"Let us have peace," President Ulysses S. Grant declared. Few imagined that within a decade his Army-led in part by George Armstrong Custer-would march into Sioux country and ignite one of the most consequential wars of the American West. Extermination or Civilization presents a meticulously documented account of the decade leading to the Great Sioux War, drawing on contemporary newspapers, congressional records, military documents, journals, books, and firsthand published accounts. It reveals how political expediency, shifting federal policies, and the attractions of gold, converged to push the nation toward conflict. For readers seeking a grounded, primary-source-driven history of America's westward expansion through Indian land and its entanglement with post-Civil War Reconstruction politics, this book offers a compelling and essential perspective. Here is political corruption, manifest destiny, and the invasion of Native American lands. Why did Grant choose war?