"Minnesota political authorities wanted the federal army to immediately execute all 303 of the condemned men.
Lincoln, however, was concerned that such a mass execution of so many men who had so obviously been railroaded would be looked upon in a bad light by the European powers who, at the time, were threatening to support the Confederate cause in the War for Southern Independence.
His compromise was to pare the list of condemned down to 39, with a promise to the Minnesota political establishment that the federal army would eventually kill or remove every last Indian from the state.
As a sweetener to the deal Lincoln also offered Minnesota $2 million in federal funds.
On December 26, 1862, Abraham Lincoln ordered the largest mass execution in American history in which the guilt of the executed could not be positively determined beyond reasonable doubt.
(The cartel of 'Lincoln scholars' actually praises Lincoln for this act, claiming that it is yet another example of his humanitarianism and his 'culture of life.' He may well have killed 39 innocent people, they say, but it could have been much worse)."
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