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Reclaiming American History
It’s about time! Wilfred M. McClay has decided it’s time to take back history from the dominance of Howard Zinn, who disparaged America in his history books and wrote with an extreme, Leftist perspective. His books still dominate the market; his publisher claims over two million in sales (nine years after Zinn died). Although Professor McClay will not be able to change the history education of our children overnight, he has taken a major step in providing a balanced view of American History.
In an Opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal (it may be behind a pay wall so I cite a number of other articles here), McClay decries the current state of history textbooks:
‘They’re completely unreadable because they’re assembled by committee, by graduate students who write little bits and pieces of them. I’m not convinced that most of the textbooks that have the names of very eminent historians on the cover were actually read by them, let alone written by them.’
There are also the committees that approve them—state and local school boards, which answer to a variety of ‘stakeholders.’ Members of every racial, cultural and religious group want a say in how they and events important to them are described. Mr. McClay opted to dispense with that process, and ‘Land of Hope”’ is being published by a conservative house, Encounter Books.
So what makes McClay’s writing so special?
McClay also focuses on America as a story—something that is more than the sum of its parts—with threads that run through the narrative and tie it together: individual liberty, self-reliance, and relentless optimism. Because of this focus, Land of Hope is more than just a list of dates, battles, and important people. It also contains poetry (including Robert Frost’s “And All We Call American”), excerpts from literature (a large section on the American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson, for example), and even music (including the lyrics of “WPA,” a satiric song by the Mills Brothers and jazz great Louis Armstrong).
Of course, it also includes all the obligatory history book stock features: maps of the country as it evolved from 13 colonies to 50 states, excerpts from famous speeches, and important political changes. They are woven into America’s story to provide the rich detail that makes history interesting.
He also explains the pathetic job that historians have done in trying to make American history come alive:
What gets him most riled up is what he sees as an abdication. ‘When you teach an introductory course in American history,” he says, ‘you really have a responsibility. . . to reflect in some way the national story, in a way that is conducive to the development of the outlook and skills of a citizen—of an engaged, patriotic, serious citizen.’ Most professional historians don’t ‘take that mandate very seriously at all,’ and instead provide ‘a basically negative understanding of American history.’
Today’s history books are tedious, with lists of events, dates, and ideas that are supposed to be memorized, without understanding the context or the times.
McClay also understands the dilemma of young scholars who want to find a place in the academic world but are faced with many barriers simply because they are Christian or conservative or both; he also knows that the environment will be slow to change.
Most conservatives realize that our education system has been hijacked by the political Left, and there is little effort to provide a deep and balanced view of our own history. We realize that, to take back the system, we will need to make inroads one book, one teacher, one school, one proponent at a time.
I’ll end with this quote that I think demonstrates Professor McClay’s role in this effort This article shares a powerful quote by Professor Mark Bauerlein:
This book is THE antidote to abysmal levels of historical knowledge our high school graduates possess. History bores them; the textbooks are dreary; lessons play up guilt and identity politics. It turns them off. They want powerful tales and momentous events, genuine heroes and villains, too—an accurate but stirring rendition of the past. This is Bill McClay’s Land of Hope, a superb historian’s version of the American story, in lively prose spiced with keen analysis and compelling drama. Every school that assigns this book will see students’ eyes brighten when the Civil War comes up, the Progressive Era, the Depression, Civil Rights…The kids want an authentic, meaningful heritage, a usable past. McClay makes it real.
I can’t wait to receive my copy!
Postscript: After completing this post, I saw that Powerline and Steve Hayward interviewed McClay. You can hear it here
Published in History
This happens with people in the modern day scientific community as well. One discussion group I was on regarding Nicoli Tesla had several people come on who stated that Tesla should be ignored, because he believed in a vast and ubiquitous ether surrounding the solar system and beyond.
Funny thing is, at the time of his birth through early adulthood, so did every scientifically minded person on earth. How could he, being a man of his times, believe otherwise?
I imagine if he made no statements denouncing the ether theory, it was because he had incorporated a part of it into his ever modernizing views of the world and the system of physics that rules over all.
Richard Feynman was asked to the school textbook review committee and tells the story in his autobiography, “Surely, You’re Joking, Mr. Feyman.” When a book with blank pages was approved by several committee members, you know that the business is and has been a joke.
When everybody is using it/doing it, you wonder how smart the education business is.
I agree with this – when I was in High School, History was taught from the standpoint that we knew how it turned out. That is one reason I love to read biographies of those who were there. The revolution was a very close thing, as was the life of the country for the first 20 years or so.
I am trying to work through Zinn on my Kindle, but it is slow going because I get so irritated that I can’t read much at a time.
Here is an exercise for the reader: Try to find what textbooks are used in your local high school. At least for me, since I am no longer a parent of a child in a school system, it is difficult.
If we had to do it again, I think Home Schooling is the only way to go these days, but I worry that would leave the school system unbridled.
Then again, @willowspring, maybe it would light a fire under them. They are already threatened by charter schools, and mainly complain about them or try to stop them, rather than figuring out ways to compete. You have more stamina than I would to get through Howard Zinn!
I think it was Kazin who called Zinn’s book, “cynicism masquerading as history”.
I have to have this book as soon as I can convince my better half. Thanks, Susan, for making me aware of it.
I was so hoping that someone mentioned this book in the thread. If it wasn’t here I was going to remedy the situation.
Audible has an excellent unabridged narration of the newly updated edition.
I also highly recommend “Seven Events that Made America America (and proved that the Founding Fathers were right all along)” by Schweikart, also available on Audible. A fun read that gets the thinkery working.
IIRC, Schweikart was a drummer in a rock band, realized it was a lousy career, and went to a community college, where he encountered an inspiring history teacher. He’s a very good writer.
This letter appeared in our local paper, the Ledger, in Polk County, FL. I’m including the most pertinent parts:
This letter refers to textbooks commonly used throughout Florida. They are produced by Pearson, and in their new high school textbook, they describe President Donald Trump as mentally ill, and his supporters as racist. Is this what you want your children to read about America’s president, who has done more to help all Americans since Ronald Reagan?
. . . Parents, go to the School Board meetings and tell them not to buy any more books from this foreign-owned and -run company. The book I am referring to is “By the People: A History of the United States,” authored by New York University Professor James Fraser. –DH, Lake Wales
Do we think that’s an accurate characterization of the contents of the Pearson text book regarding Trump? Not sure I have any way of verifying, but, while I don’t doubt there’s bias, that seems pretty over the top.
That is a fair comment, @hoyacon; without having the book in my hands, I don’t know how to verify it, since I don’t know any high school kids around here. Let me think about that.
There are quotes from the book here:
https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/04/15/pearson-high-school-history-textbook-teaches-trump-is-mentally-ill-and-his-supporters-are-racists
https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/04/15/pearson-high-school-history-textbook-teaches-trump-is-mentally-ill-and-his-supporters-are-racists
The textbook, “By The People,” by James W. Fraser is geared for Advanced Placement high school students in grades 9-12, according to its publisher’s website. The book, published by textbook giant Pearson, is an updated edition and carries a 2019 copyright mark.
A section of the book reads:
The source seems sketchy, but at least there are images of the actual text:
http://www.educationviews.org/prominent-history-text-book-declares-trump-a-racist/
Thanks, I think.
But disgraceful. Interpretative newspaper-ish reporting/editorializing now transformed into textbooks where established facts should rule.
I do appreciate your pointing out that just because our ire is raised at these things, we should still check them out. . . I guess. ;-(
The highlighted quotes are bad enough, but even the rest of the text just oozes left-wing bias.
My concern is that “our side’ accurately reflect the truth in critiques. Exaggeration (distortion?) is unhelpful and allows the “other side” room to debunk criticisms. Even in this case, the letter does slightly exaggerate the more subtle bias in the text, although we can certainly see where the person is coming from.
It seems I don’t often think so highly of some of the histories that my fellow conservatives like best, but this review at Law & Liberty makes me think the McClay book would be worth reading:
McClay’s Master Work: A History for Citizens
The WSJ review made it seem promising, too, but this one makes me even more eager to read it.
I learned about this review from the latest Prufrock newsletter.
I wonder if anyone has pointed out what a backhanded complement Zinn and Chomsky have paid to this country by having to be so dishonest and tendentious when trying to show it in a bad light.
Also, as for Florida history, I can say as a former Florida resident a good source would be to Google “Florida Man” on the interwebs.
Good grief!–
A Florida man allegedly threatened to behead police officers then “eat their eyes and tongues” while he was under arrest.
Ken Freeman, 50, remains held on bond Monday after he repeatedly threatened to decapitate six officers in a Brevard County parking lot, the Melbourne Police Department said.
Good point. Although I think they don’t need reasons to be as dishonest as they are. They just hate the Right, and that’s reason enough!
Usually these stories are more light hearted than that. They most often have a combination of intoxication and/or meth usage, nudity and throwing alligators.
I ordered my copy. Should be an interesting read.