BLACK HAWK WAR and Chief Black Hawk - Part I

My History Can Beat Up Your Politics

In 1832, a renegade chief crossed the Mississippi river. In his view, it was simply to get back to his cornfields. But the United States considered it an invasion, and reacted accordingly, and at first, badly, leading to deaths on both sides. It was, according to the general that led troops in the war, a mistake. But it would make the careers of Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and Zachary Taylor and open up western settlement.

Yet if Black Hawk was an enemy, why was he embraced by those that defeated him. Why in the name of newspapers, in the county courthouse, in state motos and in attack helicopters, does he remain? We look at the story of Black Hawk, his 'war,' and the consequences. We'll look at appropriation of Native American symbols and the legacy of Black Hawk's war today.

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