Wounded Knee: Party Politics and the Road to an American Massacre by Heather Cox Richardson - Book Report/Review Example

 Wounded Knee: Party Politics and the Road to an American Massacre by Heather Cox Richardson Introduction The book’s title is Wounded Knee: Party Politics and the Road to an American Massacre, a book that was authored by Heather Cox Richardson. Richardson, an acclaimed historian, in a quite definitive account relates to the origins of an American tragedy that entailed the killing of about three hundred Sioux at a place known as Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota. The sole intention for writing this book is to demonstrate how the party politics in Washington D.C led to the South Dakota tragedy and even made the catastrophe inevitable. There have been several other accounts by other authors and writers who have sought to relay the information about the events that took place at South Dakota (Richardson 39-46). However, I find this information as presented by Richardson to be more precise and detailed. Furthermore, this seems to be the first book that addresses the issue of electoral politics as the factor which laid the foundation for the massacre, and even the reason as to why North and South Dakota exist in America. This book’s first edition, that was done in English language and which had a total of 392 pages was published by Basic Books in the year 2010. In the entire content of the engaging study of the book, Richardson strives to point out that the massacre was majorly as a result of racism and the killing of the Sioux men and women who were surrendering, is a clear indication of the racist brutality that existed at around that time, but, fueled by partisan politics of the land. As recorded in the book, the massacre took place on the 29th of December, 1890. In the words of the author, “It is amazingly ironical to note that the American troops fired on the Sioux civilians who had been outnumbered and were demoralized; thus, putting up no resistance or threat at all” (Richardson 56). Borrowing from the accounts presented by the author, she notes that the actual origin of the massacre was in Washington D.C where “the would-be lawmakers were locked in a mid-term election battle in which they desperately used fear, as a political tool to drum support for themselves. At the time of this massacre, the author notes that America was under the leadership of President Benjamin Harrison. The partisan politics of his administration is placed at the core of the “road to an American massacre” (Richardson 110-118). Description of the book To be availed with the right book can be a great and invaluable resource material, and this book is one of such a kind. Through its organization into various chapters, the book succeeds in highlighting the accounts of the events in the late nineteenth century in America. These events from the Missouri Compromise to the Civil War, and the relaying of other events like the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, the Battle of Little Bighorn and the McKinley Tariff Act of 1890 are all presented in this book. To blend with the tragedy and events that took place around this time, Richardson points to the political posturing, incompetence collision and the might of the military with elegant prose, as well as the outrage among humanity as to being the key contributors to the massacre (Richardson 326-334). I am particularly moved by the expression of events prior to the Massacre; Richardson notes that President Harrison ascends to power and seeking to retain the same during the mid-term election, uses his Republican support to garner support from the West. The Republicans having swept most of the seats give jobs to their patronages; thus, stripping the Sioux of their dignity, land and livelihood. As a result, most of them turn to a religious group – Ghost Dance – which is misinterpreted by the Republicans to being an impending insurgency. This, then led to the atrocity that was witnessed. Particularly, she notes “… a deaf Indian, Black Coyote, insisted on the retaining of his gun and saw no reason for doing so as he had not committed anything wrong” (Richardson 235-239). Therefore, this confirms the factors that set the mood for the massacre, with soldiers surrounding the man and the fight to snatch his gun resulting in a shooting. Richardson in her book also points out to various characters who are perceived to have greatly contributed to the development of the story. One such person is Judge Eli Ricker whom she notes that: “From 1903 to 1926 when he died travelled around South Dakota interviewing individuals associated with the Wounded Knee events.” (Richardson 215-223) He is recorded as to having spent time trying to understand whatever took place at Wounded Knee Creek. For instance, he is noted as among those who signed resolutions criticizing and demanding the imposition of solutions to the problems of Indians by Washington. Personal appreciation or evaluation of the book In my perspective, I find this book as the most intuitive and informative in the relaying of information related to the American Massacre. First, I am impressed by the discussions of the proceedings in the perspective of political and economic changes as a result of the Cold War. I relate the travails experienced by the Indians and the Massacre itself to be solely resultant from the partisan political motivations and the economic depressions caused by the Republican Party. Subsequently, I find that the book greatly moves to achieve its objectives despite the criticisms that have been leveled against it. For instance, the book has enabled me affirm my beliefs about Harrison’s administration from my historical backgrounds, in which it only served to achieve its own interests; thus, Richardson helps me to highlight and bring forth the obscurity that surrounded the administration. A deeper analysis of this book reveals to me the same aspects of living in the current times. Just as were those times, American politics is marked by several issues among them, hazardous levels of speculative investments, a growing gap between the poor and the rich, mid-term elections in which incumbents to the ruling party are booted out, unqualified persons in power and pre-determination of government investigations into matters (Richardson 386-391). All these aspects as brought out in the book are clear indications of the historical growth of America. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning much about the development of West America and the Native Americans. Work Cited Richardson, Heather C. Wounded Knee: Party Politics and the Road to an American Massacre. New York: Basic Books, 2010. Internet resource. Read More