-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the July 20, 2000
issue of Workers World newspaper
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: "MARKET ELECTIONS" AND GENERAL CUSTER
I'm very much fascinated with reading the Workers World-
published book, "Market Elections" by Vince Copeland. This
book, I think, breaks new ground in explaining how the U.S.
"market" political system was built, and is an important
contribution to U.S. history.
Copeland shows the importance of the electoral struggle
and crisis of l876, when Black people in the South were
sold out. For in 1877, as Copeland says, the capitalists
under President Rutherford B. Hayes halted Reconstruction
in the South by withdrawing federal troops, known as the
Great Betrayal. The Klan then had a free hand to unleash
terror and take away Black people's rights.
But another factor in the struggle was General Custer of
the Seventh Cavalry. This is written about in the book
"Crazy Horse and Custer, the Parallel Lives of Two American
Warriors." Custer had long been mentioned for president
since Civil War days, when he was a racist pro-slavery
Democrat general who happened to fight for the North. His
hero was Gen. McClelland, who he first served under.
But in 1876, the ruling-class New York Herald under
publisher James Gordon Bennet was pushing hard for Custer.
120 prominent New York Democrats signed a petition against
Democratic contender Tilden, because Tilden wanted to bust
up the leadership of Tammany Hall. This petition was widely
published.
As the Seventh Cavalry rode out looking for the "hostile"
Lakota's in l876, it is documented that Custer told his
Native scouts that if they won the battle up ahead that he
was going to be the next "great white father" and they
would receive his considerations.
As they approached the Little Bighorn Custer refused to
take along extra heavy guns. They would slow him down and
he was in a big hurry. He rode his troops all night and
when they got to the Little Bighorn they were very tired.
But Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull might have whipped them
either way.
The Battle of Little Bighorn took place one day before the
Democratic Convention was to open in St. Louis and Custer's
crushing defeat was probably a huge shock that upset the
electoral calculations of l876. It might have been hoped
that Custer could ride into the White House in a blaze of
glory.
But even with Republican President Hayes the capitalists
effected the Great Betrayal of 1877. And also in l877 the
last of the Lakotas and their allies were forced to
surrender and Crazy Horse was captured and murdered. This
ended the last great Native war of resistance on the plains
and opened the way for the railroads and "manifest
destiny."
Custer's defeat was such a shock that as Leonard Peltier
recently said, they still haven't gotten over it today. The
government is still attacking Native people for it, Peltier
said in a recent interview in the Boulder Weekly.
This is shown by the fact that exactly 99 years later, on
June 25, 1975, one-eighth of the South Dakota Pine Ridge
Reservation was signed over to the transnational uranium
companies for strip mining.
The following day, June 26, Peltier and other American
Indian Movement members were forced to defend themselves
against a massive FBI-led firefight on Pine Ridge, a so-
called "crime" for which Native warrior Peltier is still in
prison.
Jim McMahan
Seattle
- END -
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