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Murder State

California's Native American Genocide, 1846-1873

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Murder State

By: Brendan C. Lindsay
Narrated by: Jim Wentland
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About this listen

In the second half of the 19th century, the Euro-American citizenry of California carried out mass genocide against the Native population of their state, using the processes and mechanisms of democracy to secure land and resources for themselves and their private interests. The murder, rape, and enslavement of thousands of Native people were legitimized by notions of democracy - in this case mob rule - through a discreetly organized and brutally effective series of petitions, referenda, town hall meetings, and votes at every level of California government.

Murder State is a comprehensive examination of these events and their early legacy. Preconceptions about Native Americans as shaped by the popular press and by immigrants' experiences on the Overland Trail to California were used to further justify the elimination of Native people in the newcomers' quest for land. The allegedly "violent nature" of Native people was often merely their reaction to the atrocities committed against them as they were driven from their ancestral lands and alienated from their traditional resources. Murder State calls attention to the misuse of democracy to justify and commit genocide.

©2012 Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska (P)2016 Redwood Audiobooks
Indigenous Peoples Native American State & Local California Indians

Critic Reviews

"One of the most important works ever published on the history of American Indians in California in the mid-nineteenth century." ( Indian Country)
"A significant historical account detailing white pioneers perpetrating genocide against California Indians." ( Journal of American Studies)
"Perhaps the most provocative aspect of his book is Lindsay's connection of American democracy to the killing of Indians." ( American Historical Review)

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