Here we are…forty-five (okay actually a few more than that since I had a few breaks in there) weeks of presidential facts. It was fun doing the research for these posts. I learned so much while writing these and I hope you all enjoyed reading and participating. Thank you to everyone that guessed each week.
Party: Democratic-Republican
Fact One: Continued the practice of dismantling a strong federal government, which left the nation vulnerable to attack after declaring war on the British. Most notably was an attack on Washington DC.
Fact Two: Placed an incompetent general in charge of forces to defend New Orleans from invasion. Unfortunately, this general’s ineffectual leadership led to many soldier deaths from malaria, dysentery, and scurvy.
Fact Three: This president went up against the powerful Clinton political machine, but managed to prevail in his elections over the Clintons.
Fact Four: After the war, this president changed drastically and decided to strengthen the military, bring back the national bank, and increase tariffs.
Fact Five: This president forced the Cherokee and Muscogee to give up over 22 million acres of land in Georgia & Alabama, despite initially saying they could keep the land.
Quotes:
“The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries.”
“Wherever the real power in a Government lies, there is the danger of oppression. In our Governments, the real power lies in the majority of the Community, and the invasion of private rights is chiefly to be apprehended, not from the acts of Government contrary to the sense of its constituents, but from acts in which the Government is the mere instrument of the major number of the constituents.”
“The means of defence against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people.”
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