This Day in History – Dec. 26, 1862: 38 Dakota Men Executed by Order of Abraham Lincoln

This Day in History: Dec. 26, 1862 — On the day after Christmas, on Dec. 26, 1862, 38 Dakota men were hanged in the largest mass-hanging in U.S. history. The executions were ordered by President Abraham Lincoln. In a separate historic order, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which granted his administration to free the slaves, went into effect six days later on Jan. 1, 1863.

The Dakota hangings were the result of conflict between the Dakota and settlers.

American Indian author Mark Charles wrote for Native News Online:

In the fall of 1862, after the United States failed to meet its treaty obligations with the Dakota people, several Dakota warriors raided an American settlement, killed five settlers and stole some food. This began a period of armed conflict between some of the Dakota people, the settlers, and the US Military. After more than a month, several hundred of the Dakota warriors surrendered and the rest fled north to what is now Canada. Those who surrendered were quickly tried in military tribunals, and 303 of them were condemned to death.

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