My bride obtained her master’s degree in library science from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Judging from a recent event, I guess they don’t teach history, at least American history, there anymore:
The University of Wisconsin-Madison certainly shows up quite a bit in the news lately. The most recent incident is yet another call for going after historical American figures, but this time it’s not Columbus. The students at UW would like some modifications to an offensive statue on their campus, this one of Abraham Lincoln. Rather than asking for Honest Abe’s visage to be torn down and removed, they would like a plaque placed nearby noting Lincoln’s culpability in the massacre of Native Americans. However, the school’s chancellor has denied the request for the time being.
Go here to read the rest. Below is the history the complaining students either were never taught or slept through:
It is easy to forget that between 1861-1865 there were other wars fought by the United States in addition to the Civil War. One of these was the Dakota War of 1862 fought in Minnesota. Relations between the native Dakota (Sioux) and the white settlers of Minnesota had been rocky for years before 1862. Late treaty payments, and cheating Indian agents had reduced many of the Dakota to poverty on their reservations. Alcoholism was rampant as were diseases of the white man. Encroachments on the land of the Dakota by the settlers was common and some of the Dakota responded with murder. Tensions erupted into open conflict on August 17, 1862 when a member of a Dakota hunting party murdered five whites. A council of Dakota under war chief Little Crow that evening decided it was time to drive the whites out of the Minnesota river valley. Over the next few weeks between 450-800 settlers were massacred by the Dakota. The Dakota made an attempt to take the town of New Ulm but were repulsed.
Regular Army troops, Minnesota volunteer regiments originally mustered to fight in the Civil War and various militia units fought the Dakota throughout the state. The Americans held Fort Ridgely in the southwestern part of the State from two attacks by the Dakota. The Dakota won two victories over the Americans at the Battle of Redwood Ferry on August 18, 1862 and at Birch Coulee on September 2, 1862.
The largest battle of the War took place at the battle of Wood Lake on September 23, 1862. Colonel Henry Sibley marched from Fort Ridgely up the Minnesota River valley on September 19, 1862 with the Third, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiments, various militia units and a battery of six cannon. Little Crow planned to ambush Sibley’s force at Lone Lake. (Sibley’s guide mistakenly thought Lone Lake was Wood Lake, and hence the misnaming of the battle.) The ambush was discovered when a foraging party from the Third Minnesota approached a group of Dakota concealed in high grass. The fighting lasted for two hours. Little Crow had between 700-1200 braves and Sibley had about 1169-2000 soldiers. As usual, artillery had a big impact on the morale of Indians in combat. The Americans routed the Dakotans. Casualties were light on both sides with seven Americans kill and 7-15 Dakota.
The Battle proved decisive. Pacifist chiefs seized the leadership of the Dakota and surrendered on September 23, 1862, returning 269 white captives. In December 303 Dakota were sentenced to death by military tribunals. Some of the “trials” lasted all of five minutes, the Dakota had no defense counsel and no one explained the proceedings to the Dakota who were probably completely bewildered. President Lincoln personally reviewed the sentences, distinguishing between Dakota who had merely fought in the war from those guilty of rape or murder. He commuted all but 39 of the death sentences, despite warnings that the white population would be incensed by his mercy, as they were. The condemned men, minus one who was given a reprieve, were hung in the largest mass execution in US history on December 26, 1862 in Mankato, Minnesota. The Republican party was weakened in Minnesota as a result of Lincoln’s clemency. When this was brought to his attention after the 1864 election, Lincoln responded that he could not afford to hang men for votes.
It’s the leftist take-over of education. It’s not their faults that they’re relative-idiots. They represent generations of American students that have been corrupted with so-called American Studies classes that taught anti-American propaganda, PC (universal deceit) chimeras, Marxist slogans, trashing of uber-evil America, and victimology.
Lo, the noble savage, as was their wont, had inflicted unspeakable outrages and violence against Minnesota men, women and children. In Vietnam mythology some men dropped death cards on NVA dead. The Plains Indians “wrote the book” on torturing POW’s. And, would leave tribal “death cards.” One may be to cut the throat. Another cut stripes on a thigh. So it goes.
If the snowflakes think the Minnesota Sioux mass murderers were roughly treated, they could be titillated by reading William Dalrymple’s excellent “The Last Maghul” (recommended for its exposition of the background, causes, and context) on the 1857 so-called Sepoy Mutiny in Delhi. For example, Muslim mutineers were wrapped in pig meat/skins and cremated while Hindus were given the cow treatment and buried; after, of course, having been shot, (most were) hanged or tied to cannon/blasted.
The perpetually-outraged nincompoops could also read up on Brit/Raj B/G John Nicholson, a Victorian superhero and “imperial psychopath.”
Lincoln let a bunch of Indians be executed who shouldn’t have been. One of many faults, in my view. Yet I don’t begrudge even the Lincoln statue recently plopped in a corner at Tredegar in Richmond. But the larger point is that once we start tearing down statutes because we don’t like everything the represented person did or failed to do, there’s literally no end to it. The insanity of moving from Lee’s statue, to Jefferson, Washington, and Lincoln shows the rapidity and ignorance of the revolution against America.
“Lincoln let a bunch of Indians be executed who shouldn’t have been.”
No, Lincoln saved a bunch of Indians who shouldn’t have been executed, and executed 39 who deserved to be.
The insanity of moving from Lee’s statue, to Jefferson, Washington, and Lincoln shows the rapidity and ignorance of the revolution against America.
No, it shows that people of very little accomplishment who know nothing of the rigors of 19th century life fancy they should sit in judgment of eminent men of the past. They are stoked to do this by faculty members whose talents commonly begin and end with grade-grubbing and office politics. Faculty members very commonly have no visceral conception of how agreeable their lives are compared to those of ordinary people of their own time and are given to pocketing what they’ve received and indulging in complaint without end.
As usual, Art Deco, that was an excellent comment.
“Their solid manhood stands out the more as we contrast it with these degenerate times.” Frederick Douglass
“…Lincoln responded that he could not afford to hang men for votes.” –Dakota War of 1862
Or leave them for dead, for votes—the way it is done today.
I am thinking of the abandonment of 7 or so fighting men, also one ambassador (J. Christopher Stevens)— even he, left for dead; one Foreign Service officer (Sean Smith); and two former SEALS turned contractors (Ty “Rone” Woods and Glen “Bud” Doherty) —those being the 4 who died 5 years ago this past 9/11/12. But also, remember that about 30 US citizens in Ben Ghazi, miraculously survived though abandoned to die, due to the sacrifice of 7 men, just to hush matters up “for votes”, again only 5 short years ago this past September.
Survivors who fought that day were: Ex-Marine Mark (“Oz”) Geist, former Ranger Kris Paranto (“Tanto”), ex-Marine John (Tig”) Tiegen, and two other military contractors (“Jack Silva”, “Dave ‘Boon’ Benton”) , whose true names to this day remain confidential and their identities protected. Kris Paranto is adamant that “stand down” orders were issued by a mysterious authority, and that though Woods and Doherty frantically repeated radio calls for air support for nearly hours, from 10pm Libyan time, until they were mortared about 6am the next am, that Hillary—oh, darn, I am not supposed to say that name—someone very high up — quashed air support thst was about 1 hour away in Spain, or even closer carrier-based assets in the Mediterranean.
In the months and years after the incident, Paranto has said several Navy and USAF pilots have approached him, verbatim, with, “Dude, we were ready to go, we could have been there, but we were told to stand down.”
But there is a God in heaven. Men shall not be hung for votes, still.
Ya, well, it was still the largest mass execution in our history, expressly approved of by Lincoln, based on farcical, often mere minutes-in-length trials which were lacking in jurisdiction, where the accused had no representation, and faced language barriers.
But aside from those little details, I guess it’s to Lincoln’s credit he allowed “only” 39 to be killed, including one Indian who killed no one and actually saved some settlers, mistakenly executed by the federal troops who couldn’t be bothered getting the right person to the gallows.
I suspect if some other president had allowed this, the tune might be different.