For The Masses Or Himself?

President Jackson had a lot of controversy surrounding his position in office. Some people loved him while others could not stand him. This is how he developed two nicknames throughout his presidency; “The people’s president” and “King Andrew”. Some referred to him as the People’s President for a number of reasons. He was the first President to actually start out as someone who has experienced the middle class. Being born in the woods in the Carolinas he was raised up a humble man. He later enrolled in the army serving in both in the American Revolution and The War of 1812; where he was captured as a prisoner of war. Jackson then became a representative for Tennessee in Congress. People used all this background information to touch upon that he would be a good President and know how to make decisions in favor of the people rather than the rich. Which, in some ways he did attest to, like by vetoing the Second Bank’s charter. The Second Bank was a company funded by Congress that was not actually owned by the government that dealt with the debt of America’s wars. Jackson thought that Congress should not be able to erect a private company to deal with the country’s money. Congress felt like this was a foolish move on Jackson’s part; they were wrong. The people were thrilled by this; it gave power back to the smaller banks and small businesses. Which was a key factor to Jackson’s successful reelection. These are some reasons as to why President Jackson was referred to as “The Peoples President”.  

Jackson was also called “King Andrew” because of his tyrannical tendencies throughout his terms. He first exhibited this behavior when he was first welcomed into office and started what is known as the Spoils System. Where Jackson fired all the people in government he possibly could and replaced them with his friends who were not as qualified as the previous place holders. People became weary of Jackson’s ways; saying that he was just going to bring back the ways of monarchy upon America. Later, the word that the President had a secret alliance called the Kitchen Cabinet. Which consisted of unofficial advisors Jackson had constructed. Helping him make decisions with the direction that the government was heading in. Many became infuriated with these private meetings thinking that individuals not elected by the country should have much say in the final stages of an agreement. This is why Jackson won the nickname “King Andrew”.

My personal opinion on President Jackson and how we should remember is as “King Andrew”. Although, I do believe he had little to no intention of establishing a monarchy. I think he made so many questionable decisions that it out ways the good. His repetitive action of firing and rehiring until his secretary did as they were told and replacing positions with his friends was very suspicious. Honestly, his reasoning behind everything was petty and lame on his part. You could tell they were more of excuses rather than reasons. He was just trying to cover and justify his mistakes. Like how he justified the Kitchen Cabinet meetings; he said that it was because people in office had been removed from real life struggles for far too long to make proper accusations. Which makes sense, but these people were elected on the terms that they knew the problems they needed to fix in America. They stated them clearly while campaigning and should continue to fight for them throughout their work in office.  That is why I find this to be a weak reasoning and more of an excuse that most would buy. This is why I believe that Andrew Jackson is more of the “King Andrew” people gave him rather than the more respectable title of “The people’s king”. 

Should The US Get Involved?

The Monroe Doctrine is a document established by President James Monroe addressing how the country under his presidency will evaluate helping foreign countries. He states that the United States will avoid at all costs to do business with other countries unless it directly affects the US. Since, this is only a Doctrine and not a law it is not used by all presidents. Which makes foreign policy such a big dilemma presently; do we help less fortunate countries? Should we let people die and be forced to dictatorship of sorts since it does not directly concern us? These are the difficult questions politicians argue over everyday.

One example of this is the United States decision to aid the Islamic state fight against ISIS and Al Qaeda. The country is currently spending around a billion dollars to give their armies proper ammunition and protection. There is big controversy on the topic of helping Iraq; since it does not directly affect the United States to spend money on their troops there seems to be little point of doing so. Especially since the US is already in major debt as it is, people believe the government should be focusing on paying that off before helping the other countries. But, on the flipside others argue that we do need to fund these people because of if they can end Al Qaeda and ISIS without using their own troops; it could be saving them from two possible future threats. As the days go by ISIS only seems to becoming stronger and abandoning innocent people in horrid times like these is not something people would want to happen.

If we still followed the Monroe Doctrine in its entirety America would not have dealt with Iraq's problems. Due to the fact that the two countries are not even remotely close. If this was occurring in Latin or South America the US would have gotten involved but it is across the Atlantic Ocean. Also, aiding them in their fight would be like a domination of sorts. This is because  they are paying for the whole war as if it is their own. When it is not; the US is in control of how well the military is equipped and performs on the battlefield as if they are with the United States. Lastly, this does not affect America directly so Iraq and it's surrounding countries should fend for themselves, according to the Monroe Doctrine.

Politics are confusing and will remain to be so as long as there is a government standing. Sometimes, the decision that seems the least likely to be effective turns into the most effective solution. You never know until you try; that is why people continue to fight for their beliefs and ideas in and out of government. So even if something seems impossible because keep fighting and raising awareness until something does happen. Instead of ignoring it and letting it become an even bigger problem. That is the main struggle the US is having with aiding Iraq, bringing attention to it may get something done but it does not affect us yet so why bother? Taking both sides to the argument is essential to a good decision and taking account old articles such as the Monroe Doctrine allows us to see what people would have done. Depending on the person, this could be a good or bad thing which is why we try to remember them for future events.

Citation:
"U.S. Ramps Up Military Aid for Islamic State Fight." Foreign Policy US Ramps Up Military Aid for Islamic State Fight Comments. Web. 5 Dec. 2014. <http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/11/21/u-s-ramps-up-military-aid-for-islamic

How To Get Away With Murder

Race and identity factored into the fate of Mexico's Revolution because the natives fought against the powerful Spanish that had claimed their land. They felt as though the Spanish had stripped them of their rights and privileges and wanted to gain them back,  Their forces ultimately defeated the Spanish defence and enforced the document "Cry Of Dolores". This laid out all the regulations the people would have to live under with the new government established. To summarize the document, it laid out the rules of redistribution of land and how there would be racial equality for now on. This ultimately falls through as the people who were of Spanish descent were regarded as full Spaniards and anyone else had less rights in comparison. Mexico became a monarchy and followed the rules of the Catholic Church, who also had many privileges and were big influence. But, as long as the natives have complete control of what they do with their country, then everything was worth it to them.

In our world today, there are many cases of people being viewed as less due to race. The example that everyone is talking about at the moment is the controversy of Ferguson. As the article "Ferguson Burning After Grand Jury Announcement" on the USA Today website elaborates on the debate has been going on for over one hundred days; as though there was much to debate to begin with. A man named Michael Brown, who is black, was shot down walking back from his local gas station when officer Darren Wilson, who is white, proceeded to shoot him six times. 

Wilson claims this to be an act of self defense on his behalf, which most could view one shot as self defense. But he shot him six times and left him out on the street for four and a half hours, neglecting to call an ambulance. There were accusations of Michael Brown having committed petty theft at the gas station he went to (which was later proven wrong); but that still does not mean we as a nation should tolerate killing over petty theft. This was clearly an act of racism and should not be allowed to happen within the United States. Which is why everyone is upset of the grand jury's decision to not press charges on Darren Wilson. Protests all around the nation have erupted and the conditions of Ferguson have barely improved. The police continue to be brutal with the peaceful protesters firing rubber bullets and tear gas at pedestrians. It is clear to see that it does not take over one hundred days to serve justice, but rather it takes that amount of time to think of ways to justify inequality. 

Police Shooting Rubber Bullets At Protestors

Powerful image of  the town trying to mask of the racial injustice

Fires being put out due to the brutality 

There is something that people can do now to help make sure a horrible scene like this does not occur again. There is a petition on Change.org that encouraging the idea of making it a law for the police to wear body cameras. Sign the petition here . This way police cannot defend themselves because of their badge and we can clearly see what happened without any controversy. 

This is how race is still a predominant aspect of our lives. We try to believe that its in the past that nothing like that occurs anymore. Do not ignore what is happening; the only way to make a change is to acknowledge what is going on and spreading the word. This is how we have gotten to where we are today in equality for all so far. Just as the revolutions all across Latin America started, the first starting all the way in Mexico slowly spreading word that they had defeated the powerful rulers and won their independence. This sparked revolution after revolution across the South American continent. 

Citations:

Article and Pictures:

Yamiche Alcindor, Greg Toppo, Gary Strauss, and John Bacon. "Ferguson Burning after Grand Jury Announcement."USA Today. Gannett, 25 Nov. 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/24/ferguson-grand-jury-deliberations/19474907/>.

Petiton:

Web. 2 Dec. 2014. <https://www.change.org/p/police-chief-jon-belmar-require-ferguson-and-st-louis-county-and-city-police-officers-to-wear-body-cameras?recruiter=187398846&utm_campaign=signature_