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Thursday, July 24, 2003
Finished the Lincoln book today. I had stopped into the "Forbidden Deli" (another story) yesterday morning and the native American lady who waited on me noticed the book with Abe's face on the cover. She stated that she knew two things about Abraham Lincoln: first, she proceeded to rattle off a fairly lengthy quote, the content of which I do not recall. Second, she stated that in 18XX he approved the death sentence of 20 or 30 something Sioux, or some other native Americans. I sensed she was not a big fan. I asked what the reason was for their execution and she stated, "Because they were Indians." I scoffed before I could catch myself and then kindly stated, "Oh, now there had to be more to it than that I would imagine. That is awful; I'll look into that." She then said, something to the effect of, "NO, really. There was some kind of massacre and the pioneers demanded it and so he allowed the execution." I shared with her the re-telling of the Confederate spy who some in Lincoln's administration wanted to make and example of via public execution and wanted to ensure it happened while Lincoln was away from Washington as he otherwise would not allow it. The secretary of war signed the orders for the execution to happen the following morning as Lincoln was not due to arrive until late the following day. President Lincoln returned sooner than expected and put an end to the whole affair and did not allow the execution. 7/24/2003 04:19:00 PM by Todd Bacon 0 comments | ||
