This City is Considering Removing a Monument to an Iconic American War Hero

There are few things more iconic New Orleans than the statue of Andrew Jackson riding into battle on his horse in Jackson Square. After all, it was Jackson who won one of America’s greatest military victories in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.

However, that has not saved Jackson from being the target of the armies of political correctness. The New Orleans City Council, which has already removed monuments to Robert E. Lee and former Confederate President Jefferson Davis, considered a motion to remove the statue of Andrew Jackson because Jackson was a slaveholder and carried expulsions of Native Americans during his presidency.

The city of New Orleans has an ordinance in place declaring historical statues and monuments as “nuisances” if they advocate racial supremacy and if they have been the site of demonstrations. That was the authority by which the city removed the statues of Robert E. Lee and other Confederates earlier in the year.

To point out the absurdity of this ordinance, Tulane University administrator Richard Marksbury presented an argument against the Jackson statue. It should be noted that Marksbury was an opponent of removing the Confederate monuments and opposes the ordinance.

New Orleans City Councilwoman Stacy Head, who also opposed the removal of the monuments, called the ordinance a dangerous precedent. “We should bring closure to this dangerous precedent in one way or another” she said according to The New Orleans Advocate.

But New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and the activists behind removing the Confederate monuments do have their sights on Andrew Jackson, and other symbols and monuments around the city. From the New Orleans Advocate:

Take ‘Em Down NOLA, a group made up of some of the strongest opponents of the Confederate monuments, as well as other groups have called for a more comprehensive review of icons in the city that they argue would result in many — including Jackson and the statue of Bienville in the French Quarter — being removed because of atrocities committed by the figures they honor.

Landrieu for his part has not commented publicly on this since December and has not commented on Jackson per se.

The Confederate monuments are still standing in New Orleans thanks to a Federal judge who has blocked their removal until all appeals are exhausted

Source: AAN