Historian and author Scott W. Berg visits the Vernon Area Library to discuss his new book, 38 NOOSES: LINCOLN, LITTLE CROW & THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE FRONTIER about the often-overlooked Dakota War and the largest government execution in American history.
Berg illuminates the growing clashes between European settlers and native Dakota and reveals the contradictory stances taken by such participants as chief Little Crow, a white woman Little Crow had taken as a hostage, an Episcopalian bishop, army officers, and political leaders—including Abraham Lincoln.
The first military commission used in the Indian wars sentenced 303 warriors to death after hearings that were held without defense representation and usually lasted only a few minutes. Lincoln stayed most of the executions, rejecting the commission’s criterion that "any armed resistance to white encroachment was worthy of death." Nevertheless, in America’s largest mass execution, 38 Dakota men were hanged from a single scaffold in December 1862.
Copies of Mr. Berg's book, 38 NOOSES: LINCOLN, LITTLE CROW & THE BEGINNING OF THE FRONTIER'S END, will be available for purchase and signing at the event, courtesy of Lake Forest Book Store. Signed books make great holiday gifts.
This event is free and open to all. Registration is recommended. Register online at http://calendar.vapld.info/eventsignup.asp?ID=8133, by telephone at 224-543-1485, or in person at the library.
