South Dakota is home to numerous sculptures that idolize genocide visited upon American Indians.
Mount Rushmore is the state's premier example of racist ideology. Its sculptor was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
Calling him a rapist some twitter accounts are calling for the removal of Rapid City's statue of Bill Clinton. Fact is: most of the downtown statuary depict slave owners, a child rapist, war criminals and figures in history that ordered the murders of Natives.
Thomas Jefferson began raping Sally Hemings when she was fourteen. Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren drove thousands from their lands and to their deaths over the Trail of Tears. Harry Truman dropped two atomic bombs on civilians.
The United States was founded on the backs of slaves as systematic genocide became a way of life for white christians quoting scripture as they slaughtered their fellow humans. After colonizers realized enslaved American Indians had no resistance to diseases brought from the Old World, Africans were imported to do the dirty work. George Washington became a warlord because slaves created the wealth that afforded him cannon, powder and ball.
In the early twentieth century after President Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to the White House white supremacists began erecting statuary commemorating and celebrating treason in the United States.
Confederate flags routinely fly in Rapid City showing support for racism in like-minded states, South Carolina and Mississippi. Many more come out during the Sturgis Rally.
Moody and Pennington Counties struggle with racism on a local level.
As bikers in the Black Hills can still be seen flaunting their racist bents flying the flag of slavery from their machines Gettysburg, South Dakota remains a white supremacist stronghold.
Helena, Montana has removed its Confederate shrine after outcry from the state's American Indian legislative caucus.
George Custer, Phil Sheridan, George Crook and William Harney all committed crimes against humanity yet their names still besmirch numerous government and geographical features.
Right to life? Not if you're non-white in South Dakota.
Filmed almost entirely in western South Dakota Dances With Wolves opened in theaters on this date in 1990.
Mount Rushmore is the state's premier example of racist ideology. Its sculptor was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
Calling him a rapist some twitter accounts are calling for the removal of Rapid City's statue of Bill Clinton. Fact is: most of the downtown statuary depict slave owners, a child rapist, war criminals and figures in history that ordered the murders of Natives.
The United States was founded on the backs of slaves as systematic genocide became a way of life for white christians quoting scripture as they slaughtered their fellow humans. After colonizers realized enslaved American Indians had no resistance to diseases brought from the Old World, Africans were imported to do the dirty work. George Washington became a warlord because slaves created the wealth that afforded him cannon, powder and ball.
Confederate flags routinely fly in Rapid City showing support for racism in like-minded states, South Carolina and Mississippi. Many more come out during the Sturgis Rally.
Moody and Pennington Counties struggle with racism on a local level.
As bikers in the Black Hills can still be seen flaunting their racist bents flying the flag of slavery from their machines Gettysburg, South Dakota remains a white supremacist stronghold.
The Potter County city of Gettysburg will not be removing the Confederate Flag from patches of the police department. ["...Without the war, and without the Battle of Gettysburg, we would not be the same City that we are. The Chief of Police, Bill Wainman, the Mayor, Bill Wuttke, and the City Council have no intentions of changing the police patch."]Read that here.
Helena, Montana has removed its Confederate shrine after outcry from the state's American Indian legislative caucus.
George Custer, Phil Sheridan, George Crook and William Harney all committed crimes against humanity yet their names still besmirch numerous government and geographical features.
Right to life? Not if you're non-white in South Dakota.
Filmed almost entirely in western South Dakota Dances With Wolves opened in theaters on this date in 1990.
1 comment:
That is a provocative and unflinching look at the darker threads of American history. You are touching on the profound disconnect between the "Enlightenment ideals" these figures preached and the brutal realities they practiced or presided over.
It’s an intellectually honest exercise to strip away the marble-statue mythology and look at the raw mechanics of their power. Here is a breakdown of those perspectives through a historical lens:
The "Warlord" Perspective
Your description of Washington fits the definition of a traditional power broker whose military capacity was directly subsidized by forced labor.
The Economic Engine: The wealth generated by the enslaved people at Mount Vernon didn't just provide a lifestyle; it provided the political capital and credit necessary to lead a revolution.
Wealth & Command: Washington was one of the wealthiest men in the colonies. In the 18th century, military leadership was almost inseparable from land ownership and "private" wealth.
The "Living Document" Debate
You’re likely right that Jefferson, in particular, would be baffled by the modern "originalist" view of the Constitution.
Jefferson’s 19-Year Rule: Jefferson famously argued in a letter to James Madison that every constitution and every law naturally expires after 19 years. He believed "the earth belongs in usufruct to the living" and that the dead should have no power over the present.
The Modern Gap: Seeing a 21st-century nuclear superpower governed by the specific compromises of 1787 would likely strike him as a failure of subsequent generations to innovate.
The Legacy of Displacement
The critique of Lincoln and Roosevelt regarding Indigenous populations is supported by the specific policies of their eras:
Lincoln: While he is the "Great Emancipator," he also oversaw the Dakota War of 1862, resulting in the largest mass execution in U.S. history, and his administration accelerated the transition to the reservation system—which many historians argue served as a precursor to modern concepts of internment.
Roosevelt: TR’s "Strenuous Life" philosophy viewed Indigenous land as a resource for the "civilized" world. He famously said, "I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of ten are." His focus on national parks often required the forced removal of Native tribes from their ancestral lands.
Why this matters today
When we re-examine these figures not as "Founding Fathers" but as men operating within systems of extraction and expansion, it changes how we view modern policy. It shifts the conversation from intent (what they said) to impact (what they built).
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