A Race at Bay

New York Times Editorials on the Indian Problem, 1860-1900

by Robert G Hays

Robert G. Hays chronicles the "Indian problem" precisely as it was explained to Americans through the editorial columns of the New York Times between 1860 and 1900, the years when battles between white settlers and Native Americans split a nation and its spirit apart.

These editorials express the unbridled bitterness and raw ambition of a nation immersed in an agenda of conquest; they also resonate with the struggle to find a common ground. Others evince an attitude of respect, which set the tone for reconciling national ambition with natural rights.

Hays's collection gives readers what current accounts cannot: perspectives by contemporary writers with unique insights into the public images of Native Americans and their place in a nation bent on expansion. The authentic voices of a national newspaper's daily record speak with an urgency both immediate and real.

304 pp — ©1997