Re: more Churchill/Holocaust
Dwayne Monroe wrote:
In his book “Gunfighter Nation” (1998, Univ. of Oklahoma Press), Richard Slotkin traces the evolution of American attutudes towards Native Americans; from vermin that must be exterminated (the ‘Indian Wars’ period) to “noble savages” who, sadly, had to be removed to make way for a great nation’s rise.
There was also some hope to exploit their labor. According to the committee’s report on Churchill (pp. 34, 37):
The pages referenced by Professor Churchill in the Salisbury book do not contain the words “Wampanoags” and have no discussion of any disease or epidemic (including smallpox). They contain no suggestions that John Smith or anyone else intentionally introduced a disease. Quite the contrary-Salisbury’s discussion of Smith’s plan to move towards English colonization, which focuses on psychological strategies and military repression, includes the prospects for using Indian labor as a cheap labor force.
[…]
There is no question that John Smith was brutal in his treatment of Indians and interested in having English settlers colonize New England. However, the evidence suggests that he viewed the native population as an important source of labor. As Salisbury explains, Smith “would use military repression in order to force the natives to work for their colonial masters.” The evidence that Smith wanted to use Indians as a labor force contradicts Professor Churchill’s contention that he wanted to see them wiped out.