The Washington times., 1936-01-09
ex of Presidents Address Delivered Jackson Day Dinner

Fun tert of President Roose-
Delt's Jackson Day address fol-
lotDS::
This meeting tonight, in the
City Of Washington, is one Of
many hundreds being held
throughout our 48 States and
territorial possessions and even
on board ships ct sea, in honor
of the memory Of a great gen.
eral and President, Andrew
Jackson. To all Of you I ex-
tend my most sincere and
hearty greetings.
I am happy to stand here to-
night and declare to you that
the real issue before the United
States is the right Of the aver
age man and woman to lead 3
finer, q better and q happier
life. That was the same issue,
more than one hundred years
ago, that confronted Andrew
jackson.
Non.pGrtisan Address
I speak tonight to this Demo
cratic meeting in the same
language as if I were address
ing q Republican gathering, q
Progressive gathering, an In
dependent gathering, a gather.
ing Of businessmen or q gather.
ing Of workers or Of farmers.
There is nothing that I say
here tonight that does not ap-
ply to every citizen in the coun-
try, no matter what his or her
political affiliations may be.
It is true that we Americans
have found party organizations
to be useful, If not necessary,
in the capitalization of opinion
and in the demarcation Of
issues. 1t is true that have
received many honors at the
hands of one Of our great
parties. It is nevertheless true
that in the grave questions that
confront the United States to-
day I, as President Of the United
States, must and viii consider
our common problems first, fore
most and prominently, from
the American point Of view.
Symbol Of Ideals
To most of us Andrew Jack
son appropriately has become
the symbol Of certain great
ideals. I like best to think Of
him as a man whom the aver
age American deeply and
fundamentally understood. To
the masses Of his countrymen
his purposes and his character
were an open book. They loved
him well because they under
stood him well-hiS passion for
justice, his championship Of the
cause Of the exploited and the
downtrodden, his ardent and
flaming patriotism.
Jackson sought social justice
and fought for human rights in
his many battles to protect the
people against autocratic or
oligarchic aggression.
If at times his passionate
devotion to this cause of the
average citizen lent an amazing
zeal to his thoughts, his speech
and his actions, the people
loved him for it. the more. They
realized, the intensity Of the at
tacks by his enemies, by those
who, thrust from power and
position, pursued him with re-
lentless hatred. The beneficiaries
of the abuses. to which he put
an end pursued him with all
the violence that political pas
sions can generate. But the peo-
pie of his day were not deceived.
They loved him for the enemies
he had made.
Compelled to Fight
Backed, not only by his party,
but by thousands who had be-
longed to other parties or be-
longed to no party at all, An
drew Jackson was compelled to
fight every inch for the ideals
and policies Of the democratic
Republic in which he believed.
An overwhelming proportion of
the material power of the coun-
try was arrayed against. him.
The great media for the dis
Semination Of information a n d
the molding Of public opinion
fought him. Naughty and ster-
lie intellectualiSm opposed him.
Musty reaction diSapproved him.
Hollow and outworn tradition
alism shook q trembling finger
at him. It seemed that some
times all were against him-all
but the people Of the U United
States.
Because history so often re.
peats itself, let me analyze fur
ther. Andrew Jackson stands
out as q great American. not
merely because he was two
listed and fought for the peo-
pies rights, but because, through
his career, he did as much as
any man in our history to in.
crease, on the part Of the vot-
ers, knowledge Of public prob
lens and interest in their solu.
ton. Following the funda-
mentals Of jefferson, he ad-
hered to the broad philosophy