You know there’s that criticism that the Left has no grasp of history. Well, these students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison encapsulated this perfectly with their anti-Columbus antics earlier this month. They held a die-in near Bascom Hall on campus because the statue of Abraham Lincoln near the building reminded them of “the suffering of their ancestors at his command.” Wunk Sheek, an indigenous student group, had about 50 people attend their rally in support of Indigenous People’s Day, which in reality is Columbus Day. Oh, and Lincoln had slaves (via Daily Cardinal) [emphasis mine]:
According to Misha (Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe), co-president of fiscal relations for Wunk Sheek, the demonstration was oriented not only around raising awareness about Columbus, but also about Lincoln’s role in native history.
In 1862, Lincoln ordered the execution of 38 Dakota men, making it the largest mass execution ordered by a U.S. president, according to leaders in Wunk Sheek. For this reason, the organization chose to hold the demonstration in front of his statue on Bascom. A sign hung around Lincoln’s neck describing the execution and ended with “#DecolonizeOurCampus.”
The demonstration was staged as a “die-in” in which supporters laid on the ground in solidarity with the executed Dakota men. The die-in began at 12:26 p.m. to honor the Dec. 26 date of the execution, and lasted for 38 minutes to honor the 38 executed men.
“Everyone thinks of Lincoln as the great, you know, freer of slaves, but let’s be real: He owned slaves, and as natives, we want people to know that he ordered the execution of native men,” Misha said. “Just to have him here at the top of Bascom is just really belittling.”
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Uh, Misha, that’s wrong. And when you can’t get basic history right, like Lincoln not owning slaves, keeping the nation together, and abolishing slavery, which is why he’s considered our greatest president—you make yourself look like a fool. The 38 Sioux were hanged after their capture during the 1862 Dakota War. It’s not one of our nation’s best moments, but Lincoln was also fighting a much more existential threat to the country; an army from the southern states that at the time—was winning the American Civil War. Slavery would never have been abolished. Frankly, Lincoln is a man who fought arguably one of America’s most moral wars. It was the fight for our soul, which was paid for with the lives of over 600,000 men—the bloodiest conflict in American history.
I’m not saying what happened to the Sioux was okay, but this politically correct revisionist history is just insane. No one is good within this view. No one can be that good. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are considered evil people with this nonsense due to them being slave owners. We’re human for goodness sake. These were men of their times. With Lincoln, he was fighting to keep the nation together, while also trying to balance the 13th Amendment’s passage, along with satisfying congressional factions that wanted the Lincoln administration to hear a possible Confederate peace offer in his second term. Sorry, ushering in the death of slavery is worthy of having Lincoln wherever folks deem necessary.
Lincoln had slaves; just think about that. What the hell is going on in our classrooms? A bunch of bulls**t apparently.
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