Indian-Killer Andrew Jackson Deserves Top Spot on List of Worst U.S Presidents for Indian Country

Pat from M and Kavika, Can't agree with more with both of you. Thanks!

Very interesting stuff, Kavika.

I think that it's understandable (but not forgivable) that earlier presidents would make the list. There are myriad reasons for the brutality that resulted from two cultures clashing. Ignorance, mistrust, and misunderstanding each other's cultures could easily result in violence. But as time progresses, these excuses become less and less credible.

I think those of our generation have no excuse whatsoever to fail to do the right thing when called upon. As you (and others here) have demonstrated, learning is an easy thing these days. All we need is the care and will to do it, and to act responsibly once we have.

And the $20 bill still has the "Eliminator's" picture on it even after all of the tribes, at one time or another, have asked that it be removed because of what it stands for.

OK, this is the third thing I have learned today, I'm getting too smart! Seriously, I never knew that about Andy. Great article!!

Of topic, but not, Am told by several that George Washington was also called Burner of Villages by the NA of the area.

Abraham Lincoln is the biggest shock of all considering what he stands for in this nation's history.

In 1930, a year after he became president, Jackson signed a law that he had proposed – the Indian Removal Act – which legalized ethnic cleansing. Within seven years 46,000 indigenous people were removed from their homelands east of the Mississippi. Their removal gave 25 million acres of land “to white settlement and to slavery,” according to PBS. The area was home to the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole nations. In the Trail of Tears alone, 4,000 Cherokee people died of cold, hunger, and disease on their way to the western lands.

The year of the Indian Removal Act should be 1830 rather than 1930. From context that can be figured out.

Kavika,

Very interesting and informative article. I have forgotten a lot of US History (or maybe was never informed); it is good to look back.

Peace.

Andrew Jackson's and Abraham Lincoln's reputations as being anti-Native American are well known and documented.

But the others, George Bush, Dwight Eisenhower, and U. S. Grant are not usually connected with the on going injustices to Native Americans.

Migwetch, gete niijii for the history lesson.

Andrew Jackson should be on the top of the list for many reasons.

His practice of replacing EVERYONE in a government job with his supporters is why we have the Civil Service rules now. Those rules helped entrench the anti-native "administrators" in their jobs. "Civil Servants" cannot be legally held accountable for their actions in the "course of their duties".

Jackson never defeated the Seminoles...

A Cherekee named Junaluska saved Jackson's life at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Years later he said “If I had known that Jackson would drive us from our homes, I would have killed him that day at the Horseshoe.”

It's no surprise Andrew Jackson is Number One on the list. IMO he is the most racist POTUS in history. And it's no surprise George W. Bush made the list. Thanks for the excellent information, Kavika.

There was also a TV series put out by Kevin Costner called " 500 Nations" that I thought was outstanding. It is still available to buy I think, although not real cheap.