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Well, you know.    No poll of historians has placed Jackson any lower than 14th best president, and most rank him in the top 10, some as low as 6th.    And historians lean liberal.  

Presidents prior to Jackson -- including the passive and well-thought-of James Monroe were in favor of "removing" Indians to the west of the Mississippi, allegedly voluntarily.    The Indians were told they'd be "free" there, and many signed contracts to go under the Indian Removal Act passed by Congress during Jackson's term.

During his inauguration, he said the right thing:

"This emigration should be voluntary, for it would be as cruel as unjust to compel the aborigines to abandon the graves of their fathers and seek a home in a distant land. But they should be distinctly informed that if they remain within the limits of the States they must be subject to their laws. In return for their obedience as individuals they will without doubt be protected in the enjoyment of those possessions which they have improved by their industry." 

So, it started out arm's-length, but quickly involved treachery and coercion, of course and the Trail of Tears was exactly that.    Alexis de Tocqueville watched it in dismay.

Among other things, we were stealing Indian gold, which had been found on their lands.   The notion of voluntarism of course, collapsed when the Seminoles said no, so we went to war against them. 

So, bad.   And under Jackson.   

Why can it not be evidence enough to declare him a bad president?   For the same reason George Washington and Thom Jefferson weren't bad preisdents for owning and selling human beings.   Their crimes were worse, in a sense, because there was more public sentiment against slavery -- its immorality was more of an issue -- than was Indian removal. 

Jackson was a good president both symbolically -- he was an actual non-aristocrat, the first people's president, ending government by the elites, defining the lack of limits of The American Dream -- and by virtue of his accomplishments.  Jackson effectively ended the idiot dispute over whether states should have equal power to the federal government.  He institutionalized federalism. 

He was a major-league president with a stain.   He was still a major-league president.   

Yep, isn't that great?   Dates it perfectly.   I think people under 40 don't even know what it means.  

This is a pop-top, youngsters.    You used to pull the tab off the top of a can of soda.   The were sharp.   When thrown on the ground, they were a hazard to bare feet. 

Remember the godawful jewelry made from pop-tops?

Yes, exactly.   It was about real life and real people interacting under real stress,  LONG before sitcoms like All In the Family and Roseanne.   And it was at times spectacularly funny.   Check out these fifteen minutes. 

Alice Kramden, played by Audrey Meadows, was the greatest female sitcom star of all time.   I don't think there's a close second.    She was a victim, but also a feminist: She gave her husband hell.  Didn't take his crap.   Made that role deep and nuanced.   

Yep. 

Yep, an excellent line, and another one where Billy is using a poetic device:  Talking about himself with out appearing to talk about himself.   And saying somthing disparaging. 

Okay, we're done.  See you next week.