gimme everything you own, and then beg to get it back

[ursako]

We've been reading about the various methods by which the United States took land from the native tribes. It's not quite what you'd expect- long before the government came anywhere near putting the tribes on reservations, our nation's greatest minds were working on the assumption that as heirs to the discovering nations that came before them, the

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One of my favorite

[agent_grey]

Great hypocritical moments out of this period was one that happened with the Algonquans, I believe, sort of late in the whole manifest destiny process.

Some "savages" had realized what was happening to all the other native peoples, so they actually restructured their community of 300 or so to be as much like the invading whites as possible. They set up european style homes and farms and even a Christian church.

Of course what did the settlers do when they saw these uncivilized primatives doing every last thing they could to adapt? Welcome them with open arms and Christian charity?

No, as usual, slaughter as many as possible, and then move in to the houses and farms and just pick up where the work was left off. I'll never understand how these people slept at night.

[lobsterbox]

I remember reading a quote from that great American hero, John Wayne, saying something to the effect that the Native Americans deserved to have their land taken from them because they were selfishly taking up space that the Europeans needed. What a fine citizen!