Editor, The Smithfield Times:

Andrew Jackson was the founding father of the Democratic Party. In keeping with the trend of changing names of anything that had to do with slavery or native genocide, I’m not saying dismantle the Democratic Party, but the name and mascot definitely need to be changed.

The most common mascot symbol for the party has been the donkey, or jackass. Andrew Jackson’s enemies twisted his name to “jackass” as a term of ridicule regarding a stupid and stubborn animal. Cartoonists followed and used the donkey to represent the Democrats and the elephant to represent the Republicans.

Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States. He is known for founding the Democratic Party and for his support of individual liberty. In his 1829 State of the Union address, Jackson called for removal; the Indian Removal Act was put in place to give to the Southern states the land that belonged to the Native Americans. Jackson viewed the Union as a federation of highly esteemed states, as was common before the American Civil War. He strongly supported — and profited from — slavery.

Jackson owned as many as 161 enslaved people, buying and selling them, using their labor to build his fortune and even bringing them to the White House to work for him.

 

David Wilkes Cordle

Smithfield