How could we have settled the West but still not have totally swept aside the Indians without a thought for their welfare?
I agree it was Manifest Destiny but we could have been charitable at the same time and shared far more of the land than just desert and wasteland without difficulty.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I wrote this critique of the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown in an Ethnic Studies class I went to in 1977.
If a characterization could be made of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, it would be the white men's constant thirst for land and how the Indian suffered terribly from it. To slake this thirst, the white settlers had treaties. Most treaties with the Indians provided them with food, ammunition, and the promise by the whites not to trespass onto the land that was left after the whites were done partitioning it up. The problem with these treaties was that they were never upheld. The food and ammunition never arrived, and the Indians' remaining land was always trodden and settled upon by the gold or land-hungry whites.
When a band of Indians would not leave after the United States government had told them to, the soldiers came to mercilessly kill them. Not only did the soldiers exterminate the Indians, but the women and children Indians were killed also. Often, the Indians' genitals were removed by the raiding soldiers and used as show pieces to make a mockery of them. The soldiers had absolutely no compassion for the Indians because their motto was: "The more Indians we kill today, the less we have to kill tomorrow." These shocking details are even more shocking when you think that this was the United States of America, the great upholder of democracy and of peoples' rights, committing these atrocities.
Even when the Indians were captured or they capitulated, conditions were no better for them. If they received food at all, it was usually thrown to them raw and cold onto the ground. One time dozens of Indians were locked in a barracks with no food or water during an icy blizzard with no heat for five days. It was a miracle that most of them survived those five days. These conditions are comparable to the Nazi concentration camps of World War II.
The Fetterman massacre is more justly named so than the Sand Creek Massacre because every American soldier that was ambushed was killed. Of course, more Indians were killed at the Sand Creek massacre but that is only a small portion of the Indians that were there. If the soldiers had tried hard at all, they could have killed all the Indians at Sand Creek. Although, the Indians would have killed five hundred soldiers if the Indians could have drawn that many out of the fort. Only the U.S. soldiers could have avoided these confrontations with their far superior resources and sole ability to making lasting peace.
The only reason the Indians couldn't attack an American metropolis is because they had no access to any large communities without being noticed by American troops. Consequently, the Indians had to attack small processions of Americans traveling to the West or once in a while they could ambush a large group of soldiers like at the Fetterman Massacre. This is the only instance that Indians killing American soldiers could be called a massacre. On the other hand, Americans soldiers had very little difficulty in exterminating Indians because they tended to band together into large groups and could be isolated into selected areas.
Though in general when the whites called a military failure of theirs a massacre, the soldiers had started the skirmish and the Indians had a perfect right to fight back and kill them. The whites were always too quick to call this sort of thing a massacre.
Today Indians are still suffering from untold miseries. Americans did not learn from their endless amount of wrong-doings toward the Indians. The book, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, is a long awaited hope for the Indians because people are going to start treating the Indians better after finding out what happens in this book.
I agree it was Manifest Destiny but we could have been charitable at the same time and shared far more of the land than just desert and wasteland without difficulty.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I wrote this critique of the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown in an Ethnic Studies class I went to in 1977.
If a characterization could be made of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, it would be the white men's constant thirst for land and how the Indian suffered terribly from it. To slake this thirst, the white settlers had treaties. Most treaties with the Indians provided them with food, ammunition, and the promise by the whites not to trespass onto the land that was left after the whites were done partitioning it up. The problem with these treaties was that they were never upheld. The food and ammunition never arrived, and the Indians' remaining land was always trodden and settled upon by the gold or land-hungry whites.
When a band of Indians would not leave after the United States government had told them to, the soldiers came to mercilessly kill them. Not only did the soldiers exterminate the Indians, but the women and children Indians were killed also. Often, the Indians' genitals were removed by the raiding soldiers and used as show pieces to make a mockery of them. The soldiers had absolutely no compassion for the Indians because their motto was: "The more Indians we kill today, the less we have to kill tomorrow." These shocking details are even more shocking when you think that this was the United States of America, the great upholder of democracy and of peoples' rights, committing these atrocities.
Even when the Indians were captured or they capitulated, conditions were no better for them. If they received food at all, it was usually thrown to them raw and cold onto the ground. One time dozens of Indians were locked in a barracks with no food or water during an icy blizzard with no heat for five days. It was a miracle that most of them survived those five days. These conditions are comparable to the Nazi concentration camps of World War II.
The Fetterman massacre is more justly named so than the Sand Creek Massacre because every American soldier that was ambushed was killed. Of course, more Indians were killed at the Sand Creek massacre but that is only a small portion of the Indians that were there. If the soldiers had tried hard at all, they could have killed all the Indians at Sand Creek. Although, the Indians would have killed five hundred soldiers if the Indians could have drawn that many out of the fort. Only the U.S. soldiers could have avoided these confrontations with their far superior resources and sole ability to making lasting peace.
The only reason the Indians couldn't attack an American metropolis is because they had no access to any large communities without being noticed by American troops. Consequently, the Indians had to attack small processions of Americans traveling to the West or once in a while they could ambush a large group of soldiers like at the Fetterman Massacre. This is the only instance that Indians killing American soldiers could be called a massacre. On the other hand, Americans soldiers had very little difficulty in exterminating Indians because they tended to band together into large groups and could be isolated into selected areas.
Though in general when the whites called a military failure of theirs a massacre, the soldiers had started the skirmish and the Indians had a perfect right to fight back and kill them. The whites were always too quick to call this sort of thing a massacre.
Today Indians are still suffering from untold miseries. Americans did not learn from their endless amount of wrong-doings toward the Indians. The book, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, is a long awaited hope for the Indians because people are going to start treating the Indians better after finding out what happens in this book.
