Essay/Term paper: Louis riel

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Louis Riel should not have been hung because he
represented those who couldn"t represent themselves.
Louis Riel was disappointed with the way the Métis were,
so he took it upon himself to represent the Métis and their
rights. Even though the actions that followed, such as
keeping the new governor out the colony, was illegal and
very wrong. Riel risked it for the rights of the Métis. As for
Thomas Scott, Riel has absolutely no legal right to have
him shot, but Riel himself never touched a gun for that
purpose. He had a firing squad shoot Scott. Although, Riel
may have ordered the squad to shoot, but the men could
have backed down, no matter how powerful Riel seemed.
After the rebellion, he was elected by Manitoba to sit in
the House of Commons. Riel went to Ottawa but was not
allowed to sit as a member in the House, for he was
threatened by many to be shot if he appeared in the
House. This was the mistake of the government. They
should have sopped the nonsense and threats. For Riel
was a man of ideas. He was a man who was knowledged in
the government. It was obvious since he formed his own
government. Riel would have been an asset to the
Canadian government.
In 1884, Gabriel Dumont rode to Montana and asked
Riel to defend the Métis once again. Riel returned to help
the natives once more. Riel was risking capture when he
returned. This was a very noble act on his part. Instead of
staying nice and safe in Montana, Riel gave up his safety
for the Métis. Riel decided to try an unviolent approach
this time instead of starting an all out rebellion. Riel and
the Métis drew up a petition and presented it to the
government. The petition, which demanded more food
and money for the natives, was looked over but not acted
upon. The petition was fair in all parts but the government
turned it down. It only demanded that what belonged to
the natives be returned.
In early 1885, Riel formed another provisional
government, and started another rebellion. His followers
killed many army troops, but once again it was not the
hand of Riel that killed so many. It was of people who had
their own thoughts and intuitions. They could have easily
said no to Riel instead of shooting. In which case Riel was
not fully responsible for the deaths. After a long rebellion
consisting of many battles, Riel gave himself up. It was his
actions that stopped the fighting and the killing. A lesser
man could not have done such a thing.
Riel was a prisoner of the Canadian government and
was brought to trial for his part in the rebellion. During his

trial, Riel"s lawyer thought the only way to get Riel out of
this mess was for him to plead insanity. Riel would not
plead insanity for he did not want his followers to look
foolish. It was said, "how could an insane person lead 700
people into a rebellion unless they were all insane?" Louis
was a truthful man and would not plead insane because he
was considerate as well. Riel believed he had an unfair
jury, as the jury consisted of six english speaking settlers
were chosen. Riel"s arguments were not listened to and he
died an innocent man. Not guilty of killing many people,
treason, forming a provisional government, and standing
up for the right of the natives.