On this day, December 26 , in 1862

The largest mass-hanging in US history took place in Mankato, Minnesota. During the US-Dakota War of 1862, 303 Sioux men were convicted of murder by military tribunals and sentenced to death. Although President Lincoln only agreed to order the death of 38 Native Americans, he did promise the politicians of Minnesota that every Native American person in their state would be killed or removed. And to think - the US-Dakota War only broke out in the first place because the US betrayed their treaty with the Dakota.