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The Resource Murder at the mission : a frontier killing, its legacy of lies, and the taking of the American West, Blaine Harden

Murder at the mission : a frontier killing, its legacy of lies, and the taking of the American West, Blaine Harden

Creator
Author
Summary
"The New York Times bestselling author of Escape From Camp 14 returns with the riveting and revealing story of one of the most persistent "alternative facts" in American history: the story of a missionary, a tribe, a massacre, and a myth that shaped the American West In 1836, two missionaries and their wives were among the first Americans to cross the Rockies by covered wagon on what would become the Oregon Trail. Dr. Marcus Whitman and Reverend Henry Spalding were headed to present-day Washington state and Idaho, where they aimed to convert members of the Cayuse and Nez Perce tribes. Both would fail spectacularly as missionaries. But Spalding would succeed as a propagandist, inventing a story that recast his friend as a hero, and helped to fuel the massive westward migration that would eventually lead to the devastation of those they had purportedly set out to save. As Spalding told it, after uncovering a British and Catholic plot to steal the Oregon Territory from the United States, Whitman undertook a heroic solo ride across the country to alert the President. In fact, he had traveled to Washington to save his own job. Soon after his return, Whitman, his wife, and eleven others were massacred by a group of Cayuse. Though they had ample reason--Whitman supported the explosion of white migration that was encroaching on their territory, and seemed to blame for a deadly measles outbreak--the Cayuse were portrayed as murderous savages. Five were executed. This fascinating, impeccably researched narrative traces the ripple effect of these events across the century that followed. While the Cayuse eventually lost the vast majority of their territory, thanks to the efforts of Spalding and others who turned the story to their own purposes, Whitman was celebrated well into the middle of the 20th century for having "saved Oregon." Accounts of his heroic exploits appeared in congressional documents, The New York Times, and Life magazine, and became a central founding myth of the Pacific Northwest. Exposing the hucksterism and self-interest at the root of American myth-making, Murder at the Mission reminds us of the cost of American expansion, and of the problems that can arise when history is told only by the victors"--
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xxxi, 432 pages
Isbn
9780525561668
Instance
Label
Murder at the mission : a frontier killing, its legacy of lies, and the taking of the American West
Title
Murder at the mission
Title remainder
a frontier killing, its legacy of lies, and the taking of the American West
Statement of responsibility
Blaine Harden
Title variation
Frontier killing, its legacy of lies, and the taking of the American West
Creator
Author
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
"The New York Times bestselling author of Escape From Camp 14 returns with the riveting and revealing story of one of the most persistent "alternative facts" in American history: the story of a missionary, a tribe, a massacre, and a myth that shaped the American West In 1836, two missionaries and their wives were among the first Americans to cross the Rockies by covered wagon on what would become the Oregon Trail. Dr. Marcus Whitman and Reverend Henry Spalding were headed to present-day Washington state and Idaho, where they aimed to convert members of the Cayuse and Nez Perce tribes. Both would fail spectacularly as missionaries. But Spalding would succeed as a propagandist, inventing a story that recast his friend as a hero, and helped to fuel the massive westward migration that would eventually lead to the devastation of those they had purportedly set out to save. As Spalding told it, after uncovering a British and Catholic plot to steal the Oregon Territory from the United States, Whitman undertook a heroic solo ride across the country to alert the President. In fact, he had traveled to Washington to save his own job. Soon after his return, Whitman, his wife, and eleven others were massacred by a group of Cayuse. Though they had ample reason--Whitman supported the explosion of white migration that was encroaching on their territory, and seemed to blame for a deadly measles outbreak--the Cayuse were portrayed as murderous savages. Five were executed. This fascinating, impeccably researched narrative traces the ripple effect of these events across the century that followed. While the Cayuse eventually lost the vast majority of their territory, thanks to the efforts of Spalding and others who turned the story to their own purposes, Whitman was celebrated well into the middle of the 20th century for having "saved Oregon." Accounts of his heroic exploits appeared in congressional documents, The New York Times, and Life magazine, and became a central founding myth of the Pacific Northwest. Exposing the hucksterism and self-interest at the root of American myth-making, Murder at the Mission reminds us of the cost of American expansion, and of the problems that can arise when history is told only by the victors"--
Assigning source
Provided by publisher
Biography type
contains biographical information
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Harden, Blaine
Dewey number
979.5/030922
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
F880
LC item number
.H266 2021
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Whitman, Marcus
  • Spalding, Henry Harmon
  • Whitman Massacre, 1847
  • Cayuse Indians
  • Cayuse Indians
  • Nez Percé Indians
  • Nez Percé Indians
  • Missionaries
  • Northwest, Pacific
  • Columbia Plateau
Label
Murder at the mission : a frontier killing, its legacy of lies, and the taking of the American West, Blaine Harden
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 367-416) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Control code
on1246781510
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
xxxi, 432 pages
Isbn
9780525561668
Lccn
2020053152
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)1246781510
Label
Murder at the mission : a frontier killing, its legacy of lies, and the taking of the American West, Blaine Harden
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 367-416) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Control code
on1246781510
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
xxxi, 432 pages
Isbn
9780525561668
Lccn
2020053152
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)1246781510

Subject

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