Friday, December 10, 2010

Dear Jacksonville...

As I reread some history in preparation for my exam tomorrow, I find myself a bit confused. Why on earth did we decide to name ourselves after Andrew Jackson? Okay, okay so maybe Jacksonville is a prettier name than Cowford (but honestly, how was that name even in the running??) But of all presidents to get your name from....Jackson? Really? A man that my book calls violent and vindictive, who ignored his cabinet members only to listen to his "buddies" and was also a supporter of the Indian Removal Act, which resulted in the Trail of Tears.
You confuse me sometimes Jacksonville.
sincerely,
very annoyed and confused.

PS. say hi to my study buddy for the day :)
eeks. no make up - sorry folks.

11 comments:

tishous said...

I'm a huge history nerd and come from Tennessee (AJ's homestate) and while I don't like him as a person, he was a very interesting person. He did a lot for expanding America's territories (at a terrible cost though). I think there is a Jackson or a Jacksonville in almost every state.

dragonfli said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
dragonfli said...

Ok i totally messed up my first comment I wish there was an edit option...oh well...anyways I could nearly bet my life that there is a "Jacksonville" or "Jackson" in every state. why? I don't know. Probably the same reason there is a Martin Luther King st/blvd/rd and it's always in the ghetto...Irony

Kristen said...

I think you look fab without makeup :) I've been without makeup for weeks now- finals time.

TracyZLesh @ Then I Got To Thinking said...

Glad the studying is going well... your study budy is ADORABLE! and you look great with out make up! :)

Leigh said...

awwww, i miss toast =( and you ofcourse =)

...on the brink of something beautiful said...

thank everyone!
and leigh i miss you!! toast does too. lol i noticed he ha disappeared for a while and i went to find him...he was in your old room on rods bed sleeping LOL.

Marta said...

Your post reminds me that i got a big fat A on my American History exam! ;)

leslie said...

To be honest, Andrew Jackson is my favorite of all the US presidents. He was from the frontier - AWESOME, and invited EVERYONE to his inauguration. He was loud and while he was huge on slavery and Indian removal, he stood up for the general public and got shit done. I mean, even if you're totally against the Indian Removal Act, it was a big deal way back when and MOST PEOPLE supported it.. so really, he was a bad person, but at least he spoke for all the OTHER bad people of the time who voted on it.

Unknown said...

I am totally with you! I live in a Jackson county and feel the same way.

At the same time, these places were named before the Civil Rights movement. So the namers probably thought he was awesome. However, I don't think places should change their names because our view of historical figures changes (as some places named after prominent racists have done). I feel like that is ignoring history and is like trying to hide that bad things ever happened. I think it is better to stick with the truth and then be open and honest about it.

P.S. The only cool thing about Jackson was his hair. I love his hair.

♥B said...

AHHH!!! I LOVE THE DOG :) Weenies are the best<3