akabuki

A really fascinating book. I've been listening to it for weeks now, and I've learned so much: --Andrew Jackson was not a great guy. Seriously. Trail of Tears and tons of other anti-American Indian policies, attacking the Spanish in Florida when he probably wasn't supposed to, personal jerkiness, changing a sentence to the death penalty unilaterally and carrying it out the next day, actions that helped slavery endure...the guy is not a winner --Martin Van Buren was the master political mastermind of his day? I had no idea. --John Tyler -- horrible president. I knew almost nothing about him, but it turns out he ran his own show and got booted by his own political party while he was in the White House, while making sure to advance the interests of slavery and white expansionism. --James K. Polk -- fought the Mexican War just to seize CA/south TX/NM, made up lies, wily and hard to pin down... --John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay -- not perfect by any means, but pretty great --this period in American life: really interesting. There was a lot going on!

2022-11-14 17:02