During 1862, at the height of the American Civil War, the United States endured a war within a war when four Dakota men killed five white settlers on August 17, 1862. This war was fought for six weeks and it resulted in the death of many Dakotas and white settlers. At the end of the Dakota War, Governor of Minnesota, Alexander Ramsey had a crucial decision to make regarding the lives of 300 convicted Dakota warriors. For Ramsey, the appropriate way to end the war and provide justice for the families who lost loved ones, was to demand the execution of those Dakota warriors. However, President Abraham Lincoln intervened and reduced the number of death sentences from 300 to 38. Ramsey objected bitterly to this reduction of executions. Still, this remains the largest mass execution in American history. Was Ramsey’s decision of wanting to execute 300 Dakota warriors’ justice, revenge, or merely a political tactic? This website seeks to answer this question.
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AuthorCreated by Alexia M. Orengo Green, as part of the "Historical Methods," a course tought by Matthew Pinsker, from Dickinson College. AcknowledgementsThanks to everyone who made this website possible.
Sources:Image: "Media Room," U.S-Dakota War of 1862, http://www.usdakotawar.org/media-room
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