From a spiritual or humanistic/moral viewpoint, the 1800s were America’s darkest period. Sweatshops and the abuse of workers were prevalent, and an orchestrated genocide of the Native American Plains Indians was horrific and savage, as was the purposeful killing of fifty million buffalo. The nobility of the great Plains Indian leaders, such as Black Kettle, White Antelope, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse was unrecognized, as they were perceived as “heathen,” despite the fact that White Antelope had been awarded the Peace Medal by President Lincoln.
… The downside of the whole era was the consequence of the dominance of the survival emotions of hate and fear coming from the old animal brain of the evolutionary ego.
From Truth vs. Falsehood p. 173-174