John Abel's The Adolen Valor Act

In William Brennan’s view on the American Constitution he focused on human dignity to determine his interpretation. As he states in his essay, “But we are an aspiring people, a people with faith in progress. Our amended Constitution is the lodestar for our aspirations. Like every text worth reading, it is not crystalline.” (Brennan).

Allen Guelzo and Vincent Harding approached Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and the eventual abolition of slavery from two very different viewpoints. The major disagreement between them is whether the slaves freed themselves, or Abraham Lincoln and his Emancipation Proclamation freed them. Harding argued the former view, Guelzo took the later. When these essays are compared side by side Guelzo’s is stronger because, unlike Harding, he was able to keep his own views of American race relations out of the essay and presented an argument that was based on more than emotion. Allen Guelzo

What was the Dawes Act The Dawes Severalty Act was approved by Government to study Indian tribal land. The Dawes Act underlined severalty and the conveyance of individual rights to Native Americans. This was to isolate the land into assignments for individual Native Americans. Reinforced by Massachusetts Rep, Henry Dawes, the expressed goal of the Dawes Severalty Act was to impel the osmosis of Indians into American culture. The government trusted that individual land possession was the beginning stage , if reservations were subdivided among individual Native Americans, a consistent osmosis into American culture would take after actually.

The Supreme court accepted the case. Fields attorneys are arguing that the Stolen Valor act is unconstitutional. Field attorneys argued that Fields cannot be convicted because he lied. The First amendment protects speech that does not directly harm others. Fields attorneys claim that Fields had lied about himself, and by lying about himself he only hurt himself.

In order to set the stage for the reader, Harper Lee, describes the treatment of blacks and Tom Robinson specifically. As the case progressed and Robinson was examined rudely by Mr. Gilmer, Mayella’s lawyer. This examination was different than any other in the trial. He talked down to him, he called him “boy”, and he would not even look at him. Dill could not handle this treatment because he states in this quote, “Well, Mr. Finch didn’t act that way to Mayella and old man Ewell when he cross-examined them.

In the year 2006, the Stolen Valor Act made it illegal to make medals of Honor. The case brought forth to us describes issues brought about by this act. In United States v. Fields, Abel Fields attended a meeting where he proclaimed that he had military experience, and that he earned a Purple Heart. He had made false statements, and in turn was convicted, and had to pay a $1,000 fine. Fields felt that his First Amendment rights had been violated.

The 15th Amendment (Amendment XV), which gave African-American men the right to vote, was inserted into the U.S. Constitution on March 30, 1870. Passed by Congress the year before, the amendment says, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Although the amendment was passed in the late 1870s, many racist practices were used to oppose African-Americans from voting, especially in the Southern States like Georgia and Alabama. After many years of racism, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 aimed to overthrow legal barricades at the state and local levels that deny African-Americans their right to vote. In the

Abel Fields was convicted under the Stolen Valor Act for falsely claiming he had received the Purple Heart. Fields has never served in the military and therefore has never received a military award. At his first trial, Fields was found guilty for violating the Stolen Valor Act and was sentenced to a fine. Fields then appealed his sentence and the Court of Appeals overturned his conviction citing that Fields’ First Amendment rights were violated. The government then appealed the Court of Appeals’ decision and the case was sent to the Supreme Court.

Almost everyone throughout Maycomb thought Tom was guilty just because of the color of his skin. But, the real question was, did Tom Robinson really abuse and take advantage of Mayella Ewell? Throughout the argument Mr.Gilmer used both Pathos and Ethos extensively

Cry Liberty: The Great Stono-River Slave Rebellion of 1739 was written by Professor Peter C. Hoffer, who taught as a historian at the University of Georgia. This novel is a brief, yet very informative piece of work that provides a re-examination of a series of incidents that occurred during the Stono Rebellion (which transpired on September 9, 1739). This rebellion manifested once a group of about 20 slaves had broken into a store alongside the Stono River, nearby Charles Town, which is now known as Charleston, South Carolina. The author did an excellent job recreating events in this book and developing the question of whether or not it was actually a rebellion.

One of those cases is US v Alvarez: a case that would see Xavier Alvarez prosecuted for falsely claiming to have received a Medal of Honor. Alvarez would have violated the Stolen Valor Act: an act that would criminalize those who have falsely claimed to receive a prestigious military award. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Alvarez, stating that the Stolen Valor Act goes against Xavier’s First Amendment rights. (US Courts) A similar case involved the Agency for International Development and the Alliance for Open Society International.

On September 2nd, 1862, Abraham Lincoln famously signed the Emancipation Proclamation. After that, there’s been much debate on whether Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation truly played a role in freeing the slaves with many arguments opposing or favoring this issue. In Vincent Harding’s essay, The Blood-red Ironies of God, Harding argues in his thesis that Lincoln did not help to emancipate the slaves but that rather the slaves “self-emancipated” themselves through the war. On the opposition, Allen C Guelzo ’s essay, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America, argues in favor of the Emancipation Proclamation and Guelzo acknowledges Lincoln for the abolishment of slavery through the Emancipation Proclamation.

The conflict of Tom Robinson’s trial parallels the racial inequality

As can be seen, Lee’s usage of Tom Robinson’s trial and the racial discrimination and prejudice seen throughout it helps reinforce the theme of social injustice throughout To Kill A Mockingbird. Another encounter that the

Dating as far back as the 1800’s when slavery was an extreme issue, blacks and other minorities were considered to be the most likely to commit a crime and were often convicted on the testimony of a white person. Mr. McMillian is a perfect explain in the book as a