One of the most controversial president's in American history has been Andrew Jackson, whose legacy has been under fire in recent years due to his history of owning slaves. On what would have been his 250th birthday, Jackson was honored by Donald Trump who spoke at the Hermitage museum on Wednesday, which was the former President's old slave plantation.

Trump on Jackson

Andrew Jackson was elected as the seventh President of the United States, serving from 1829 until 1837, and was the founder of modern Democratic Party. While many historians viewed Jackson as a successful commander in chief, touting his military background, modern criticism points to the fact that he owned as many as 300 slaves during his life time.

In addition, Jackson's order to remove mostly Cherokee Indians from their land east of the Mississippi River in 1838 and 1839 resulted in what is known as the Trail of Tears, where up to 4,000 people were killed as a result of starvation and disease. Despite this, Donald Trump honored the former president on his birthday, as reported by The Hill on March 15.

"Andrew Jackson, we thank you for your serve," Donald Trump told those in attendance. "We honor you for your memory. We build on your legacy and we thank God for the United States of America," Trump went on to say. The former host of "The Apprentice" spoke from the old Hermitage plantation that Jackson had built in the early 1800s, and where hundreds of his slaves were forced to live.

"Jackson removed 10 percent of the government workforce. He launched a campaign to sweep out government corporation. Totally! He didn't want government corruption," Donald Trump said, before adding, "He expanded benefits for veterans.

He imposed tariffs on foreign countries." At this point, Trump chuckled and said, "That sounds very familiar. Wait to you see what happens very soon folks. It's time."

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Like Andrew Jackson, Donald Trump also faces allegations of being "hateful" and a "racist." During his campaign for president, Trump was hit with these negative allegations early on, which started with his label of illegal immigrants from Mexico being "rapists" and "murderers." Since then, those who oppose the president have increased their opposition, often going as far as comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany during the 1930s and early 1940s.
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