Educational Facilities Quotes
At the time, the well-educated, elite class of Americans would rarely have anything to do with politics or public service towards the end of the 19th century. It was not part of the cultural expectation. Roosevelt was not only one of the rare exceptions, but he argued strongly to his Harvard and other Ivy League associates that they had a duty to become active. Few responded to his appeal but he set a precedent which over the years brought many talented men into politics and civil service.
This treaty ended Red Cloud’s War. It shows a very sophisticated attempt by the white and Indian leadership. In addition to assuring the Indians control over the Black Hills, the parties provided for economic development. A white doctor, teacher, engineer, blacksmith and other technicians were to live on the reservation and teach their trades to the Indians. The Lakota Sioux had been at war with their neighbors before the whites ever came. Hunting and war was all they knew, and this treaty would give them a chance to modernize and earn a living. Unfortunately, gold was found in the Black Hills and whites soon usurped the land breaking the treaty and undoing the progress that had been made. Then the whites seized and confiscated the Sioux land in violation of the treaty and the Government was later ordered to pay $105 million by the courts. The Indians however did not want the money—a fortune then; they wanted their land back.
