Andrew Jackson is a disgrace to America.
In the thread "Greatest American" it was suggested in one comment that Andrew Jackson should have been considered. I feel so stongly against that sentiment that I felt it deserves its own thread as follows:
I find it hard to believe that any thinking person with knowledge of american history and a sense of decency would pick Jackson for Greatest American. First of all, as pointed out in another comment, his military contribution was minimal. But just the fact that he was responsible for a lot of death and destruction as an army general, makes his consideration suspect.
But that aspect is really nothing compared to two other things he did to damage the dignity of America.
The first is the Spoils System and the following is taken from a web page on historical comment.
"The Spoils System was the name given by its critics in the 1830s to the policy of filling government offices with adherents of the winning political party. The practice of discharging officials appointed by one's predecessor and replacing them with those who had rendered service to one's own party had been common in the United States ever since political parties became well established during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson.
The spoils system, however, became most closely associated in the public mind with President Andrew Jackson, partly because his administration practiced it so widely and partly because he so explicitly endorsed it.""
But most important, Jackson contributed far more to the suffering of Native Americans than any other president, or perhaps any statesman, in american history. He was directly responsible for the genocide that occurred when the Cherokee and other indian nations were transferred by force from their fertile lands to the hostile environment of Oklahoma. Americans at the time pleaded with Jackson to no avail. He gave the order, not some underling, to go ahead with the genocide. The whole story is too long to go into here, but it gets sadder the more you learn about it.
Presumably, a major reason his face is on a $20 bill is that much having to do with currency took place while he was president. But why this profane man, who was also vulgar and disgruntled much of the time, is accorded a place on US currency, is beyond my comprehension.
In the thread "Greatest American" it was suggested in one comment that Andrew Jackson should have been considered. I feel so stongly against that sentiment that I felt it deserves its own thread as follows:
I find it hard to believe that any thinking person with knowledge of american history and a sense of decency would pick Jackson for Greatest American. First of all, as pointed out in another comment, his military contribution was minimal. But just the fact that he was responsible for a lot of death and destruction as an army general, makes his consideration suspect.
But that aspect is really nothing compared to two other things he did to damage the dignity of America.
The first is the Spoils System and the following is taken from a web page on historical comment.
"The Spoils System was the name given by its critics in the 1830s to the policy of filling government offices with adherents of the winning political party. The practice of discharging officials appointed by one's predecessor and replacing them with those who had rendered service to one's own party had been common in the United States ever since political parties became well established during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson.
The spoils system, however, became most closely associated in the public mind with President Andrew Jackson, partly because his administration practiced it so widely and partly because he so explicitly endorsed it.""
But most important, Jackson contributed far more to the suffering of Native Americans than any other president, or perhaps any statesman, in american history. He was directly responsible for the genocide that occurred when the Cherokee and other indian nations were transferred by force from their fertile lands to the hostile environment of Oklahoma. Americans at the time pleaded with Jackson to no avail. He gave the order, not some underling, to go ahead with the genocide. The whole story is too long to go into here, but it gets sadder the more you learn about it.
Presumably, a major reason his face is on a $20 bill is that much having to do with currency took place while he was president. But why this profane man, who was also vulgar and disgruntled much of the time, is accorded a place on US currency, is beyond my comprehension.
