The first birthers attacked Andrew Jackson and Chester Arthur. Racist?

Birthers are nuts—they think conservative Democrats could only find one black guy in the USA to run for president, and unfortunately he was born abroad.

But that doesn't mean birthers are racist. From 6.1. The U. S. Constitution and the President:

There have been stories about a couple of presidents who were said to not have been born in the U.S. Some have claimed that Chester Arthur was born in Canada. Political ememies of Andrew Jackson claimed he was born on a ship on the way to America.

Word-nerd note of the day: xenophobia is not racism.

Possibly of interest: Black Birthers and the Problem of Bad Information - Uptown Notes