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1 Guy Nichols, et al., Judge Isaac C. Parker: Myths and Legends aside [1] (1995)

handle is hein.death/jicpml0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Judge Isaac C. Parker Myths and Legends Aside Time will have little effect on the legacy of Judge Isaac Charles Parker. The man and the myth loom over Fort Smith and, indeed, much of Oklahoma, and his influence upon their destinies still can be felt today. As with many great men, the image does not quite fit the man. The people of today owe much to newspapers of the 1880's and 1890's, for in these newspapers can be found the day-to-day realities of a man often called the most powerful judge in American judicial history. Isaac Parker was a legitimate federal judge duly appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant. In fact, it was the president who approached Parker to take the position. One popular misconception is that Parker was some variety of self-appointed official who decided to take up residence at Fort Smith because he saw a great potential to hang people. This is pure myth. As events would prove, it was Parker's judicial legitimacy coupled with his personal honor, integrity and devotion to duty that stemmed the tides of crime and exploitation in the Indian Country. In 1882 at Washington, D.C., certain factions wanting to increase their own gains through exploitation of the Indian tribes and their lands west of Fort Smith constantly besieged legislative ears at the nation's Capitol. The message was always the same: There are too many hangings in Fort Smith. This proves there is too little civilization in the Indian Country. If this area was made an organized territory, the problem would be solved. Simplistically, there were two flaws in this reasoning. The first flaw was that the word civilization had different meanings to different people. To those living in the Indian Country, civilization -meant further encroachment by outsiders upon lands guaranteed by treaty to the Five Civilized Tribes. To land speculators and others, the term civilization was the excuse needed to gain entrance to the riches within Indian Country-land, minerals and timber-wealth that was protected by treaties and laws enforced only by the Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas. The second flaw was that those voicing the need for territorialization never really got around to explaining how long-standing problems, particularly crime, in Indian Country would be solved by a lone act ot Congress. Newspapers across the country, many with direct ties to railroads, land speculators or other similar interests, took up the cause of territorialization and decried Parker's violent court and the court's officers, portraying them as bloodthirsty and cruel. There were even hints that residents of Indian Country needed some form of protection from the gallows. The answer, as these newspapers were quick to note, was congressional legislation making Indian Country an organized territory. Once the territory was established, other courts with other judges could be created to take over the duties of the Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas. Privately, it was believed that once in place these new judges could be easily persuaded to ignore the precedents set by Judge Parker's rulings and side with outside interests. Parker realized that he and his court were being used as propaganda vehicles for those wishing to exploit the Indian lands: However, what really concerned him was what was taking place in Congress. Legislators looking west from their vantage point in Washington saw only the gallows on the horizon and not the political foundation upon which it stood-a foundation based entirely upon solemn treaties ratified by Congress. These treaties and the other federal laws of the land were being enforced in Indian Country by Parker's court. And it was by enforcement of these treaties and laws that exploitation was slowed. Judge Isaac C. Parker shortly before his death in 1896. TE~'.VUrpi

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