Free Republic

By the end of 1819, so many banks, persons, and businesses had declared bankruptcy that each defaulted to ownership by the notorious Second Bank of the United States (SUSB), thus making the SUSB one of the largest and most important property owners in the early republic. Many elites benefitted from its seemingly endless largess, but most Americans despised it as a “monster.” Not only did it seem to own everything in sight (and beyond!), but it also had been responsible for the inflation and sudden deflation that had caused the Panic/Depression of 1819. Its first president, William Jones, had been...

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...

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...

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.

The Battle of New Orleans on 8 January 1815 was a result of Britain and America's War of 1812. US forces defeated a British army in the clash, which is still commemorated in the States today. The Battle of New Orleans on 8 January 1815 was a result of Britain and America's War of 1812. US forces defeated a British army in the clash, which is still commemorated in the States today.

On December 24, 1814, the Treaty Of Ghent was signed in the Netherlands by delegates from the United States and Great Britain, beginning the process of ending the War of 1812. While signalling the end of the war, the treaty still had to be ratified by Congress and Parliament (which would come in February 1815), and several battles fought before peace was established, including the Battle of New Orleans, which would take place on January 8, 1815.

A feminist group that wants to boot Andrew Jackson from the $20 bill has chosen a female hero to replace him — abolitionist Harriet Tubman. On Tuesday morning, Women on 20s revealed the results of a 10-week poll for a possible Jackson replacement and emailed a petition — addressed to President Barack Obama — to the White House Council on Women and Girls. By midday, the council’s chair, Valerie Jarrett, and executive director, Tina Tchen, responded, saying they “would like to continue the conversation.” “We’re waiting for some kind of meeting with the White House, and I can tell you...

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The first woman to serve as both governor and U.S. senator is backing a campaign to put a female face on the $20 bill. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen filed legislation this week that would create a citizens panel to recommend an appropriate choice to the treasury secretary. She is hoping to build on the work of Women on 20s, a national campaign pushing for new $20 bills by 2020, the 100th anniversary of the constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. "I think there are a lot of opportunities that we sometimes don't think about to...

Article about drive to replace Jackson on the $20. Candidates: http://www.womenon20s.org/candidates ALICE PAUL (1885 - 1977) BETTY FRIEDAN (1921 - 2006) SHIRLEY CHISHOLM (1924 - 2005) SOJOURNER TRUTH (C.1797 - 1883) RACHEL CARSON (1907 - 1964) ROSA PARKS (1913 - 2005) BARBARA JORDAN (1936 - 1996) MARGARET SANGER (1879 - 1966) PATSY MINK (1927 - 2002) CLARA BARTON (1821 - 1912) HARRIET TUBMAN (C.1822 - 1913) FRANCES PERKINS (1880 - 1965) SUSAN B. ANTHONY (1820 - 1906) ELEANOR ROOSEVELT (1884 - 1962) ELIZABETH CADY STANTON (1815 - 1902)

A new advocacy group wants to see President Andrew Jackson ride off into the sunset. It aims to replace his face on the $20 bill with the portrait of a woman. Among the 15 choices offered by the group: Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger. The campaign was started by Barbara Ortiz Howard, who, according to the website, wants to “literally raise the profile of a woman in a male-dominated field.” Below is the full list of proposed candidates.

The “Smithsonian” magazine compiled a list of the “100 most significant Americans,” and to the dismay of his fan base President Obama failed to make the cut. Adding insult to injury, former President George W. Bush made the list. But it gets even better, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was also included. The liberal website Raw Story bemoaned the very idea that the Smithsonian Institution “decided that George W. Bush is a more ‘significant’ figure in U.S. history” than the exalted one. Curiously, the only redeeming qualification Raw Story named when mentioning Obama is that he was the country’s first...

The story of the Democrats (available in its entirety free; see details below) continues by exposing Andrew Jackson as the fake he was. The Trail of Tears Perhaps the worst instance of Jackson’s willingness to emulate the bellicose traditions of European empires was the genocide of the Cherokee Nation known as the Trail of Tears. It was carried out under the Indian Removal Act which was championed by Georgia Democrat Senator John Forsyth. Under its provisions the US Army would force the Cherokees to walk from as far away as North Carolina to modern day Oklahoma. The Bataan-like march killed...

The story of the Democrats (available free for the asking see details) continues with a description of the White House drunken orgy Andrew Jackson presided over in celebration of his victory. “Cut glass and china to the amount of several thousand dollars had been broken in the struggle to get the refreshments, punch and other articles had been carried out in tubs and buckets, but had it been in hogsheads it would have been insufficient, ice-creams, and cake and lemonade, for 20,000 people, for it is said that number were there, tho’ I think the number exaggerated. “Ladies fainted, men...

The history of the Democrat Party continued…. The Aaron Burr – Andrew Jackson connection Andrew Jackson was an unabashed enemy of American nationalism. To further his presidential ambitions, he cooperated with the dangerous Aaron Burr and his henchman Martin Van Buren; both of whom were doing the bidding of the infamous British secret service agent Jeremy Bentham. These four men worked for years to undermine the unity of the United States so the Louisiana and Florida Territories and Mexico could be seized by Burr and made a satellite of the British Empire with him as the new nation’s dictator. After...

There is evidence Burr unsuccessfully attempted to get the British to join in his scheme. In late 1806 after an extended stay at the home of his friend, Andrew Jackson, Burr gathered a small army in preparation for an invasion of New Orleans. When it became clear that their “secret” plan was no longer secret, one of Burr’s partners turned on him in February 1807. Burr was indicted for treason and eventually put on trial for one of the highest crimes against our nation. With the sort of political dirty trick that would become a Democrat hallmark, Burr was acquitted...

The question “Who started the Democrat Party?” is not an easy one to answer. We know Democrats say Thomas Jefferson because he was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party. Aside from the chronological problems with this claim – Jefferson was long out of active politics before the first actual Democrat president Andrew Jackson was elected- Jefferson stood for things that are exactly opposite of what Democrats have ever stood for. He disliked omnipotent central government and loathed an overly powerful judiciary. Clearly, the Democrat Party’s claims to have its roots in the legacy of the great Thomas Jefferson are preposterous....

The media are furious. The Poynter Institute, which keeps an eye on all things journalistic, is maintaining a list of media people and institutions who have decided they are so enraged by the idea of calling the Washington Redskins the …well, you know..….that they will no longer participate in this heinous practice. Then there’s a furious Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Says the Senator from Nevada of the team’s owner, Dan Snyder: Snyder says it’s about tradition. I ask, what tradition? A tradition of racism. That’s all that that name leaves in its wake. The writing is on the wall....

My public high school wasn’t the best, but we did have an amazing history teacher. Mr. L, as we called him, brought our country’s story to life. So when he taught us about the Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears, Andrew Jackson’s campaigns to force at least 46,000 Cherokees, Choctaws, Muscogee-Creeks, Chickasaws, and Seminoles off their ancestral lands, my classmates and I were stricken. ....................................................... But then it was lunchtime, and we pulled out our wallets in the cafeteria. Andrew Jackson was there, staring out from every $20 bill. We had been carrying around portraits of a mass...

Today marks the anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, the final major battle of the War of 1812, fought in 1815 after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in Europe but before this fact was discovered by forces in this battle. The American victory over the British in this battle raised American morale in the final days of the war and also made Andrew Jackson a household name. In honor of the American victory, we raise the Star-Spangled Banner today, the flag of 15 stars and 15 stripes which was the standard during the War of 1812.