Politics as Usual
Richardson has used an American atrocity to show how party politics affects policy development. Some of the chapters deal with the Native Americans while others cover the 'white' America of the time. It was the 'Gilded Age'. American was moving west and the unfortunate Native Americans were in the way of economic development. The Republicans under President Benjamin Harrison were advocates of a high tariff to protect industrialists and financiers. [Now Republicans want low tax rates for the wealthy]. The description of the Republicans of the 1890s is appropriate for the Republicans of today "...consummate party politicians, willing to ignore reality, manipulate government machinery to stay in power, and destroy those in the way of their plans." Throughout the work there are references to the Republican newspaper 'Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper'. It was essentially the FOX news of its time, but then most of the other papers weren't much better.
As the the massacre itself, the men who perpetrated it and the administration supporters told a vastly different story that was told by the native Americans who survived, the evidence on the ground and a few military men. In essence, the Administration report was a cover-up. However,this is a very interesting read especially as one can see that it's politics as usual for some modern political 'sects'.
