The Propaganda
First, the election of 2016 has seen some of the worst bullying and irrelevant propaganda in American history. This type of propaganda all started during the Jackson and John Quincy Adams election. After Jackson had ordered the death of six militiamen, his opponents printed a grim advertisement of 6 black coffins. When they found out that Jackson's wife, Rachel, had been married before, he was accused of adultery and sin. Finally, he was mocked because his mother was a prostitute. Strangely, most of these efforts were actually taken with open arms by the Jacksonites, when they realized they had a lot in common with the common-man president. Jacksonites spread their own gossip about Adams: that he went to church barefoot and didn't wear underclothes.
Anyone following this years election knows that mud-slinging is a very common tactic used by politicians. Many people have accused Hillary Clinton of being a felon because she sent emails that contained classified information. Many democrats think that this, and the discussion on Clinton's hair, are unimportant arguments. This is not to say that opponent, Donald Trump has not had his fair share of scandals, or that people don't discuss his hair
 |
| today |
 |
| back then, in 1828 |
.
The Candidates' Corrupt Bargain
The Adams-Clay "Corrupt" Bargain occurred during the prior election of 1824, when Henry Clay pulled out of the race and teamed up with John Quincy Adams, helping JQA win the election and crowning himself the new secretary of state. To make matters worse, Jackson had received more votes than the other 3 contenders, and would have won if Clay didn't rig the election. The Democratic republicans believed this move was unjust and held a strong resentment towards Adams' tenure, which would be exemplified when they designed the Tariff of Abominations later on. Similarly, back in 2012, Clinton got to be Barack Obama's secretary of state in 2008. Now, she has a much better chance at becoming president and has gained a lot of experience. Like Jackson, Trump does not have experience. He has experience managing successful business enterprises, but this type of experience is very different than understanding political science. Jackson's education was limited, and his experience was specialized in the army. Again, military management isn't necessary to making good choices. Then again, one could argue that in both cases, the leadership skills the men had acquired were essential. Jackson and Trump definitely knew how to rally a support system. Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan is super popular in most Southern areas.
Jackson appealed to the south. Trump appeals to the South. Jackson appealed to the common white man. Trump appeals to the common white man. Jackson lead a forced migration of Indians called the "Trail of Tears". Trump wants to deport undocumented immigrants. There are so many similarities between Jackson and Trump that it is easy to get them mixed up. But it is also important to note the few differences. The first is that Jackson's face is on the twenty dollar bill. The idea of having Trump's face on currency would never sit well with Americans. The second is that Jackson didn't come from money and had strong suspicions of the wealthy and banks in general. In contrast, Trump is a billionaire who came from a wealthy family. However, this doesn't stop him from being worshipped by the "common people," or the lower-middle classes of the South and mid-west (see image below). Its hard to say what exactly Trump would do when in office, but most Republicans prefer a government that exercises limited control. The Democratic Republicans of the early 19th century felt similarly, so it angered many when Jackson gave the federal government supremacy over the states. Trump would probably do the same thing, but his unpredictable nature makes it hard to predict.
Hillary Clinton and John Quincy Adams have a lot in common as well. The first thing that Adams did when he made it into office was start funding internal projects like railroads and canals. He also opened several universities and public schools. Clinton's campaign is centered on educational reforms and making the US more valuable. There is no doubt that she would have instituted the same reforms.
All in all, November will definitely be an interesting month because of its interesting candidates. Although it may seem like we have never been in this situation before, we have to look at the entire story of the United States and not just focus on the events that have happened in our lifetime.
I like how you were able to connect the election of 1828 and the election of 2016. After discussing the election of 1828 in class, we learned that the campaigning for this election was pretty much focused around undermining the opposition. I like how you showed how the same thing is happening in this year's election. For example, this years candidates have been using Twitter and other form of Social Media to disparage the opponent. Some of the posts are still online and can be clearly seen. My only question is if there are rules and maybe even laws that may have been created after the election of 1828 which refrain candidates from "going to far" in their slander against each other?
ReplyDelete