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If we remove every racist from American history we won't have very many people to choose from. Andrew Jackson was not a great man, but his impact on the economi
by Konnstann 7y ago
If we remove every racist from American history we won't have very many people to choose from. Andrew Jackson was not a great man, but his impact on the economic policy that shaped the country is undeniable, and is probably what earned him a place on the $20. Unfortunately history is full of terrible people who do great things, and great people who are less noteworthy.
- Chris_Chambers 7y agoIt’s more like mounting the head of your kill above the fireplace. Andrew Jackson was put on the $20 bill to mock him. He would have been the first to demand the destruction of the Federel Reserve.
- DoofusOfDeath 7y agoI think societal norms regarding virtues and vices also change over time. If nothing else, what's considered a minor vice in one century might be considered an unforgivable character flaw in another century. Given that, I'm a little skeptical of claims that a historically significant figure should have never appeared on money, in a statue, etc.
- jtr1 7y agoThis is such a weird argument to me. The vast, vast majority of historical figures do not show up on currency or monuments. That doesn't mean they've been "erased" from history, it just means we don't celebrate and memorialize them. Likewise, choosing to remove monuments or figures from currency does not in any way equate to removing them from the history books. You're still welcome to read all about Andrew Jackson, teach courses on him, whatever you'd like.
- Konnstann 7y agoI think the argument to remove public mention of historical figures is weird. I think UVA students trying to get a statue of the founder of the university removed because he was a slave owner is weird. I don't really care one way or the other who's on my money, but the need to replace the historical figures we do portray with ones that are considered politically correct in "current year" seems weird to me.
- Apocryphon 7y agoWas it weird when Eastern Bloc nations removed Marxist relics from the Soviet era?
- Konnstann 7y agoI'm from an eastern bloc nation, and there are plenty of Marxist relics to look at. If the US had statues of Jackson in every square and photos of "insert racist slave owner terrible person here" in every building, I would think it was weird too.
- jtr1 7y agoAh yes, freedom from slavery, the politically correct flavor of the moment.
- yardie 7y agoWho said anything about removing him from history? This is the disinginious argument the right makes. Equating removing thestatues and monuments of less than ideal figures with complete erasure from historical records. In reality there has been real people erased from the records and they always turn out to be people of color and women.