The Defeat of the 7th Cavalry: Impact on the Nation - Custer's Little Bighorn Loss in the 1876 Indian Campaign, Early Indian Policy, Post Civil War Focus, Effect of the Massacre on the Army, Politics

This excellent report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. From its very infancy, America struggled to form and execute a comprehensive policy to deal with the Indians. However, as the nation grew, management of Indian affairs was often confused, haphazard, and inconsistent. Strategies of treaty-making, land purchases, assimilation of the tribes into "civilized society", and outright removal of the Indians from their traditional lands all competed with each other. The Civil War provided only a brief change of focus away from the Indian problem, and as the country set about its post-war Reconstruction, attention again turned to Indian affairs. By the 1870's the nation was divided into two basic philosophies on the best way to resolve the issue. The population on the frontier favored a heavy-handed military approach, while eastern society leaned toward a softer program of preparing the Indians for integration into "civilization." As the debate continued and the Indian wars became more intense, George Armstrong Custer led his Regiment in its ill-fated attack against a Sioux encampment. This study examines the impact of that event on the nation, its policy towards the Indians, on the Army itself, as well as the politics during the election year of 1876. Additionally, the study examines the media's role and its influence on the American people. It is an attempt to show the major impact that a single event can have on an entire nation.

The nation's focus on westward expansion was interrupted in the mid-19th century by the American Civil War. Once it was concluded, the country set about its Reconstruction, and the focus again turned to the economic growth and settlement of the ever shrinking American west. Once again, the problem of the Indians would have to be solved. What ensued, of course, was more debate, more policy, and increased military involvement. The Indian Wars were again in full swing.

In the midst of this reconstruction period an engagement occurred that has become more famous to Americans, perhaps, than any other single battle with the Indians in the country's history. On a Montana day in June, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer lost his entire force while attacking a large Indian encampment. The worst military defeat for the United States Army in the Indian campaigns had occurred and would become a legend.

Countless volumes have been written about the decimation of Custer's 7th U.S. Cavalry. The tactical errors have all been dissected, each maneuver examined in exhaustive detail, and Custer's motives second guessed. But, beyond the battle itself, what exactly did the defeat at Bighorn mean? What impact did this squadron-size massacre have at the national level — on the national plan for western development?

This study is designed to show the impact of the Little Bighorn on the nation's policy toward the Indians. It will first provide the reader with a brief overview of the development of U.S. policy toward the Indians and conclude with an analysis of how Little Bighorn resulted in an acceleration of the process to settle, once and for all, the "Indian problem".