OPINION:
I have been looking back at U.S. history for parallels with our current political situation, and I found a very curious and informative one from 200 years ago.
Andrew Jackson was a populist who campaigned against the elites of his day. He lost the presidential election in 1824 but came back to win in 1828. He was accused of many horrible things, and the names of his family members and wife were dragged through the mud by the press of the day.
There was a concerted effort to stop his rise, but in the end Jackson won two terms and transformed the U.S. radically. He diminished the elites’ power and opened the door to a radically different country. Some historians rank him as one of the most significant presidents to date.
The period from 1824 to 1828 also marked the first major political realignment in the U.S. since George Washington’s presidency, and the adoption of our current Constitution. The elites who lost never recovered their power or political base. And Jackson, like Donald Trump, was considered a crude and uncouth individual by the elites — but was beloved by the common man.
Jump forward to the present day and you see a similar struggle between the populist Trump and contemporary elites. The vitriol, dirty moves and blatant misuse of power is not unlike that of 200 years ago.
And today we, too, are in the middle of a major political realignment. It is clear the Democrats, the political left and the mainstream media are all in — and they understand everything is on the table for them. If they lose this year, there may not be another day for their ideology and agenda. Their power will certainly be broken.
History may not repeat itself, but it does follow patterns that seem to repeat.
JAMES BARENDS
Wayne, Pennsylvania
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