President Jackson and the Cherokee

[EZ_E]

 

[font:Comic Sans MS]President Jackson may be considered a saint or the devil, depending upon one's point of view. For the Cherokee nation, he is considered to be the worse president of all time since, in 1838, he forcibly removed thousands of Cherokees from their homes and their land. The trip was brutal and about 4000 Cherokees died along the way on what became known as the "Trail Where They Cried" or the "Trail of Tears." For this reason, even unto this day, many Cherokees prefer to carry two $10 notes instead of a twenty which carries Jackson's effigy.

Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830 since gold had been discovered on what was Cherokee land in western Georgia. The Cherokee did not consider the Indian Removal Act to be the humanitarian act Jackson claimed it to be. They fought the law by challenging it in the Supreme Court. The decision, rendered by Justice John Marshall, declared the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation to be illegal, unconstitutional and against treaties made. President Andrew Jackson, who had the executive responsibility of enforcement of the laws, stated, "John Marshall has made his decision; let him enforce it now if he can."

Oddly enough, at one point the Cherokee were allies with Andrew Jackson. It was at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend where Andrew Jackson's famous story really began. He was considered a hero after his victory in this battle against the Creek Indians, a victory he would not have attained had it not been for his Cherokee allies who fought alongside him.[/font]

[BillJones]

Andrew Jackson was also a failure when it came to economic policy. There were certainly flaws with charter that created The Bank of the United States, but having a central bank that could bring some order the chaotic state banking system that was then in place was better than having no bank at all. Jackson also retired 100% of the national debt, but it was hardly a blessing. In the end Jackson, not his hand picked successor, Martin Van Buren, was responsible for the Panic of 1837, which was particularly nasty economic depression that lasted for seven years.

 

Andrew Jackson got it right when he opposed the nullification movement, and subsequently partially fixed the problem by lowering the nasty protective tariffs that his Whig opponents passed. But in a number of areas, his presidency was not among the greatest in history. If Andrew Jackson is rated as a “near great” president, I’ll counter by saying that he, along with Woodrow Wilson, are among the most overrated of all U.S. presidents.

 

[EZ_E]

There were certainly flaws with charter that created The Bank of the United States, but having a central bank that could bring some order the chaotic state banking system that was then in place was better than having no bank at all.

 

Don't even get me started. Today's economic mess is the direct result of a mature central bank. But if you want to subscribe to revisionist history then you go right ahead.

[BillJones]

This can get political, so I’m going to restrict my public comments to this statement.

 

Your problem is with Federal Reserve policy, not with the concept of having a central bank. To be sure the Federal Reserve has caused problems by doing the wrong the things. For example they had a big hand in causing the second Great Depression in 1937 when they cut the money supply because of fears of inflation. In the late 1970s Fed probably increased the money faster than it should have which made inflation worse. And one can certainly debate the wisdom of what they are doing now. BUT …

 

One really needs to study the history of the American economy in 19th century before one becomes rash enough to advocate an end to the concept of a central bank system. Once you have studied that history, I think you will find that some level of order and discipline is far better than wild cat banks, worthless paper money and chaos.

 

We can debate this via PMs.

 

[PerryHall]

Thanks for the history lesson. Sounds like Jackson did to the Cherokees what FDR did to the Japanese-Americans. Both were very flawed presidents.

[EZ_E]

What is sad is that the Cherokees had successfully adapted to a new way of life and served no threat to the United States. They were happy and became successful at agriculture and were assured peace through treaty. This was fine and dandy until gold was discovered on their land and expansionists were quick to break any existing treaty in the interest of the United States. (This is what got Jackson elected, btw, promises of expansion and driving the Indian westward.) The same was/is true for the Sioux in the Black Hills. They never ceded that land and refused to be bought out in recent decades. So, in effect, Mount Rushmore actually belongs to the Sioux.

 

The Cherokee were driven to NE Oklahoma, where I was raised. No wonder that I'm told that I have Cherokee blood on both sides of my family although it doesn't show and I've never seen hard evidence for it. But I'm not defending any tribe blindly. Most were vicious and barbarous. They were defeated and that's that. What is my point of contention is that countless treaties were broken when it was convenient. That is what was wrong, the renigging on one's word whether individual or collective.

[rrantique]

I could never keep them straight is it Guantanamo or Geronimo when reneging