Populism and the Threat of Genocide

Just finished a book on Andrew Jackson by NPR’s Steve Inskeep called Jacksonland. It is a cautionary tale of the rise of populism, the emerging politics of manifest destiny, and the curious coincidence of slavery and the genocide of native peoples.

The chapter about the last trail of tears forced removal was particularly difficult to listen too. In 1838 General Winfield Scott, following the orders of Jackson’s successor, Martin Van Buren, forced 17,000 Cherokees from their farms in Georgia and marched them to Oklahoma. 4,000 died from disease, malnutrition, starvation, and cold.

Scott had no choice. Georgia had already conducted an illegal lottery parceling out Cherokee lands. Even though he knew that many would die on this journey, he knew even more would have been murdered in their homes if Georgians were allowed to evict them themselves.

We all know about our ignominious history of making and breaking treaties. This tragedy was driven by the greed of Georgians and the unwillingness of the Federal government to confront southern states in the years before the Civil War. Jackson had managed to preserve the union, but the cost was paid with the deaths of 10,000 native people.

We can cluck about this history and suggest that it was a different time. We’re more informed now. More tolerant and appreciative of human rights. We won WWII. We were the good guys who rescued the Jews from the Nazi death camps. This sort of mass incarceration and genocide could never happen again here.

The sad truth, however, is that it can. If people are afraid and angry, they can be convinced to do terrible things. If people see an opportunity to gain power by playing to those fears, terrible things can happen. We could elect a leader who promises to forcibly deport 10M people living in this country illegally. We could elect a leader who would restrict the rights of another 2.75M people just because of their religion.

History warns us of the consequences of fear mongering demagogues and the terrible things people will do when they feel they are participating in some sort of righteous ethnic or religious cleansing.

It couldn’t happen here?

It did and it certainly could again.