THE ANGRY BLACK MAN STRIKES AGAIN

  

  I am hearing that they are going to take Andrew Jackson from the front of the twenty dollar bill and place him on the back. He will be replaced by Harriet Tubman. There is no doubt that Harriet Tubman is an authentic American hero. Her story is inspiring and amazing. I realize that Jackson has his dark side as a slave owner and because of his Indian removal policy that resulted in the Trail of Tears. When you evaluate the impact that Jackson had on American History as opposed to Harriet Tubman there is no comparison however. His era of Jacksonian Democracy made our system of government more accessible to the common man and he is the only president that was able to completely pay off our national debt. Imagine for a moment what a map of America might look like if Jackson had never lived. There might not be the states of Alabama and Mississippi. Jackson acquired these when he defeated the Creek Indians at the battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1813. We might be missing Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, parts of Minnesota and Louisiana west of the Mississippi River, including New Orleans, big parts of North and northeastern New Mexico, South Dakota, northern Texas, some parts of Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado as well as portions of Canadian provinces Alberta and Saskatchewan. This was the area that made up the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Jackson soundly defeated Britain's best troops at New Orleans on January 8, 1815. They were attempting to lay claim to this area. Then you can take away the state of Florida. Jackson invaded Florida in 1819, ending the threat of Indian attacks from the Seminole in our lower states.  The United States was able to negotiate a treaty with Spain which resulted in the acquisition of the Florida territory. If Jackson had not lived, James K. Polk would probably not have been elected in 1846. He was a protege of Jackson and rose to prominence because of his political influence and power. Jackson's nickname was "Old Hickory" and Polk's was "Young Hickory". Polk would acquire  Arizona,California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico,Utah and Wyoming and California by defeating Mexico in the Mexican War. That war would also secure the independent status of Texas. Polk would also negotiate a treaty with England which would acquire the Oregon territory. This territory included Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, as well as parts of Wyoming and Montana. The original plan of the Treasury Department to place a woman on the front of the ten dollar bill was a better idea, although we cannot discount the contributions of Alexander Hamilton who wrote the Federalist Papers along with James Madison and John Jay. He would also put us on a sound financial footing as our first Secretary of the Treasury. However our present Secretary of the Treasury reneged on his original plan. I smell a rat. Could it be that angry black man in the White House? 

Territorial Map of the United States