Unfortunately, I didn't get to watch the History Channel's documentary on Little Big Horn this weekend, but I did happen to catch the promos for the show which billed the event as"America's bloodiest race war."

Beyond the smart-alecky observation that this curious terminology sounds both politically correct and Mansonesque at the same time, I don't have much comment on this. However, I would love to hear some commentary on the use of this term from L&P's resident historians and from the nice folks over at Cliopatria.

Perhaps, someone would be interested in offering their thoughts on the following questions too. From a historical perspective what defines a"race war?" Has the U.S. ever suffered such a traumatic event? If so, which events so qualify and why? Lastly, what separates a"race war" from 'lesser grade' ethnic conflicts?

Oscar Chamberlain - 1/21/2004

Interesting question. I think you can describe the Indian wars as race wars without being PC. After all , racism was an important component in the American perspective.

Most American citizens thought of themselves as white, and that alone was indicative of superiority. In the case of the Plains tribes, the perception of their way of life as inferior exacerbated racism.

I do, however, have some problem with using the term in this context because race is not the only motivating factor. The sense of cultural superiority that I mentioned above is another. The desire to aid the railroads a third. And there are others.