I noticed the Mayor of KCMO twittering about the elections a few days ago, during his tweets he asked “what are we going to do about “old hickory”? meaning the Andrew Jackson’ statues in KCMO.
I could not understand the purpose of this statement since it had been put to vote and was defeated, the statues remain. I mentioned it was no different than any other of KCMO’s controversial art and statues, after all they chose to keep a statue of a naked woman in one of its parks and that was extremely contested.
A school teacher confronted me on the twitter and could not comprehend how I had opposed not getting rid of the statue, how could I, an American Indian, endorse the deeds of Andrew Jackson! as many of you who know me, that statement was not true at all.
I feel that a plaque should be placed at the statue talking about his deeds towards the American Indians, I am certainly not in favor of hiding this history, Andrew Jackson was a tyrant with a quick temper and committed atrocities towards the American Indian people but…
Andrew Jackson was elected Senator in 1797, leaving him with the title of first elected Senator of Tennessee, Jackson was also the First Governor of Florida, and would later become the first Democratic president.
General Jackson was promoted to Major General of the U.S. Army in 1814. This was due in part to his success in Louisiana, his ability to perform better than most of the military strategists at the time, and his ability to lead soldiers. Because of his demeanor in battle, his troops nicknamed him Old Hickory, saying he was as tough as an old Hickory tree, with roots deep and strong.
As President of the United States, Andrew Jackson was able to pay off the national debt, lay the framework necessary for democracy, gain new land to expand the nation, and was able to strengthen many foreign relationships. Due diligence with financial matters on the part of President Jackson meant he was able to pay down the national debt – the only president to do so. From that point on, he maintained zero debt for the country and ended his presidency with a financial surplus.
Now, where I find fault in the man… He was the Catalyst for the Trail of Tears.
The Indian Removal Act of 1831 was proposed in an effort to move Indian tribes to the West of the Mississippi. President Jackson felt Indians would never assimilate into white culture and that they would only serve to cause further problems for the white man.
Although President Jackson was astute when it came to fighting corruption, he was negligent when it came to the treaties made with the Native American tribes by corrupt politicians.
The Indians were treated poorly and when the removal began two years after his presidency ended, it was marred by many Indian deaths by starvation and lack of supplies.
The Creek tribe alone lost 3,500 of the 15,000 that set out for Oklahoma.
What’s so interesting about this is that when Jackson was younger, he came across two small Indian children that had lost their parents on the battlefield.
Although he referred to them as savages, he sent them back to his wife and they adopted and raised them until both children eventually died.
So I say this… If the Mayor makes an off hand remark about “what are we going to do with those statues of Jackson” I suggest, rather than dragging the American Indian population into this, using the American Indian people to do the dirty work of others, do your own work, show people who and what you really are, because n the end I have to ask again, how far will this go to erase the people in history who owned slaves, and what exactly will it do and what are the reparations’ the American Indian people will realize? Can we have our land back? I’m doubtful