A Process of Studying History

Chapter One

How does the process of hero-making obstruct the study of history? Provide specific examples with respect to Helen Keller and Woodrow Wilson.

In order to be proper teaching tools, history textbooks should give students a clear understanding of what has happened in the past without altering facts. However, textbooks usually include altered facts, lies, and omissions. For example, textbooks describe Woodrow Wilson as a progressive president who stood up for women’s suffrage and lead America in a time of war. Although somewhat true, textbooks omit Wilson’s hostile invasions of Latin American countries, his unwillingness to prevent racial segregation in America, and his initial disdain towards woman’s rights.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, a hero is “A person admired for great deeds or fine qualities.” Also, heroes are usually thought of as flawless. Helen Keller learned to read, write, and speak despite being blind and deaf, which is a great accomplishment. However, most people don’t know that she was a socialist. If more Americans knew she was a socialist, they might not see her as a hero because in America, socialism is associated with tyranny.

When you’re taught lies in History class, you can’t stop history from repeating. Many people know that Adolf Hitler ordered the extermination of various people during World War Two. Ironically, my German cousin doesn’t know what the Holocaust was because she wasn't taught about it in her history class. My cousin’s teachers probably felt that the Holocaust was a sensitive subject and didn’t want their students to know about it. However, it’s important for students like her to know about it so that they can learn from mistakes and tragedies.

Chapter Two

Why don’t Afro-Phoenician feats fit into the traditional textbook narrative?

Afro-Phoenician feats aren’t included in US history textbooks because they might cause readers to question the rest of the narrative. US History classes tend to be taught in a Eurocentric way, encouraging the belief that the Europeans were the first people to reach the Americas. Ironically, Europeans who explored the Americas were actually inspired by other non-European expeditions.

Why does Loewen believe it is necessary to include the Norse voyages into the narrative of American history?

Loewen believes that textbooks should include the Norse voyages because they would provide a broader view of history. He thinks that students could utilize the information to compare the different centuries. This would help them understand the differences in technology between the two time periods.

How does the omission of Columbus’s death fit into the process of hero-making?

Textbooks writers have portrayed Columbus as humble character, and have attempted to make readers feel sympathy for him by writing that he died poor and wasn’t aware of his accomplishments. In reality, he was far from humble. He was known as the ‘Admiral of the Ocean Sea’ in his lifetime. When he died, he left a large sum of money to his relatives as inheritance. It seems that textbooks portrayed Columbus inaccurately.

Chapter 3

According to Loewen, how does the traditional understanding of Thanksgiving celebrate our ethnocentrism?

Loewen believes that Thanksgiving is a holiday that encourages nationalistic behavior. On page 93 of Lies My Teacher Told Me, he writes “Thanksgiving celebrates our ethnocentrism… God on our side, civilization wrested from the wilderness, order from disorder, through hard work and good Pilgrim character traits.” The Pilgrims worked hard to create and maintain their settlement, but they were ignorant of how to grow crops in the Americas and lacked the initiative to learn. In fact, the Pilgrims robbed Native American houses and graves until they learned how to grow crops. The only reason they survived was because the Native Americans took pity on them. Even though the Pilgrims wiped out many Native Americans by spreading disease, Thanksgiving encourages the belief that the Pilgrims were civilized, polite people.

What does Loewen mean by the following statement, “Thus our popular history of the Pilgrims has not been a process of gaining perspective but of deliberate forgetting.”

Loewen means that we purposely forget the Pilgrims’ flaws so that we can look at them as heroes.

Construct a 500-700 word Essay answering the following question

Provide a critical analysis of Loewen’s thesis and evidence. More specifically, what are his flaws and what questions do you have with regard to his point of view?

James Loewen’s book Lies My Teacher Told Me provides a new perspective on popular history by pointing out the inaccuracy of modern-day history textbooks. He provides multiple references to support his views. He also relies on others’ opinions to defend his take on this controversial topic. Overall, I believe that Loewen’s book is well-written and defends his point of view thoroughly.

In his book, Loewen explores how textbooks are full of misinformation, yet are viewed as completely accurate. The author goes through 12 American history textbooks, piecing together the journeys that they create and then comparing them to what actually happened. Loewen cites his own knowledge of historical events based on his own scholarship as well as the scholarship of others as proof that the textbooks are faulty. For example, on page 25, Loewen explains how half the American history textbooks he references entirely omit the invasion of Haiti, writing “Half of the twelve textbooks do not even mention Wilson's takeover of Haiti.” This supports Loewen’s claims, reaffirms his assertion that History textbooks include lies, and supplies shocking statistics that may easily be used to slay any energetic criticisms of his book.

Loewen’s thesis is based his research, but it is also includes other’s opinions. Some of Loewen’s examples may seem to damage his credibility because they appear to not be proved. On page 39, Loewen disproves a textbook’s claim that Columbus made travel to America possible, writing that “Indeed, Europeans may already have been fishing off Newfoundland in the 1480s.” While some people might find that this quote it unconvincing because it sounds like only his opinion, Loewen references three sources in his notes that support it.

Because Loewen’s knowledge of historical events is limited, he asked colleagues and friends to help revise his book. In the Acknowledgements section of the book, Loewen writes “The people listed below… commented on chapters, suggested sources, corrected my mistakes, or provided other moral or material aid.” Although critics might think otherwise, I see this as proof that Loewen took his book seriously and did his best to make sure it was 100% accurate. Besides, critics couldn’t claim that Loewen took credit for other’s work; the Acknowledgements section thanks all the people who helped him, and there are over 100 citations in the Notes section.

Loewen’s book reveals that most US History textbooks are inaccurate, therefore proving that not everything you read is true. In Lies My Teacher Told Me, he provides a more accurate rendition of history. He includes many examples to back up his point by citing multiple sources in his bibliography. In my opinion, he’s created a timeless book which is essential in defogging our view into history. It’s important that we see the past how it really was, because knowing will help us make better choices. To quote the famous historian Howard Zinn, “If you don't know history, it is as if you were born yesterday.”