The NAACP has demanded that the names of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson be dropped from an annual fundraiser because both men were slave owners. This does not bode well for the majority of former Democrat Presidents. Let's consider:
Thomas Jefferson (1801-09), the first Democratic-Republican president, was a slave owner. In fact, it is widely held that he had children with one of his slaves, Sally Hemmings.
James Madison (1809-17), Father of the Constitution, was a slave owner.
James Monroe (1817-25), Last of the Founding Fathers to serve as President, was a slave owner.
John Quincy Adams (1825-29) did not own slaves and was a noted Abolisionist but he started as a Federalist and died as a Whig. If he had lived a few more years, he would have joined the Republican Party.
Andrew Jackson (1829-37), who founded the Democratic Party and was the 'jackass' that inspired the party symbol, was a slave owner.
Martin Van Buren (1837-41), called the Little Magician, was a New Yorker who thought slavery immoral but it was Constitutional and beyond his authority. He only served one term and was not popular.
James Knox Polk (1845-49), the ultimate expression of America's Manifest Destiny, was a slave owner.
Franklin Pierce (1853-57) presided over Bleeding Kansas when he abandoned the Missouri Compromise, the Ostend Manifesto which was a secret effort to expand slavery to Cuba through purchase from Spain, and had Jefferson Davis as his Secretary of War. His is viewed as a failed presidency and he is often ranked as the worst President.
James Buchanan (1857-61) saw the Civil War coming and twiddled his thumbs. Regularly ranked among the worst presidents.
Grover Cleveland (1885-89; 1893-97) is the only Democrat elected president between 1861 and 1913. He is also the only one to server non-consecutive terms. Little remembered for anything else, he was not an enthusiastic supporter of the 15th Amendment (Votes for former slaves) and refused efforts to enforce their voting rights.
Woodrow Wilson (1913-21) was an apologist for the Ku Klux Klan. He was a segregationist and showed Birth of a Nation (1915) in the White House. On the other hand, he was in favor of the 19th Amendment (votes for women).
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-45), who is regularly rated among the greatest presidents, setup internment camps for Japanese (George Takei being one of those interned as a child). He was also friendly with Joseph "Uncle Joe" Stalin, one of the greatest mass murderers in history. However, he was generally good to minorities (Japanese excluded), so the NAACP may not complain if his name is associated with a fundraising dinner.
Harry Truman (1945-53) presided over the Red Scare which he minimized but history has since shown that it was as bad as the much maligned Joe McCarthy said. Russia got the bomb and China went communist. Also, he approved the dropping of the bomb (I'm okay with that but most Democrats today are not). However, he is noted for desegregating the military and probably acceptable to the NAACP.
John F Kennedy (1961-63) allowed the FBI to tap Martin Luther King's phone. He also toppled the government in Vietnam that brought us fully into the war.
Lyndon Baines Johnson (1963-69) is generally viewed as a hero on Civil Rights grounds but his presidency is tainted by Vietnam and urban riots. He continued the JFK policy of tapping MLK's phone.
Jimmy Carter (1977-81) is viewed as the worst president since Hoover. No one wants to have a fundraising dinner with his name on it. Who wants to revisit Iran Hostage Crisis right now?
William "Bill" Clinton (1993-2001) remains popular among his party despite having been impeached, having his law license revoked, and multiple affairs. Prior to President Obama, he had been called the 'First Black President.'
As many people have forgotten, the Democrats are the party of slavery and segregation. The NAACP will find that most Democrat presidents are unsuitable in today's climate. Maybe they should take a look at the Republican Party for a change.
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