King Andrew or The people's President?

Andrew Jackson was known as The People's President. He won the popular vote in three elections, one of which was against John Quincy Adams, who was appointed president by the congress. Jackson beat Quincy Adams in 1828 and Henry Clay 1832. He also served as a military leader in two wars. He was the first president who grew up in a log cabin and was not one of the leaders of the American revolution from Massachusetts or Virginia. He was a soldier in the American Revolution, meaning he was one of the people, not one of the elite. he continued that path into the White House. When Jackson was first elected president, he invited people to come to the White House and celebrate with him and his supporters. He fought the creation of the National Bank because he thought that it would benefit the wealthy and powerful over the ordinary Americans.

Andrew Jackson was also known as King Andrew. Jackson appointed his friends to powerful positions, showing that he did what he wanted to do. He would only allow people who agreed with him to work in the government and disposed of those who didn't agree with him. He was vicious while going after Indians. The court ruled in favor of the Native Americans and Jackson refused to let this happen, so he moved the Indians anyways despite the ruling of the court. As far as the bank of the United States, he believed he was acting for the people over the powerful, but over ruled the will of congress. He took acts that undermined the bank because they wouldn't go along with what he wanted.

I think Andrew Jackson ultimately was The People's President. At times he acted like a dictator, but the actions he took seemed to be in favor of the majority of Americans not the rich and powerful. The one action of his that makes me uncomfortable as a an observer of today, is his brutality in forcing Native Americans out of their home land. He was the first President who grew up among the common people and not among the elite of the American Revolution. His methods were questionable, but he generally acted in the best interest of the majority of the Americans.

Monroe Doctrine and Connections to Today

The failed rescue of American hostage, Luke Somers, who was held captive by al Qaeda in Yemen is an example when the U.S needed to intervene in a foreign country under the principles of the Monroe Doctrine.  The terrorists threatened the U.S directly by kidnapping Somers, an American photo journalist, and South African teacher Pierre Korkie and threatening to kill them. Under the Monroe Doctrine, this is clearly an unfriendly act against the U.S and Western civilization, which caused us to fight back against the terrorists and try to rescue the hostages.

In a CNN article, Lawmakers Defend Failed Hostage Rescue Mission in Yemen, by Sara Fischer, both Republicans and Democrats agreed that President Obama had to order the mission and it was the right thing to do, even though the kidnappers ended up killing the hostages. Defense Secretary, Chuck Hagel said: "Is it imperfect? Yes. Is there risk? Yes. But we start with the fact that we have an American that's being held hostage, and that American's life is in danger." House Intelligence Committee Chairman, Mike Rodgers said: "When you pay ransom, you get more kidnappings. If we're going to be extorted into paying ransom to al Qaeda so that they can rape women and blow up buildings and kill civilians, men, women and children, that's a pretty bad plan to start with. I agreed with the President's decision."

Under the Monroe Doctrine, the U.S doesn't intervene in every conflict. However, when terrorists attack Americans or the U.S directly, the U.S must act upon this and the intervention is within the principles of the Monroe Doctrine. The U.S should fight back against terrorists, even though it may cost lives, just like Luke Somers. Sadly, they were probably going to kill him anyway, but we can't let them take away our will to fight.

Race and Identity in Latin American Revolutions and Today

The Mexican Revolution had many Key Events. The first one was The Grito de Delores, which was when Hidalgo and Costilla launched the Mexican War of Independence. Others were the Treaty of Cordoba, Plan of Iguala, Mexican conservatives called for independence and Iturbide declared emperor of Mexico. The Mexican War of independence started because peasants didn't have equal rights. The peninsulares were the peasants and were Indian and mestizo.

Race Continues to affect national unity in America. One recent example has been dominating the news for the last week. That is the decision of the grand jury in Missouri not to charge officer Darren Wilson of the Ferguson Police Department with a crime for shooting African American teenager Michael Brown to death after a confrontation. The grand jury believed that the evidence showed that Officer Wilson was telling the truth when he testified that Brown had attacked him in his car, tried to take his gun, and was coming after him when he shot the teenager.

However, even with these facts, there has been ongoing national debate about relations between white police officers and black young men. In today's New York Times, a front page article described a meeting that President Obama hosted at the White House. He said: "There is a simmering mistrust that exists between too many police departments and too many communities of color." The President proposed: "he would tighten standards on the provision of military-style equipment to local police departments and provide funds for police officers to wear cameras," according to the article Obama Offers New Standards on Police Gear by Mark Lander.

I believe that race does affect identity and politics. Many people assume that the officer shot the young man because he was black and I have those suspicions too, although I don't know. Because many people are suspicious of police, I think it is a good idea for police to wear body cameras to see what happened, instead of debating over the facts.