A brief summery about american history

Our History

2018FA-HIST-1302-81005 History is a science studying the past events, reasons that lead to them, consequences they had and people involved in these processes. Studying history is extremely important as it educates people, shapes their identity and forms their attitude to various life events and situations. However, history can perform these functions only if it is properly taught by teachers and is presented in the textbooks as a cognitive applied science full of ambiguities and debates, but not as a boring theoretical compliance of simplified facts to be memorized. Unfortunately, the history we study today is a product of poor quality textbooks, which simplify it and heroificate its characters, therefore leading to the twisting of facts and creation of historical myths.

History textbooks have complicated our histories by perverting the facts, creating myths and simplifying historic events. Many American books on history are “openly biased and extremely narrow in their historical range” (Stille 5). The information contained in them is served in simple sentences, the length of paragraphs being strictly measured and the choice of words restricted by lists of politically incorrect terms. As Alexander Stille puts it: “The need to please or not offend every possible constituency has paralyzed textbook writers” (5). The oversimplified interpretation of history creates plain historic characters, defined as either good or bad, without taking into consideration the complexity of a particular historical situation or event, which deprives students of the possibility to learn that there are no simple decisions and choices in our lives, especially in politics.

Yet, in their works, historians Howard Zinn and James Loewen offer the opposite view on the history. The authors do not create new or support old historical myths; they boldly shatter them and demonstrate how books writers have changed and complicated our histories. To be particular, in his book “Lies My Teacher Told Me” James Loewen reveals the truth about the Great Navigator Christopher Columbus, who is heroificated in the American literature, and the reasons, which prompted his voyages (27). He also states that history textbooks “offend Native Americans” by describing them as barbarous opposing to them educated and enlightened white settlers (Loewen 65). What is more, most textbooks do not even mention in the history of America’s settlement the hundreds of years of Indians and Spanish living on that lands. In his work, James Loewen also goes beyond the traditional story of persecuted in England protestant Pilgrims, who sailed on the ship Mayflower to America to build a city upon a hill.

In my previous classes, the abovementioned topics were portrayed in a different way. Especially in the elementary school, historic events were described in simple words and sentences in readings offered by the teacher. The studies created simple characters: Christopher Columbus was regarded as a hero; Native Americans savages and the Pilgrims half-holy self-scarifying people pursuing a noble goal. We developed no critical thinking on the lessons, as there were no analyses of the historic events in the books, which really encouraged us “to believe that history is facts to be learned” (Loewen 11). The books were also full of pictures, maps and various “response activities”, which Alexander Stille criticizes in his article, however, when a child I really liked them (4).

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois once suggested that in our studies of history, when we skim over the bad parts, our histories begin to lose their value as incentive and example. In my opinion, the author meant that great and noble deeds of ancestors become the national pride and inspire new generations. As people tend to identify themselves with their predecessors, there is a need for every nation to have its own heroes, whose ideas and deeds would be model for future generations. If there are no national heroes in the history of a nation or the ties between them and the modern people are weak, the future of such a nation is uncertain because people feel no connection with their past and their land. Therefore, it is important to have in our textbooks such historic figures that would give us incentive and serve as examples, but I am convinced that they should not be heroificated and their feats absolutized.

The ways most of us have been taught history are definitely to be changed because they have the far-reaching consequences on students and society as a whole. The most important drawback of the history learning method discussed in this essay is that it makes students percept history as a set of boring facts to be memorized, while in reality, it is a powerful tool aimed at preparing students to adult life. If properly worked with, history is a source of practical skills necessary for everyone in daily life. Its main function is to develop in students critical thinking, teach them to analyze things, to study reasons and consequences of particular events, to evaluate changes for the success or failure of any undertaking and most importantly to make justified deliberate decisions.

Taking everything mentioned above into consideration, learning history is extremely important in everyone’s life as it teaches to think and analyze, forms one’s identity and contributes to the nation’s future through strengthening the ties between generations. However, learning history in a proper way from the proper textbooks that do not create myths, simplify events and heroificate historic figures are even more important. Therefore, do learn history consciously and you will contribute not only to yourself but to your country as well.

Works Cited

Loewen, James. The Lies My Teacher Told Me. https://assignmentlab-test.s3.amazonaws.com/31/5bb9a293bab1d/history%20book%201.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIXBTSRP2J7JDFYFQ&Signature=Pf%2Fs%2BZ95ZwU2IMJc%2Bx2OoXQMYOI%3D&Expires=1539036996

Stille, Alexander. “The Betrayal of History”. New York Review of Books, vol. 45, no. 10, 1998