I read that Sherman appointed Phil Sheridan because he hated the Indians as much as he and Grant did. They all wanted them eradicated. There was enough mayhem to go around. The Army would attack villages and murder innocent women and children. They broke every treaty they made with the Indians. The Indians in turn would rape, murder torture and pillage settlers. Custer made a treaty with the Sous a few years I think before Little Big Horn that gave them the Black Hills but the discovery of gold there rendered that treaty null. His mission was to destroy but it got turned upside down. It is a sad part of our history. The Indians won that battle but were destined to loose the war.
Not entirely true.
Custer never attacked any Indian village without orders from the United States Army. Custer had no dealings with the Black Hills Treaty, he was sent to the Black Hills in 1874 to explore for gold, as there were already whites in the Black Hills looking for gold.
Once gold was officially discovered the United States tried to buy the Black Hills back from the Sioux, but the Sioux wouldn’t sell.
The treaty was made with the Sioux, but if you really want to pick nits, the reason the Crow Indians scouted for the Army was due to their hatred of the Sioux for taking the Black Hills from the Crow, years before.
Manifest destiny was not only a white proposition.
White guilt plays into the philosophy of 21st century critics, claiming poor treatment to the Indians of all persuasions. You won’t find in any historical record of a conquering nation that tried to assimilate the conquered people into that society as America did. Many of the attempts at this assimilation was condemned as trying to destroy the Indian and their culture.
Although not perfect, the attempt created much of the conflict between both cultures that didn’t make either side totally wrong, just vastly different. This battle continues today…
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