Circle the wagons
{{Short description|English language idiom}}
{{About|the idiom|the defensive tactic it refers to|Wagon fort|the Darkthrone album|Circle the Wagons (album)}}
Circle the wagons is an English language idiom which may refer to a group of people uniting for a common purpose. Historically the term was used to describe a defensive maneuver which was employed by Americans in the 19th century. The term has evolved colloquially to mean people defending each other.
Etymology
{{further|Wagon fort}}
In America during the mid 1800s many pioneers traveled west by wagon. Typically these were Conestoga wagons and they traveled west in a single file line known as a wagon train. At night the wagons would form a circle around their encampment and livestock for defensive reasons.{{cite book |last1=McCarthy |first1=Pat |title=Heading West |date=2009 |publisher=Chicago Review Press |location=Chicago Illinois |page=25 |isbn=9781613741993 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kbAfYHKr-pUC&dq=indian+attacks+circle+the+wagons+wagon+train&pg=PA25 |access-date=6 November 2021}}{{cite book |last1=Peavy |first1=Linda S. |last2=Smith |first2=Ursala |title=Pioneer women : the lives of women on the frontier |date=1998 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |location=Norman |isbn=9780806130545 |page=35 |edition=Oklahoma paperbacks |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q-j2hvr05G4C&dq=indian+attacks+circle+the+wagons+wagon+train&pg=PA35 |access-date=6 November 2021}}
"Circling the wagon" is still an idiomatic expression for a person or group preparing to defend themselves against attack or criticism.{{cite book | title = Circle the Wagons: The History of US Army Convoy Security | first = Richard E. | last = Killblane | publisher = Combat Studies Institute | year = 2006 | isbn = 9780160770340 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Jn3QAQAACAAJ}}
English language uses
In contemporary English the phrase Circle the wagons is often used figuratively and idiomatically to describe members of a group protecting each other,{{cite web|title=circle the/one's wagons idiom|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/circle%20the%2Fone%27s%20wagons|access-date=5 November 2021|website=Merriam Webster's Unabridged Dictionary|publisher=Merriam Webster's}}{{cite book |last1=Pearson |first1=Carol Lynn |title=No More Goodbyes Circling the Wagons Around Our Gay Loved Ones |date=2007 |publisher=Pivot Point Books |location=Chicago Illinois |isbn=9780963885241}} for instance when political parties and groups defend their own views and chastise those outside of their group.{{cite book |last1=West |first1=Darrell M. |title=Divided politics, divided nation : hyperconflict in the Trump era |date=2019 |publisher=The Bookings Institution |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=9780815736929 |page=175 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gwVrDwAAQBAJ&dq=circle+the+wagons+politics&pg=PA175 |access-date=6 November 2021}}{{cite book |last1=Randolph |first1=Lewis A. |last2=Tate |first2=Gayle T. |title=Rights for a season : the politics of race, class, and gender in Richmond, Virginia |date=2003 |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |location=Knoxville |isbn=1572332247 |page=137 |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5_mvtUaMcq0C&dq=circle+the+wagons+racist&pg=PA137 |access-date=6 November 2021}}
=Cultural insensitivity=
The term frequently describes rival factions banding together to support one another.{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Jessica L. |last2=Houseal |first2=Ana K. |title=America's Largest Classroom |date=21 April 2020 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Oakland California |isbn=9780520340633 |page=24 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iSfRDwAAQBAJ&dq=circle+the+wagons+etymology&pg=PA24 |access-date=6 November 2021}} Some Indigenous people view the term as offensive based on its literal meaning stemming from the manifest destiny era.{{cite book |last1=Stollznow |first1=Karen |title=On the Offensive |date=2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=United Kingdom |isbn=9781108791786 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x0UBEAAAQBAJ&dq=circle+the+wagons+etymology&pg=PT29 |access-date=6 November 2021}} Some critique the term on the basis that it is culturally insensitive and evokes racist images of Native Americans despite the factual history of Native American attacks on wagon trains.{{cite news |last1=Logan |first1=Shawn |title=Calgary Circle the Wagons festival strikes racist chord as organizers vow rebranding |url=https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-circle-the-wagons-festival-strikes-racist-chord-as-organizers-vow-rebranding |access-date=6 November 2021 |publisher=Calgary Herald |date=2 November 2017}}{{cite news |title='It's the right thing to do': Circle the Wagons festival changing its name |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/circle-the-wagons-festival-change-name-1.4233471 |access-date=6 November 2021 |publisher=CBC Radio Canada|date=3 August 2017}}
See also
References
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