Wounded Knee by Heather Cox Richardson

Heather Cox Richardson's "Wounded Knee: Party Politics and the Road to an American Massacre"

The Wounded Knee Massacre took place on December 29, 1890, and it marked an important chapter in Native American -- U.S. relations. This event generated much controversy due to the high number of casualties involved and because American troops were believed to take advantage of their position with the purpose of murdering innocent natives. Heather Cox Richardson's book "Wounded Knee: Party Politics and the Road to an American Massacre" goes at providing readers with a whole new understanding of the episode. The writer emphasizes that the matter is much more complex and that American politicians played an important role in making the event possible.

While most people are familiarized with the Wounded Knee Massacre, very little actually know the event's background. The fact that it all seemed like a set of unfortunate circumstances coming together was enough for some people to refrain from wanting to want more concerning it. Richardson's book is dedicated at raising public awareness concerning one of the biggest injustices in the history of the U.S. And of mankind as a whole. The writer discusses with regard to how American leaders acknowledged the importance of fear as an important factor in influencing natives to cooperate with the authorities.

"Wounded Knee: Party Politics and the Road to an American Massacre" is not only meant to relate to ideas like racism, as the book goes more in-depth by emphasizing the possible factors that influenced American troops to get actively involved in persecuting Native Americans. Party politics and the media were essential in this context, taking into account that Americans were influenced to believe that it had been in their best interest to take lands away from natives and to use force whenever it was necessary for them to do so.

The Civil War had had a great toll on the U.S. In general and many politicians were determined to help the country recover by making use of all means available. The fact that natives could be hurt in the process did not seem very important and the authorities largely concentrated on taking advantage of their superior power. Richardson related to how the Republican Party can be associated to the Wounded Knee Massacre. The Benjamin Harrison Administration had a series of political and partisan motivations that influenced it to take up arms against whoever could be exploited with the purpose of helping the country as a whole recover faster.