strangelet on May 29, 2009 at 9:39 PM

You really are historically ignorant. The divorce between Rachel Donaldson Robards married Jackson in 1791, while under the belief that the divorce was already a done deal. Unfortunately, there was a technicality which was eventually corrected. (Presidents: Metro Books, 2004) Also, women could sue for divorce in this period in many states. Like males though, they had to have grounds–no such animal as no-fault divorce. Grounds included cruelty, drunkenness, and adultery as well as others. (Handbook of divorce and relationship dissolution by Mark A. Fine, John H. Harvey. Published by Routledge, 2006) Very often, due to the difficulty in securing divorce–regardless of who filed–couples agreed to simply part.

Jackson’s problems with his Vice-President were personal more so than political. He found out that Calhoun wanted to punish Jackson for invading Florida during the Seminole War in 1819. Jackson’s actions in the Nullification Crisis were as much, if not more, motivated by his hatred of Calhoun and by his view of the position of the office of the presidency than they were by any sentimental attachment to the Union. The famous toast, “The Union, it must be preserved,” was as much a personal stab at Calhoun as it was a political statement regarding his intentions.

During the Nullification Crisis, while Jackson blustered and threatened, he also dragged his feet on carrying out the Force Bill authorizing him to invade South Carolina, giving time for backroom negotiations that resulted in the Compromise Tariff Bill which reduced all tariffs for ten years, effectively removing the main bone of contention–the Tariff of Abominations.

Jackson also torpedoed the Bank of the United States and opposed much of Henry Clay’s American System which called for Federal intervention in the economy. Added to that, Jackson issued the Specie Circular stating that the federal government would only take silver, gold, and sometimes Virginia land scrip for federal lands being sold in the West.

Jackson was also very much pro-slavery. He called for a ban on mailing anti-slavery literature and supported the passage of a gag rule forbidding any discussion of the issue of slavery in the House as well as supporting a House resolution stating that Congress had no power to interfere with slavery in the states.

Jackson also invented the spoils system which Bambi has taken full advantage of. While Jackson was a decisive leader and one of our stronger presidents, he had numerous flaws–don’t make him out to be something he isn’t.

As to his view towards Beck–it would depend on whether you’re talking about President Jackson or Private Citizen Jackson. Private Citizen Jackson would be in agreement with him. President Jackson might call him names in public, but while doing that, he would be dismantling the IRS at warp speed. Jackson–both President and Private Citizen–would loathe the IRS with an incredibly intensity.

Matt Helm on May 29, 2009 at 10:15 PM