President Lincoln and the Sioux Indian uprising in Minnesota in 1862

[RJNorton]

In 1864, Minnesota Governor Ramsey told President Lincoln that if he had executed all 303 Indians, he would have won more backing for his reelection bid. “I could not afford to hang men for votes," came the reply.

As usual, if Lincoln could figure out a way to spare a life, he did it. If they were guilty of rape and murder, they'd have been hung in those times if they were white.

President Linclon probably knew this and took the fairest method to deal with this problem.

Yes. Lincoln took extra precautions to make certain no mistakes were made and only those guilty of the most egregious crimes were hanged. The president deliberately spelled out each name phonetically so there would be no question which men (only the rapists and murderers) to hang.