Essay On The Sand Creek Massacre

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Title: The Sand Creek Massacre
Research Question: What were the reasons behind the gold rush in Colorado in the 19th century and the war atrocities committed by United States Government towards the culmination of the Sand Creek Massacre?
Though Colorado was not yet a state in the 1950s, the gold prospects within the territories which were still under Kansas at the time led to an influx of emigrants in a land that was originally occupied by Native Indians. The Colorado gold rush to this day is considered to have been the largest in the United States in the 19th century forming an intricate description of the country’s history in general. Following the discovery of gold in 1859 thousands of people descended towards the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, …show more content…

The attack led to a series of retaliatory attacks by the Native Indians. Chivington was an ambitious politicians and a former preacher in the Methodist church, and had seized the opportunity of the attacks to spearhead his political plans. Following his disappointment that the conflicts had not yet resulted to any significant battles by 1864, Chivington resulted to unwarranted attacks through burning the Native Indians villages. Moreover, his missions were well supported by the white settlers as they had interests in the region. On the other hand, under the leadership of Black Kettle, the Cheyene Indians had resoted to peaceful alliances with the US government and at a particular time he travelled to Denver with the aim of affirming his peaceful accords. However, on 29th November that year, after a night of heavy drinking, Chivington ordered the massacre of the Native Indians. The massacre majorly led to the deaths of children and women and since then it has been referred to as the Sand Creek