Pros And Cons Of American History Essay

American history is taught in high schools all over the country. It is held as a core curriculum for every American student because of the importance found in teaching our youth of our “perfect nation” and our “perfect past”. However, contrary to popular belief, James W. Loewen, author of Lies My Teacher Told Me, has found American history to be taught with a completely nationalistic approach. Not only is the history of our country taught with a horribly strong patriotic sentiment, but generally with a misunderstood concept of the history of America by the writers themselves. America has never lived a lie as ruinous as that in which happens in classrooms every day.

James Loewen wrote the book ?Lies My Teacher Told ME? to help the students of the United States become aware of their true history. This book attempts to show how and why American history has been taught the way it has without regard for the truth. Mr. Loewen had compared twelve different history textbooks they are: The Great Republic, The American Way, Land of Promise, Rise of the American Nation, Challenge of Freedom, American Adventures, Discovering American History, The American Tradition, Life and Liberty, The United States ? A History of the Republic, Triumph of the American Nation and The American Pageant. Loewen has argued his cases for Heroification, Euorcentrism and the first settlers, and Racism in our history. He has done

Before the Constitution, there was the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was a new national government that reserved freedom, sovereignty, and independence for the states. The Articles of confederation provided an effective form of government for western lands, on the contrary, foreign relations were not were not as well benefited from it.

The book, Lies My Teacher Told Me, begins with an introduction in which author James W. Loewen empathizes with the students. He discusses how History, specifically American History, is taught incorrectly. Loewen is able to share his understanding of why high school students think history is boring. He begins his argument with facts and numbers by saying that out of all the subjects in school, history is almost every student's least favorite subject. He goes on to say that teachers also misrepresent history to students by teaching history as a ¨set of facts¨ rather than ¨showing how we got to this point.¨ Loewen’s writing style is much more relaxed than a typical non-fiction

Throughout Frances FitzGerald’s essay, “Rewriting American History,” the author introduces the idea to her readers that learning history nowadays is different to how it really was in the past. Also, what is read in history books may not of actually happened, but it is what the writers and editors want you to believe. Lastly, comments describing past photographs added into the textbook are most of the time opinionated. Although history textbooks have been used over many generations, the information within them are slowly changing. History cannot be rewritten, and so it should not be changed over time.

There’s no secret to teaching history well or making it interesting. Barbara Tuchman summed up what every teacher, parent, and writer should know in two words: “Tell stories.” E.M. Forster gave a wonderful definition of “story.” If you say that the king died and then the queen died of grief, then that becomes a story, because it calls for empathy on the part of both the storyteller and the listener. We need historians who have the heart and humanity necessary to help students imagine the lives of people who have lived in the past and were just as human as we are today.

According to a recent Smithsonian article, fewer than 20 percent of 8th graders have a basic knowledge of American history. However, while most people disregard the importance of history, there are proven ways that you can expand your own knowledge of the American past.

History could be taught and understand in various ways. History is an important aspect of human society. We live within history and encounter it as part of our daily lives. It could be through television, school, textbook, and even a work of fiction. One famous book published in 1975 greatly portrays the early 1900s. The name of this historical novel, written by E.L. Doctorow, is called "Ragtime." This novel addresses the lifestyle, changes, and conflicts between 1900 to 1917. It's tells a series of story, rather than from just one point of view. A novel like "Ragtime", provides us a better understanding of history. This work of fiction highlights the important events and gives an in-depth view on society.

Not many people recognize the importance of history in their daily lives, they don’t see that every single breath they’ve taken is apart of their history, or their story. The Best Guide We Have by William H. McNeill, A Larger Reality by Paul Gagnon, and A Coherent Evolution in Human Thought by Francis Fukuyama help us all realize why history is so important.

Since introducing his book with the notion that high school students hate history, Loewen (1996) devotes a considerable amount of his work debunking facts and theories taught in history classes in American schools. He appeals to the trust of the readers with his comparisons on what textbooks include and what they omit. He accomplishes this by recounting some sparse facts taught in most textbooks, appealing to the emotions of all former, current and future history students with his empathy on how boring most history textbook. Finally, he reaches the logic of his readers with heavily pocked paragraphs footnoted with his sources that presume his great understanding of the history itself.

What if al your life you were taught that two plus two equals four, but when you grew up you figured out that two plus two is actually five. This concept would be confusing and would make you angry that your teachers from the past lied to you or did a poor job of teaching. Two plus two is four and will always be four, but when it comes to history, it is never a single answer. That’s why history is a touchy subject because there is so many ways to teach the subject. History is so different when it comes to perspective that we see distinctive differences on the history of education. In this essay, we will discuss the dispute of how history is taught differently because of economic status, controlling goals, and political context. Then, we will

It all began with the stories of “The Awesome Egyptians” and “The Rotten Romans”, but my fascination for history has long surpassed the days of my “Horrible History” books. To me history has become much more than just an academic subject that has to be studied; it both challenges and inspires me beyond the boundaries of the classroom. Historical studies achieve this by supplying me with knowledge and discovery, both elements which I find to be extremely thrilling.

a. Burdened by debt from the Seven Years’ War and French support for the American Revolution, King Louis XVI needed to raise taxes, so he agreed to convene the , which met in 1789 at Versailles. Led by the —those outside the aristocracy or church— a new was declared on June 17, 1789. Its members swore, in the Tennis Court Oath, to create a new for France.

My love for history first begins my freshman year of high school. While listening to the lecture I started to understand how rich and viable our history is. It was awesome to see all of the events of the past still alive in our society today. I can remember thinking to myself everything in this textbook and the content my teacher was covering helped grow as well as shape the United States, and even the World. However, most of my classmates did not think this was the case they thought this was the most boring part of the day. They didn’t see the richness in what we were learning, sadly most of society doesn’t. In fact some people don’t know who the first President of the United States was or if the U.S has 50 or 51 states.

History is all around us. Everywhere we are, everywhere we have been or ever will be is what it is because of the people and events that have affected and effected it. But sometimes events transpire that are so huge, learning about them through a traditional manner such as history classes or nonfiction books does not work. Sometimes history needs to be absorbed through fiction, more specifically, through historical fiction. Events such as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the fall of the British Empire and subsequent removal from India, the emergence of Pakistan as a self-determined nation, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks are such events. By diving into fiction as a way to understand, we are able to better understand both human