Media outlets, such as newspapers, are written by bias journalists who sometimes need to over exaggerate the truth in order to produce a story that sways the opinion of the public to pit them against a specific group of people. In the case of the Battle of Little Bighorn, media outlets used the power of the press to pit the public against the Native Americans in order to gain support for the process of forcing the Native Americans onto reservations and into agencies. Not only was the media able to sway the opinion of the public, but they also indirectly switched President Grant’s ethical Peace Policy approach of settling issues between the U.S. and the Native Americans to a more forceful, violent approach in which Grant gave the military
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7th cavalry regiment, led by Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer, and a mixture of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Native Americans which took place from June 25th to June 26th of 1876. Leading up to the battle, Lieutenant Colonel Custer, who once praised a Native American for his skillful way of killing a man with his pistol and then simply paying for his funeral, had invaded the Black Hills, which were sacred to the Sioux and protected by a treaty, during the beginning of the gold rush in the Black Hills. The Native Americans asked the U.S. government to honor the treaty and protect the Black Hills from such an invasion, but in turn the US miners asked them to evict the Native Americans from their land so they could mine for gold. President Grant then proposed the ultimatum that the Sioux had to report to their respected agencies by January 31, 1876 or else they would be subject to capture or killing. The battle is also known as Custer’s Last Stand, in reference to the mysterious death of Lieutenant Colonel Custer and his troops. However, American newspaper journalists decided that there was no other possible explanation besides that the monstrous, merciless, blood-thirsty Indian savages had massacred Custer’s troops. People had claimed that after the “massacre”, they witnessed the Native Americans dancing and celebrating. However, this is incorrect because the Native American village was actually filled …show more content…
These journalists over exaggerated the truth of the Battle of Little Bighorn in order to produce a story that pit the American public against Native Americans and gain support for the process of forcing the Native Americans onto reservations and into agencies. By incorrectly using terms like “massacre” and depicting the Native Americans as merciless “savages”, the media was able to sway the opinion of the public and use the outcry to switch President Grant’s ethical Peace Policy approach. Rather than continuing with peaceful ways to resolve problems with the Native Americans peacefully, Grant was cornered into giving the military orders to subdue all Indians who showed any resistance against Indian agencies. Ultimately, it was the media 's degrading, untruthful denunciation of the Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Native Americans in the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876 that directly and indirectly resulted in Native Americans being uprooted from their lives and forced onto
7th cavalry regiment, led by Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer, and a mixture of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Native Americans which took place from June 25th to June 26th of 1876. Leading up to the battle, Lieutenant Colonel Custer, who once praised a Native American for his skillful way of killing a man with his pistol and then simply paying for his funeral, had invaded the Black Hills, which were sacred to the Sioux and protected by a treaty, during the beginning of the gold rush in the Black Hills. The Native Americans asked the U.S. government to honor the treaty and protect the Black Hills from such an invasion, but in turn the US miners asked them to evict the Native Americans from their land so they could mine for gold. President Grant then proposed the ultimatum that the Sioux had to report to their respected agencies by January 31, 1876 or else they would be subject to capture or killing. The battle is also known as Custer’s Last Stand, in reference to the mysterious death of Lieutenant Colonel Custer and his troops. However, American newspaper journalists decided that there was no other possible explanation besides that the monstrous, merciless, blood-thirsty Indian savages had massacred Custer’s troops. People had claimed that after the “massacre”, they witnessed the Native Americans dancing and celebrating. However, this is incorrect because the Native American village was actually filled …show more content…
These journalists over exaggerated the truth of the Battle of Little Bighorn in order to produce a story that pit the American public against Native Americans and gain support for the process of forcing the Native Americans onto reservations and into agencies. By incorrectly using terms like “massacre” and depicting the Native Americans as merciless “savages”, the media was able to sway the opinion of the public and use the outcry to switch President Grant’s ethical Peace Policy approach. Rather than continuing with peaceful ways to resolve problems with the Native Americans peacefully, Grant was cornered into giving the military orders to subdue all Indians who showed any resistance against Indian agencies. Ultimately, it was the media 's degrading, untruthful denunciation of the Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Native Americans in the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876 that directly and indirectly resulted in Native Americans being uprooted from their lives and forced onto