13 July 2020

Applying the "big stick" domestically


The discussion thread notes that Teddy Roosevelt was not as charitable in his attitude toward Native Americans.

5 comments:

  1. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/theodore-roosevelt-mississippi-postmaster/

    She actually never returned to the position, according to Snopes.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, the infographic is poorly worded.

      "Roosevelt reportedly received Cox’s resignation notice on 5 December 1902. Instead of accepting it, however, the president ordered that the Indiananola post office’s operations be suspended, with service resuming on the condition that Cox be allowed to continue her duties. Roosevelt also ensured her salary continued to be paid after the office was closed. In the meanwhile, Indiananola’s mail was rerouted to Greenville, and the Roosevelt administration ordered Attorney General Philander Chase Knox to prosecute anyone who had threatened Cox, although it is unclear whether many cases were actually opened before the latter initiative was ignored.

      On 5 January 1903, Cox left Indianola, with residents reportedly saying that if she returned to the town she “would get her neck broken inside of two hours.” The post office was reopened the following year under the direction of a new white postmaster, William Martin."

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  2. You gotta love Teddy for giving it to the lowdown racists.

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  3. All people are a mixture of good and evil. To quote Pratchett, again, "the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape". We need to rememver to judge all historical figures accurately, good and bad, as the humans they are, and not the icons we prefer to think of them ass. Praise the good, condemn the bad, and see to it that mistakes aren't repeated. That's all any of us can do.

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  4. We tend to either laud people that we hold up as 'heros' and denounce people we cast down as 'villains.' When the truth is, people are almost never all one or the other. The real truth is the following: History is written by the victors.

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