See that date on the left. It represents an important day in the lives of two people who lived in Tennessee.
On January 8, 1815, Andrew Jackson led a force of amateur soldiers against a British force intent on capturing New Orleans. It was a dominant victory by the Americans and led to an interesting song by Johnny Horton. It also brought made Jackson famous throughout the land. That fame would take Jackson into politics, and the Tennessee lawyer would trade the Hermitage, his home in Tennessee, for the White House.
President Andrew Jackson is a controversial figure in American history. He kept the nation together when South Carolina threatened to secede, which is something Abraham Lincoln could not do. However, Jackson also pushed through the Indian Removal Act, which led to relocation and death of thousands of people.
People either love or hate Andrew Jackson, but one thing is certain. He brought a power to the presidency that remains. After all, how many presidents have had an entire age named for them? He has the Age of Jackson.
Concerning Jackson, there was not much middle ground among his contemporaries. Like historians, they either loved him or hated him. The latter called him King Andrew, and that leads me to another Tennessee resident who had the same moniker.
Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, was born on this day in 1935. I have written about Elvis on a couple of occasions. My first concert was an Elvis show, and it was also the night that my mom got into a fight. Then, there was the weekend that my wife, my stepdaughter and I spent in Memphis. Heck, I even wrote about Elvis and the idea of myth.
All of that means that I am not going to spend much time on Elvis in this post. I am writing about two anniversaries that affected American history. One affected national politics and the policies of the nation. The other affected popular music and its artistic direction.
Today is the 200th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans and the 80th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s birth.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 