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On this date in 1818, on the authority of a military tribunal of doubtful legality, a general who would become a president hanged two British citizens for aiding America’s Indian enemies. The First Seminole War saw the ambitious General Andrew Jackson appropriate for himself authority considerably beyond that authorized by Washington to escalate border conflicts around Spanish Florida into an outright invasion.

The president’s critics thought his presidency was illegitimate to begin with. His Cabinet members changed frequently. Mainly based on policy disagreements, members of Congress demanded his ouster. Some lawmakers were willing to toss out constitutional norms based on what they said was the president’s “ignorance of the interest and true policy of this Government, and want of qualification for the discharge of the important duties” of his office. But we’re talking 1843, not 2019. In the midst of House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry targeting President Donald Trump, many pundits make comparisons to the impeachments of Presidents Andrew Johnson in 1868 and...

Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, calling for a national "atonement" over the treatment of Native Americans, vowed Monday to rescind medals of honor for those who fought against them and even take down President Andrew Jackson's portrait from the Oval Office if she's elected. The spiritual author, who has gained a devoted following in recent weeks for her memorable debate performances, called for a “new era of American history” with Native Americans during an appearance at the Frank LaMere Native American Presidential Forum. "We can atone. We can make amends," Williamson said. "And if and when I'm president of the...

Tennessee: "THE PEOPLE are the government, administering it by their agents; they are the government, the SOVEREIGN POWER"-Andrew JacksonSpanish Explorers Hernando de Soto, in 1540, and Juan Pardo, in 1567, traveled inland from North America's eastern coast and passed through a Native American village named " Tanasqui." A century and a half later, British traders encountered a Cherokee town named Tanasi. After the Revolutionary War, attempts were made to turn the area into the " State of Franklin" in honor of Ben Franklin. At the State's Constitutional Convention, it is said General Andrew Jackson suggested the Indian name " Tennessee."...

He attempted “to bring into disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt and reproach the Congress of the United States.” He delivered “with a loud voice, intemperate, inflammatory, and scandalous harangues, and has uttered loud threats and bitter menaces, against Congress [and] the laws of the United States, amid the cries, jeers and laughter of the multitudes.” He has brought the “high office of the President of the United States into contempt, ridicule and disgrace.” Sound like someone we all know? These charges certainly describe President Donald Trump’s deplorable behavior and its effects on Congress, the presidency, and — most importantly — the...

Money supply has a mixed history. Originally, wealth was measured in precious metals of gold, silver, or copper. Exodus 25:3 "And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and copper." Items of gold, silver, or copper had to be weighed. A "shekel" was a fixed unit of weight. Shekels were placed on one side of a scale and on the other side were placed the items of gold, silver, or copper to be weighed. The Bible admonished not cheat, Deuteronomy 25:13 "Do not have two differing weights in your bag -- one heavy, one...

President Andrew Jackson took a keen interest in the construction of the federal mint in Philadelphia, a grand, columned edifice, inspired by the temples of ancient Greece, that opened in 1833. Jackson was not a man known for his appreciation of cultural and artistic pursuits. A populist who famously railed against the elites, he had initially wanted to construct a simple building for minting money quickly, because there was a severe shortage of specie—coins—in the country at the time. Gradually, though, he came around to the idea of a grander mint, and became personally involved in many aspects of the...

A Cuban-American radio host and Irish politicians have called on An Post, Ireland’s postal service, to explain their decision to launch a €1 stamp featuring a portrait of Che Guevara by Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick. Ninoska Perez Castellón, a prominent member of the Cuban exile community in Miami and radio host, told RTE’s "Morning Ireland" show, the stamp honoring Che Guevara would “celebrate a man who slaughtered so many people.” An Post’s plan was announced on Friday to coincide with Monday’s 50th anniversary of Che Guevara’s execution (October 9). Castellón, who works at Miami 710 Radio, said regardless of the...

<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)-- Officials at Andrew Jackson's historic home in Tennessee say the seventh president's tomb has been vandalized and marred by profanities.</p> <p>Andrew Jackson Foundation President and CEO Howard Kittell said the vandalism was discovered early Friday at The Hermitage, the former president's home and museum in Nashville.</p>

Amateur historians like to say that Andrew Jackson is the worst American president to ever get his face engraved on U.S. currency. The root of the criticism is simple: Jackson was an unrepentant slaveholder and the power behind the legislation that forced five peaceful American Indian tribes from their homelands and triggered the Trail of Tears, a 1,000-mile death march that would leave 4,000 of 16,000 Cherokees dead along the way. And although he remains in the top 10 of U.S. presidents in most annual rankings by historians and academics, perhaps no other American leader has fallen as far in...

Andrew Jackson isn’t the only US President to keep a pet bird in the White House. Teddy Roosevelt had a one-legged rooster and James Buchanan supposedly owned two bald eagles (because America). But to our knowledge, Jackson was the only one to have a swearing parrot. The bird’s name was Poll and was originally meant for Jackson’s wife, Rachel. But after she passed away, Jackson became the African Grey’s caretaker. So how did the parrot get a foul mouth? We can’t say for sure. But with what we know about Jackson—a man so tough and temperamental his nickname was “Old...

The prominent placement of an Andrew Jackson portrait during an event meant to honor a group of Native Americans at the Oval Office on Monday has raised questions about the White House’s message. Jackson is known for his harsh treatment of Native Americans as president, famously signing the Indian Removal Act, which led to thousands of Native American deaths as tens of thousands were forced to relocate. Some observers thought the juxtaposition of his portrait during the event with the stated purpose of honoring three Navajo code talkers was strange. [Snip] The Cherokees called Jackson "Indian killer"; the Creek called...

WASHINGTON -- Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is raising speculation that Harriet Tubman's future on the $20 bill could be in jeopardy. Mnuchin is avoiding a direct answer when asked whether he supports the decision made by the Obama administration to replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill with Harriet Tubman, the 19th century African-American abolitionist famous for the Underground Railroad. During last year's campaign, Donald Trump praised Jackson, the nation's seventh president, for his "history of tremendous success" and said the decision to replace him with Tubman was "pure political correctness."

NEW ORLEANS, LA (WVUE) - There's a new push to have more monuments removed in New Orleans, including the French Quarter's iconic Andrew Jackson statue. The group Take Em Down Nola says the removal of four statues is not enough. "We're issuing an invitation to the mayor to finish the job. He has already begun the job, and we want him to finish the job," said Malcolm Suber, Take Em Down NOLA spokesman. "What we would like to see in their place is people who stood for people and liberation. For instance, we think since Harriet Tubman is going to...

President Jackson's Proclamation Regarding Nullification, December 10, 1832 Whereas a convention, assembled in the State of South Carolina, have passed an ordinance, by which they declare that the several acts and parts of acts of the Congress of the United States, purporting to be laws for the imposing of duties and imposts on the importation of foreign commodities, and now having actual operation and effect within the United States, and more especially “two acts for the same purposes, passed on the 29th of May, 1828, and on the 14th of July, 1832, are unauthorized by the Constitution of the United...

A Private Letter Written By General Jackson, on the 1st of May, 1833, to Rev. A.J. Crawford Washington, May 1st, 1833 My Dear Sir--- I have just received your letter of the 6th ultimo, and have only time in reply to say that General Coffee well understood Mr. Shackleford, and urged your nomination in his stead. I had nominated you; but, on the serious importunity of Col King, your Senator, with General Coffee, the change was adopted, and you nominated for the office you now fill. The Senate cannot remove you, and I am sure your faithfullness and honesty will...

President Trump made further comments about Andrew Jackson on Monday evening, saying the seventh president saw the Civil War coming. “President Andrew Jackson, who died 16 years before the Civil War started, saw it coming and was angry. Would never have let it happen!” Trump wrote on Twitter. The tweet comes after Trump drew widespread backlash for asking "Why was there a Civil War?" and saying Jackson would have stopped it if he had "been a little bit later." Jackson died in 1845. The Civil War began in 1861. Trump has previously compared his own presidential campaign to that of...

Twitter went wild on Monday morning over President Trump’s comments in praise of slave owner Andrew Jackson, and his declaration that the seventh president of the United States would have prevented the Civil War. “Why was there the Civil War?” Trump even asked. Jackson died 16 years before the Civil War started. His term as president ended 24 years before the war kicked off.

President Trump hung a portrait of Andrew Jackson in the Oval Office on Tuesday, The New York Times reports, an apparent nod to the populist sentiments of the new administration. Trump's rise has often been compared to the populist election of Jackson, including by some of the new president's own team. Chief White House strategist Steve Bannon called Trump’s inauguration speech on Friday “Jacksonian,” saying it struck the populist and patriotic tones Jackson was known for.

Inauguration Day 2017 has placed the U.S. on a new political and economic trajectory. President Donald Trump won the votes of the so-called Rust Belt, where workers and their children and grandchildren, who have been dispossessed and displaced by the economics of globalization, turned blue counties into red counties. Thus, in a legitimate sense, Trump's appeal to the "forgotten man" – so similar to Franklin D. Roosevelt's appeal to the same symbol – is valid. FDR's forgotten man was a composite of all those who were unemployed in the Great Depression who were "forgotten" in the sense that their plight...