Thurgood Marshall referred to the WCC as the “uptown Klan.”
I’ve also heard it called the Kountry Klub Klan.
I’ve also heard it called the Kountry Klub Klan but can’t remember where.
For those who haven’t seen it, there’s a great miniseries I’d recommend for those interested in 20th century presidents: Backstairs at the White House. It’s based on the memoirs of Lillian Rogers Parks who half grew up at the White House after her mother began working as a maid and hairdresser under Taft; Lillian joined her on the staff under Hoover and worked through the end of Eisenhower. It suffers from some “Battle of the Network Stars” syndrome due to all the 1970s TV stars in the cast, but it’s very good and from what I can tell very factual. It was watching this as a kid that I learned about the Coolidge son, about the second Mrs. Wilson becoming the ‘in all but name’ president, the Harding “black ancestor” rumors, and other factoids.
Lillian and her mom and most of her friends and co-workers were black so it delves into race relations somewhat and their personal opinions of the presidents a lot. The presidents and first family members they particularly liked included President Taft (kind, henpecked, gluttonous, funny, but a nervous wreck after his wife had a stroke), FDR and family (though they worked them half to death due to all of the grandchildren and constant company and then of course the war), and Truman (a very no-nonsense man who also worked them half to death moving into Blair House). The two they absolutely couldn’t stand were Mrs. Hoover and Mrs. Eisenhower. Some were more complex than like/not like, such as Mrs. Harding, who could be a very kind and generous person but also completely nuts (and not in a charming eccentric way) and of course a partner in a terribly unhappy marriage with a corrupt man who flaunted his infidelities.
A History Channel program on Jackson raised the possibility that Jackson’s adoption of the boy was a deliberate political ploy to give his defenders something to point to (not unlike posts i this thread!), but the program didn’t make a very convincing case for it; it seemed just speculation.
Jackson claimed in a letter to his wife, that when he saw the baby, he felt that he was “so much like myself I feel an unusual sympathy for him.”, and that “Charity and Christianity says he ought to be taken care of.” I think in all likelihood, too, he really liked children. He and his wife never had any children of their own, but they adopted two boys (Lyncoya, the Creek baby already mentioned and Andy Jr.) and took care of/were foster parents to 8 more (three nephews, one great nephew, and four children of a deceased friend of his.)
Jackson’s attitudes about race were complicated. He spent much of his life fighting Indians but had an Indian son. He owned a lot of slaves, but had a good relationship with Nashville’s free black community.
I would imagine his motives were a mix of guilt, responsibility, and politics. He also said in letters that he wanted Lincoyer to go to West Point when he was of age (which he didn’t make it to).
Andrew Jr. was actually an identical twin. Rachel’s sister and brother in law were in hard times and could barely afford the kids they had and it was almost like giving away a puppy; Andrew and Rachel came over, picked out the one they wanted, and traveled back with the baby and a slave wet nurse.
Well back then killing Indians was popular and political correctness wasn’t “in” back then so I kinda doubt it a lot.
And an adopted Indian child would likely cost you more votes than it would gain you. Indians weren’t much above wild animals in the views of millions of Americans, and in fact they were feared (rightfully so in some instances) more than wild animals.
Freeing slaves in the South was definitely “not the thing to do”. Many slave-owners who had much of their “capital” tied up in slaves were dead set against manumission, since it set a bad precedent. I think that all the southern states eventually passed laws against manumission. Very sad business.
I’ll comment about those presidents I know about:
[ul]
[li]Washington started out pro-slavery and was against allowing black soldiers in the Continental Army, but eventually changed his mind.[/li][li]John Adams hated slavery and was opposed to it. He also supported equal rights for Jews in Massachusetts.[/li][li]Jefferson was pro-slavery and did not free his slaves, probably because he knew they’d have to be sold to cover his debts. He was a complex man.[/li][li]Lincoln was not racist at all, but he was highly political. He was always careful not to propose something that he knew wouldn’t work. He believed that the Union was most important, regardless of whether or not slavery was outlawed. Despite all this, I think he came to see that the only solution would be a Union without slavery.[/li][li]Wilson was a racist, in the purest and most historically accurate sense of that word. He firmly believed in the supremacy of the Anglo/Saxon/Germanic race, was pro-segregation, and made no secret of it. In his time, many progressive, otherwise liberal, and visionary men were racist and thoroughly believed in all the distortions and errors of eugenics and Social Darwinism.[/li][li]Roosevelt was not particularly progressive, but he was greatly influenced by his wife, who was not racist and championed the rights of blacks in the US.[/li][li]Truman was a feisty and opinionated SOB, who often spoke from the heart without much thinking. Nevertheless he pushed for desegregation in the armed forces and for recognition of the state of Israel. We should judge people by their acts.[/li][/ul]
I’m rather curious about that. Lincoln did say he didn’t think Africans were equal to whites.
While Presidents had met with African American leaders before, TR was the first president to invite an African American to dine in the White House. It was this conferring of social standing on Booker T. Washington that created a firestorm across the South.
What Lincoln said during the Lincoln-Douglas debates to win the votes of rural Illinois voters did not reflect what he later thought, wrote and did as President. By the time of his death he favored the abolition of slavery everywhere and the extension of the vote to black males, esp. former soldiers. Douglass, as noted above, praised Lincoln for treating him with respect and without condescension.