Hi guys,
I thought I might write about the battle of Little Bighorn.
Some factors were at play that created the conditions for Little Bighorn to occur. The US has a long history of ignoring treaties made with Native American tribes, and in this case, it led (indirectly) to the greatest Native American victory against the American army. When gold was found in land that, according to the treaties, belonged to the Lakota, the tribe was quickly pushed out. This enraged many Sioux and Cheyenne tribesmen, who went to join Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse in Montana on the banks of the Little Bighorn River. The army went to break up the camp of more than 10,000 Native Americans. Their first attempt was repelled, and Custer's Cavalry was sent forward a few days later in order to scout. Custer chose not to wait for reinforcements, a fateful decision, and on June 25, he entered Little Bighorn valley with his 600 men. Crazy Horse, with 3,000 Native American fighters, attacked Custer and his 200 men (his forces had been broken apart), killing all of them within an hour. This battle holds significance because it led many Americans to believe Native Americans to be savages, which then led to the government taking a more active role in oppressing the tribes. It accelerated the rate at which the Cheyenne and Sioux were put in reservations so that in 5 years barely any lived off of them. Though it was successful for the tribes, the battle was a catalyst for the government to oppress them more quickly and efficiently than ever before. Do you think that, had Crazy Horse known the eventual outcome, he would have followed through with the attack?
More info and source: http://www.history.com/topics/battle-of-the-little-bighorn
Kenneth Moussavian
Honestly, I don't think Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull really had any other option. Over the past century, they had watched other tribes move into reservations without a fight. Even those tribes who tried to assimilate, like the Cherokee, were still forcefully pushed out of their lands (Trail of Tears). The one tribe who kind of succeeded in maintaining their lands were the Seminoles in Florida, who used violence to keep the whites out. Even if Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse didn't attack, the whites still would have taken their land eventually. Fighting it out was their only and best option.
ReplyDeleteI think another factor in why the American government was able to accelerate the rate that they annihilated the way of life of the Native Americans (which though you did not mention, also included direct slaughtering from my recollection) is that the American people were out for blood. If the Irish or any other ethnic group had killed a group of Americans so soundly as had occurred at the battle of Little Bighorn, then the American people would have wanted action against them as well. Though I do think the lower viewpoint of the natives played a role, I think it may have more to do with seeking revenge for what the American people viewed as a terrible wrong.
ReplyDeleteAlso Ashwin is probably right. I don't think there was any way for the tribes to continue their way of life and it might have been their choice to go out fighting, even if the outcome was known. In fact, the "white eyes" prophecy seems to foreshadow ultimate failure. You cannot defeat what never stops fighting back.
I agree with Rebecca. This event occurred in an era of nativism and national discontent. The depression of 1873 caused the American people to look for scapegoats. In this epidsode, the American citizens turned to their oldest foe and were looking for a source of heroism in Custer.
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