for the progress of equality for African Americans.

Document Two: This is relevant because it is the peoples strike back from the Court ruling. It gives the other side of perspective to how the people back then where feeling during these times.

Document’s Three, Four, Five and Six: Real life experiences are important for history.

How do these document’s premise or themes fit into the historical context you are reading about in your textbook?
Document’s One,and Two: These two documents fit perfectly in to the two pages previous to page 1012-1013 which this article is located. The NAACP is explained to be the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and then gave the background information to the case Brown v. Board of Education.

Document’s Three, Four, Five and Six: These stories from high school students during the 1950’s to 1960’s fits in with our reading because as we learn about all the transitions that occurred like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., it is important to remember the people with less voice, but the same problems.

The GI Bill Transforms Higher Education:

Summary: This section explains the process of which the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, the GI Bill, went through from when it was just a idea to the end result. From as I understand this Bill was passed on June 22, 1944 to insure returning veterans from WW2 that they would have some stability waiting for them when they once again reached the United States. The benefits that were offered to the men and women from the GI Bill were unemployment insurance, loans for business and housing, and payment for higher education including college, graduate studies, and professional and vocational training, Disagreement arouse from the south, some people felt that the African Americans that served in the military should not have the “privilege” to receive the same benefits from the GI Bill as the whites. Along with African Americans the servicewomen were to not getting the full benefits of the bill, mostly because they were unaware that they were even eligible for the benefits. 350,000 women served in the military and yet only 3 percent of the veterans on the GI Bill were GI Jane’s. Change began quickly and by 1947 there were 1,164,000 veterans registered for schooling on the GI Bill. Making more than 49 percent of the student body nationwide veterans. America was changed by the doors that where opened because of the GI Bill, 67,000 doctors, 238,000 teachers, 91,000 scientist, 450,000 engineers, and 240,000 accountants, where just one result from this opportunity Americans were welcomed home with caused. Three Presidents of the United States were educated off of the GI Bill. The American Legion group wanted to brighten the future of the veterans and in turn even ended up making the government profit off of sending these GI Joes and GI Jane’s on to higher education, the article stated “ for every dollar spent on the GI Bill education benefits, the country got back as much as eight dollars in income taxes”. Overall I would say that this Bill was very successful in broadening the countries understand of potential in the people, and coping with the 16 million men and women that had nowhere to go once they got home.

Question One: Do you think that the job market would have suffered enough to return to the struggle it was in during the Great Depression if the returning veterans did not have the option to keep off the work market and go to school using the benefits of the GI Bill? If not, then how do you believe the economy would have been impacted?

Question Two: Do you think that discrimination was at all diminished during the time that the GI Bill was being used by all races? With all of the races, religions, and material statuses really mixing in a structured environment do you feel this was not only a big step for the present time but impacted the understanding that everyone is capable of the same thing for Americas future as a country?

Textile Workers Strike for Better Wages and Working Conditions CDL

This article summarized the unfairness that was present for the textile workers in the Great Depression. It told of the long hours and low wages, aka “the stretch-out” held in place by mill owners. Quotes from numerous mill workers put emphasis on the strife they had to undergo, when they would even so much as voice a concern they were faced with a discouraging answer from the mill owners like “If you don’t like it there’s a barefoot boy waitin’ at the gate for your job.”. Then after the first big strike the government decided to “take action” and try to “fixing” the terrible working conditions, this act was known as the New Deal’s National Recovery Administration (NRA). But the mill owners pushed this code to the side and continued poorly treating their employees. Mill owners black mailed and tore down workers organizations after once again another strike of over 400,000 workers. After this strike ended because of the Textile Workers’ Union’s lack of economic support and Roosevelt’s want for peace, people either went back to work or they found work in other places.

Question One: Do you think that factory jobs today are as hectic and demanding as they where between the 1920’s to 1930’s?

Question Two: Do you think that with the current recession that the United States is in, that President Obama may create a document equivalent to the NRA to even out work, wages and decrease layoffs? And if so, then do you think it would be more respected and followed than it was back when the textile strikes where occurring?

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Who spoke: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States.

Audience: The citizens of the United States.

Represents:
The President of the United States Roosevelt was representing himself and the United States civilians.

What is being said:
Franklin Roosevelt is addressing the Nation for the first time as the United States President in this speech. The strife that is being put on to the people from the depression is being acknowledged and plans for a brighter future are being promised. Such as; more jobs for Americans, better banking practices, better transportation and communication among business throughout the nation and international affairs. He is telling the people that the depression will be overcome.

How it is being said:
Roosevelt is speaking in a very assertive manner, yet the undertone of the whole speech is very compassionate. He is not sugar coating any of the issues he has to deal with as he steps into office. He is being honest and blunt, but not in a way that could be taken offensively. As he tells about the harsh reality he is giving comfort and hope, “Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.”, this was said to not only point out that peoples efforts are needed to help stimulate the economy, but to liberate people from the idea that work is just a drag, it is said to inspire people to want to be a part of the solution.

What proof and/or justification is being used to legitimize the speech:
I do not believe that there any given facts in this speech, just very strong opinions.
And the opinions that are being given are reasonable and understandable, he is saying the issues and how he feels is best to deal with them.

The historical significant of this document:
This is the first speech Roosevelt gives as the president. It is also a breaking point for a look into the future of Roosevelt’s “First 100 Days”.

How this speech fits into the historical context we are reading in the textbook: This fits perfectly into what we are currently reading in our textbook. The making of the politician and the election of 1932 ect. are all about Franklin D. Roosevelt.