There is a lot of undeserved talk these days about who is the worst President is United States history. The more I read about the 7th President of the United States Andrew Jackson the more I dislike him, despite my past notion that he was a war hero during the War of 1812. Here is some food for thought as to why I think Jackson was the worst President in the United States. 1.) Upon orders to quell an Indian rebellion in Florida, he attacked a Seminole village and burned it down, then took the city of Pensacola, deposed the Spanish governor, and found two British subjects who were advising the Seminoles. He illegally tried and executed them which became one of the first international incidents in US history. 2.) By taking this action in Florida he forced Spain to cede their power in the colonies to the US and overextended his original orders which were to simply address the Seminole rebellion. 3.) His policy known simply as “Indian Removal” is a scar in US history. Jackson openly stated in his 1st address to Congress in 1829 that moving all Indians to territory west of the Mississippi was the only way to save them. The trail of tears was the result.
In class this week we used the term “class consciousness” to define the rise of the middle class in the United States following the era of Industrialization. I really like this term because what happened is that individuals with the same social status banded together to demand improved working conditions. This movement which the elite owners attempted to stifle with the temperance movement was not initially coordinated very well. The idea of unions and coming together for workers rights started in the unlikely place of saloons. “Saloon Culture” took more of a role than simply a place to drink. Regulating alcohol was used as a method by the elite to get more work done and to keep the people divided. The moral of the story is that people should always be suspicious when the government or the elite in society want to “regulate” anything (Guns, Alcohol, the Media, etc.).
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2 comments:
It is interesting to learn about the influential role that “Saloon Culture” took in American society at this time. I was a little surprised to find out that the main reason the Temperance Movement was such a large driving force in America was because the government wanted tighter social control over its lower classes.
Important discussion of Jackson and his political shortcomings. This will be addressed again in class this week.
Temperance was definitely aided by elites/government officials wanting higher work output and less lower class consciousness. However, nothing happens in a vacuum. Remember the temperance movement was also tied to religious/moral ideals gaining increasing popularity during the Second Great Awakening.
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