Let us not forget that between 1865-1890 the federal government and the American people became fixated on the Far West--espec- ially homesteading, transcontinental railroad building, and "pacifying" (eradicating/transforming) the last and most powerful Indian nations across the Mississippi. Very soon after Appomattox, the U.S. army presence jumped from 11,000 to 20,000 soldiers on the "wild frontier," including the 9th & 10th U.S. Cavalry units of black troopers known as "Buffalo Soldiers." President Grant and his old buddies, Generals Sheridan and Sherman, aggressively promoted conquest through the ecocide of the bison herds, massacres of Indian non-combatants, and internment on reservations, using veteran troops and hi-tech weaponry to "solve the Indian Problem." It has been estimated that the USA spent $1 million per Indian killed--or $4 billion altogether--to occupy and pacify the Louisiana Purchase Territory that had only cost $27 million (count- ing mortgage interest) in the first place. The preoccupation with (and actual occupation of) an expanding West of abundant resources, and the rampaging industrialization in the urban North being flooded with new immigrants, filled the government's plate to overflowing, replacing Southern Reconstruction and equitable race relations as dominant agenda items. With the Massacre of Sioux women and children at Wounded Knee in December 1890 that ended the Indian wars (for which Custer's old 7th Cavalry received 27 Medals of Honor), the near-simul- taneous official "closing of the frontier," and the celebration of the Columbian Exposition in 1893--all coinciding with the Jim Crow era--the nation reveled in the dominance of the white race from coast to coast and prepared to export its imperialistic caucasian capitalism (enhanced by territorial conquest and class inequality in the labor force) to lands outside of our borders. That broader focus helps us interpret the US role in the first half of the 20th century, when our military and industrial might, fueling and fueled by the cultural arrogance of the ruling class, made us a prominent player on the international stage. No wonder our searing domestic crises in ethnic and economic relations got put on the back burner for generations. Happy Thanksgiving (aka National Day of Native American Mourning) Fred Fausz St. Louis--Virginianized by Jefferson as the Capital of Western Conquest To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html