Ep. 14 | Custer Wins at Little Bighorn | How a Victory Would Have Changed the Great Plains Forever | Daniel Wrinn

What if Custer had won at Little Bighorn, shattering Native American resistance and remapping U.S. history? Picture a scenario where this victory propels an era of unyielding expansion, as the hypothetical Custer Doctrine galvanizes the spirit of manifest destiny across the Great Plains. In this episode, we unravel this captivating alternate history, scrutinizing the military strategies that could have handed Custer a hard-fought victory and how such a win might have accelerated the pace of American settlement. Industries like cattle ranching could have flourished without the looming threat of Native resistance, forever altering the frontier landscape.
Join me as I navigate the potential consequences for Native communities, where the loss of leaders like Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse could have splintered tribal unity, accelerating forced assimilation and the erasure of cultural identity. The psychological toll of this alternate history is profound, envisioning a world where Native resistance crumbles under the relentless advance of U.S. policies. This episode delves into how an absence of significant resistance could have reshaped U.S. politics, border relations, and even sparked territorial disputes. As we ponder how a single battle might tip the balance of history, explore with us the devastating ripple effects on both Native American communities and the expansive frontier.

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