Happy Presidents Day!

“The world must be safe for democracy”- Woodrow Wilson

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It’s president’s day! I was going to list the twelve presidents who were slave owners. Eight of those Presidents were slave owners while in office. Instead I listed five presidents that made racism, xenophobia and moral hypocrisy pillars of American culture.

Woodrow Wilson– Woodrow Wilson served as the 28^th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to winning the 1912 presidential election, Wilson served as a president of Princeton University and as the 34^th governor of New Jersey. During his time as governor, he signed a eugenic sexual sterilization bill into legislation.  He led the United States during World War I.

• Intervened in Central and South American countries, disrupting the political systems of numerous countries to maintain economic dominance and political influence.
• He was an active supporter of Eugenics. He believed that Black people were inferior to whites.
• He campaigned in Indiana for the compulsory sterilization of criminals and the “mentally retarded.”
• Embraced Discriminatory hiring practices and segregation of “government offices.”
• Woodrow Wilson hosted a viewing party for the first motion picture every made, The Birth of A Nation, by D.W. Griffith, which glorified the Ku Klux Klan and portrayed Black men as rapists and a danger to white women.

Andrew Jackson– Andrew Jackson served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate representing Tennessee for a brief time. After that, Jackson was appointed a justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court, where he served from 1798 until 1804, becoming a wealthy slaveowner. During his time as a justice he was appointed Colonel of the Tennessee militia, eventually becoming the militias commander.

Andrew Jackson was a champion of genocide and displacement of Amerindians. This is something that he would continue during his time in office. Jackson solidified his popularity, becoming a “national hero” after defeating the British during the “War of 1812” at the “Battle of New Orleans.” Andrew Jackson and his supporters founded the modern-day Democratic Party. He became president in 1828, serving from 1829 to 1837.

• Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, authorizing the displacement of Southern Amerindian tribes to west of the Mississippi River. As a result, the nation began to embrace the idea of “Manifest Destiny,” which was the belief that westward expansion was God’s plan for this country; This led to the Trail of Tears.
• He opposed abolitionism.

Chester A. Arthur– Chester A. Arthur, the 20^th vice president, became the 21^st president of the United States after James A. Garfield was assassinated in September 1881.   

• Immigration Act of 1882 Excluded the mentally ill, the intellectually disabled, criminals and any other person potentially dependent upon public assistance from entering the United States.
• Chinese Exclusion Act was the first time that a single ethnic group was singled out and blocked from entering the United States.
• A proponent of the Spoils System.

Abraham Lincoln- Abraham Lincoln was the 16^th president of the United States and is considered to be one of Americas greatest heroes.  

• Lincoln was not an abolitionist. Emancipation was a military strategy.
• Lincoln didn’t believe that Black people should have the same rights as white people.
• He thought it best that Black people be freed from bondage and moved to Africa. In 1862, a year before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln believed that Black and Whites should be separated, due to the differences between the two races and white resistance.  
• Homestead Act encouraged westward expansion with no regard for Amerindians.
•  Pacific Railroad Act was signed which also disregarded Amerindians. 1776 miles of railroad from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

James Polk- At 49, James Polk became the youngest person to assume the presidency at that time. He served as the 11^th president of the United States. Prior to the presidency, he was elected the 13^th Speaker of the House of Representatives and Governor of Tennessee after that. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and a strong adherent of Andrew Jackson, advocating for “Manifest Destiny.”

• Polk declares war on Mexico in 1946. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in 1948. The Rio Grande became the southern border of Texas, and California and New Mexico were ceded to the United States.
• Acquired the Oregon Territory through negotiations with the British. A staunch expansionist, James Polk did all this with no regard for the Amerindian tribes in the region.

I could have listed many more presidents like Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Johnson, William McKinley, John Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon… The list goes on, these five all passed legislation that reinforced the idea of whiteness and white supremacy.