What is your perspective on American history?

[Alligatorob]

This is an interesting thread.

All history is necessarily a summary including some things but not others. So there is always some bias in making the choices, as well as how things are presented. And the old adage that History is written by the victors is usually true.

So about all we can do is learn the key events of history, and read or watch what we can from the various points of view.

Being from the US South I had the history of the Civil War, or the "War of Northern Aggression" as some call it, beaten into me and from a pretty pro-confederate point of view. So I guess not all is written by the victors. I recall many an hour sitting with my great aunts listening to tales of bravery and valor by my Confederate Army ancestors. Once while listening to the 100th recounting of what some captain or colonel did my mother's brother leaned over and whispered to me that apparently there were no enlisted men in the Confederate forces...

 

[Packerjohn]

I have just started reading a book that was borrowed to me by my brother. It's called, "The Untold History of the United States" by Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick. It starts with World War I, goes on with the New Deal, World War II and after a long time ends up with the Cold War, The Bush-Cheney Debacle and finally Obama. The book is very educational, well researched and you would learn a lot about the USA that chances are very good your history teacher never told you. It is over 600 pages so it is not a quick read but as far as I am concerned time well spent.

 

[Murrmurr]

How many Americans are aware that what they have been taught is not accurate? Just as Catholics have been taught that theirs is the one True Church, people are being fed a distorted view of the facts.

It varies from state to state, but most public schools have tossed out the old textbooks on American History and teach only what are considered the most relevant and imortant facts, like when and how the US gov't was established, the most crucial wars and conflicts the US was involved in (mainly nation-building ones), the establishment of state-hoods, and important discoveries and inventions.

 

[Murrmurr]

MY perspective on American History? It isn't much different from many other countries but it happened a whole lot quicker.

 

[Jeni]

It varies from state to state, but most public schools have tossed out the old textbooks on American History and teach only what are considered the most relevant and imortant facts, like when and how the US gov't was established, the most crucial wars and conflicts the US was involved in (mainly nation-building ones), the establishment of state-hoods, and important discoveries and inventions.

i think too many teachers ( varies by location) just teach dates and basics to fulfill a test not for understanding.
Yes there are/ were some things glossed over or barely examined but reality is to teach from every perspective would not be possible unless that was your only class.

 

[Signe The Survivor]

i think too many teachers ( varies by location) just teach dates and basics to fulfill a test not for understanding.
Yes there are/ were some things glossed over or barely examined but reality is to teach from every perspective would not be possible unless that was your only class.

Dates and the basics are important facts for sure, but do not give the story of history. That is why in my history classrooms I expected discussion from the students. It brought up many different perspectives on the topic some I even wouldn't have thought of when developing the lesson myself. It also made for the classes to go quickly as many of my students would tell me. I was definitely not one of those teachers that stood up in front of the classroom and lectured the entire time. The students did most of the talking in my classes and I would be more of the moderator of it all.

 

[JimBob1952]

American history was white washed. Seeing what @Lavinia wrote reminds me of a great example. How does one "discover" America when Native Americans already lived here? That's like me going to your home, abusing your family then kicking you and your family out after you've graciously fed me and saying "Look at this nice house I discovered." The contributions of African Americans was almost totally left out. I learned something about George Washington Carver and the peanut. All of his other accomplishments were omitted, as were those of other African Americans who had done great things. Howard Zinn's Wiki page "He wrote a history text, A People's History of the United States, to provide other perspectives on American history. The book depicts the struggles of Native Americans against European and U.S. conquest and expansion, slaves against slavery, unionists and other workers against capitalists, women against patriarchy, and African-Americans for civil rights. The book was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1981.[28]"
Zinn also published a version of the book for younger readers. A friend of mine had read the adult version first and told me how astonished she was at it's contents. So much so she had to go back and read some parts again. She gave me a copy as a present.

Howard Zinn was a Communist. I mean that more or less literally. He was a member of Communist front groups who hated the United States and everything it stands for. He wrote his "history" in the context of the Marxist class struggle. It's full of grotesque lies and oversimplifications. One of the most famous is his description of the Marshall Plan as an effort to expand US corporate interests in Europe.

Yes, we treated indigenous peoples and black people badly. So did the Dutch, the Germans, the British, the Arab world, the Russians, the Belgians, the French, the Spanish, the Portuguese...the Chinese murdered untold millions under Mao, as did the Russians under Stalin. I really don't need a Marxist lecturing me on what we've done wrong as a country.

 

[JimBob1952]

I have just started reading a book that was borrowed to me by my brother. It's called, "The Untold History of the United States" by Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick. It starts with World War I, goes on with the New Deal, World War II and after a long time ends up with the Cold War, The Bush-Cheney Debacle and finally Obama. The book is very educational, well researched and you would learn a lot about the USA that chances are very good your history teacher never told you. It is over 600 pages so it is not a quick read but as far as I am concerned time well spent.

Oliver Stone? The guy who says the CIA killed JFK? You're right, my history teacher never told me that. That's because my history teacher, unlike Oliver stone, was not a crackpot or a conspiracy nutcase.

 

[rgp]

Well ... When i was a kid we were taught that Columbus discovered the new world ....... He did not, there were already people here . It was later disclosed that he actually landed somewhere in the Caribbean . So, I question everything about it now. And i double check most everything about history as i hear it.

IMO I think it may well be possible that Leif Erickson was the first here .... From Europe ... But i also believe our native indigenous folks were here even then.

 

[JaniceM]

IMO I think it may well be possible that Leif Erickson was the first here .... From Europe ... But i also believe our native indigenous folks were here even then.

I was taught that in elementary school.

 

[JimBob1952]

Here's my perspective on American history: It is messy, eventful, and sometimes heroic. It starts with the concept of freedom, but only for white property owning men. That concept expands steadily to encompass all adult citizens. The process is chaotic, violent, and often uneven, but it happens.

The pursuit of freedom sometimes causes Americans to neglect what might be called the "common good." We are coming to terms with that now in regard to the environment, to economic inequality, and even in our response to something like the pandemic. Some Americans think their rights, as they see them, outweigh the common good. It's a difficult balancing act.

 

[JimBob1952]

Well ... When i was a kid we were taught that Columbus discovered the new world ....... He did not, there were already people here . It was later disclosed that he actually landed somewhere in the Caribbean . So, I question everything about it now. And i double check most everything about history as i hear it.

IMO I think it may well be possible that Leif Erickson was the first here .... From Europe ... But i also believe our native indigenous folks were here even then.

Columbus made four voyages and landed in the Bahamas, Trinidad, Cuba, what is now Venezuela and elsewhere.

Leif Ericsson established a colony in Newfoundland more than a thousand years ago. And fishermen from Spain and Portugal fished the cod banks of the New World long before Columbus got here.

Supposedly people made the trek across the Bering Straits to the Americas about 15 to 20000 years ago, but now they're saying they also came by boat down the west coast of Canada. And there are arguments about whether there was anybody here when they got here...

 

[Signe The Survivor]

I think a much better way to explain Christopher Columbus is not that he actually discovered America as he is so widely credited in doing so, but in my opinion it would be more accurate to say that Columbus introduced the Americas to Western Europe during his four voyages between 1492 and 1502.

 

[Chet]

In a full day of classes in school, only the highlights of history are taught. It's only as we grow and get older do we get into the depths of the story that are left out in the classroom. There just isn't the time to get into the weeds when algebra is next.

 

[Signe The Survivor]

In a full day of classes in school, only the highlights of history are taught. It's only as we grow and get older do we get into the depths of the story that are left out in the classroom. There just isn't the time to get into the weeds when algebra is next.

Being a History teacher I valued the importance of the subject and certainly taught it as a valued subject. I also knew what the two most important and focused upon subjects in the school system were and they are English and Math for sure. Science is also given more value than History.

 

[JaniceM]

Being a History teacher I valued the importance of the subject and certainly taught it as a valued subject. I also knew what the two most important and focused upon subjects in the school system were and they are English and Math for sure. Science is also given more value than History.

If you don't mind me asking, what grade level/levels did you teach?

 

[Signe The Survivor]

If you don't mind me asking, what grade level/levels did you teach?

I taught in high school. Grades 9 through 12.

 

[JaniceM]

In a full day of classes in school, only the highlights of history are taught. It's only as we grow and get older do we get into the depths of the story that are left out in the classroom. There just isn't the time to get into the weeds when algebra is next.

History is essential. Higher level math is not.

 

[Signe The Survivor]

History is essential. Higher level math is not.

History is essential. Don't get me wrong. In the view of the school system and the curriculum History and in some ways unless the student is taking a Science Based studies is not looked upon as essential as English and Math. English and Math must be taken in all 4 years of high school and that is not the case for Science and History. Science and History can not be taken by students in there 12th grade year.

 

[JaniceM]

History is essential. Don't get me wrong. In the view of the school system and the curriculum History and in some ways unless the student is taking a Science Based studies is not looked upon as essential as English and Math. English and Math must be taken in all 4 years of high school and that is not the case for Science and History. Science and History can not be taken by students in there 12th grade year.

I'm kind of out of the loop since my youngest graduated, but the last I knew requirements varied from state to state.

 

[Don M.]

History, as we know it, has always been written from an Authors Perspective. Until just the past few decades, there was NO way to capture events as they occurred....via cameras, video recorders, cell phones, etc. Therefore, virtually ALL History could easily be subjected to scrutiny.

 

[Signe The Survivor]

I'm kind of out of the loop since my youngest graduated, but the last I knew requirements varied from state to state.

It is probably different from State to State, but I am definitely 100% sure that English is required in all 4 high school years in every State. Math may not be in every State or every school, but definitely 3 years. Science and History is a definite requirement for 3 years in all schools with in History a US History, US Government, and World History course being taken. Now some schools combine the 9th grade year with US Government & Geography. The 12th grade is usually optional with courses like that are more like Social Sciences like Sociology & Psychology offered and some schools even offer Economics for the Senior Students.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

Howard Zinn was a Communist. I mean that more or less literally. He was a member of Communist front groups who hated the United States and everything it stands for. He wrote his "history" in the context of the Marxist class struggle. It's full of grotesque lies and oversimplifications. One of the most famous is his description of the Marshall Plan as an effort to expand US corporate interests in Europe.

Yes, we treated indigenous peoples and black people badly. So did the Dutch, the Germans, the British, the Arab world, the Russians, the Belgians, the French, the Spanish, the Portuguese...the Chinese murdered untold millions under Mao, as did the Russians under Stalin. I really don't need a Marxist lecturing me on what we've done wrong as a country.

Yes Zinn admitted to having Marxist views but that doesn't mean we should ignore how much American history was white washed and slanted. Apparently everybody treated Black people badly but we weren't the only ones mistreated obviously. BTW...women's accomplishments weren't taught when I was in grade school either.

 

[JimBob1952]

Yes Zinn admitted to having Marxist views but that doesn't mean we should ignore how much American history was white washed and slanted. Apparently everybody treated Black people badly but we weren't the only ones mistreated obviously. BTW...women's accomplishments weren't taught when I was in grade school either.

All true, sadly. I'm just saying that the US was far from unique in its treatment of "the other." Zinn performed a service by opening up new perspectives, I will grant him that.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

Some words are banned from use and show up as asterisks. It's not that all the words are intended to be bad, like the F-bomb, but some have been used here in discussions in a very offensive and negative way to demean certain groups or individuals. To be considerate and respectful of all members, they show in that way.

Yeah but I wrote the title of the book, which we Black people found to be enlightening. How would anyone know what book i'm talking about with one of the words *** out?! The book was first published in 1933.