Why do American history books lie?

[Terio]

Well, considering you all are asking where I go to school and such, I guess its just my school in general.

Just so nobody asks again I GO TO A PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL NEAR ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

I still feel American's are generally uneducated when it comes to the outside world however.

[Le Mars]

What appears in textbooks is not always congruent with what is taught in class. I know that my high school teachers tended to ignore the textbooks, which is probably why my education wasn't half bad.

This raises a good point. Teachers in one school district may be given considerable latitude in how much they rely on the textbooks for coursework, while teachers in some others are not.

I personally believe that intelligent, capable teachers should be able to deviate from the texts if they wish, if they feel that by doing so they can provide a fuller, more beneficial education.

[Seperates]

Well... "Midwest" is kinda a telling sign. However, again, having just passed A.P. U.S. two years ago, I never expierienced any of those issues in history class.

As is "New England" to some. Your prejudice is showing.

Oh man. That really hurts. As a guy born in Minnesota, raised in Colorado, and did highschool (and currently doing college) in California, I'm sure my prejuduce is absolutly terrifing, and I think that all people from the Midwest are dumb inbred hicks.

If the local school board is extremly biased conservative (or liberal for that matter), they can choose the text books they want to fufill the curriculum. If he happens to be in one of those areas, he could have a different text book.

Or his history class is just crap. I don't know.

[The Grand World Order]

Were you home schooled?

"...and that's when Christ Our Lord signed the Constitution with his blood, sending EVERY HOMOSEXUAL TO JAIL."

[Seperates]

Well... "Midwest" is kinda a telling sign. However, again, having just passed A.P. U.S. two years ago, I never expierienced any of those issues in history class.

I'm from the midwest and I learned about the things he's complaining about not learning.

Good on you. I was born in the Midwest. I don't have any problems with it, but if you describe it as 'Midwest', then we are talking a more conservative enviorment.

[Seperates]

Well, considering you all are asking where I go to school and such, I guess its just my school in general.

Just so nobody asks again I GO TO A PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL NEAR ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

I still feel American's are generally uneducated when it comes to the outside world however.

Well, no shit. But that is the way many people are about the rest of the world.

[Jagalonia]

Were you home schooled?

"...and that's when Christ Our Lord signed the Constitution with his blood, sending EVERY HOMOSEXUAL TO JAIL."

I kinda wana hear the rest of that lesson now. xD

[Contextico]

I guess my high school education was different in the U.S. I was taught the conclusions you're considering the facts, although I think Napoleon really did only get a passing mention in comparison. We learned about English history more than anything in Europe because of a cultural and colonial connection of course, and much of European history was also glossed over, but every nation focuses on themselves and expands outward when giving the generalization of history, which is what they tend to do in public high schools in the U.S. Gotta meet the numbers on those standardized tests.

In junior high, and elementary school especially, I think teachers and administrators assume young children can't handle moral complexity and the fact that we made mistakes (did some horrible shit sometimes). Some people never learn how to deal with it. Some become historians and apologists. In high school, these people might not have been focusing on their studies: just drinking, getting high and banging.


But with the Revolutionary War, I definitely remember learning about the French, Spanish and Dutch involvement as early as junior high, although the focus was on the French. Some Turks I talked to a couple of years ago were taught in their history classes that the French had their revolution before the American Colonies, so there's something.

[BushSucks-istan]

I was talking to two Americans a few weeks ago. They didn't even know what the Reichstag was. I bet it's because the Russians took the Reichstag.

Biased anti-commie culture.

[Immoren]

Most of history I learned was Eurocentric and there were only some bits about American history taught.
Your point?

[Jagalonia]

I was talking to two Americans a few weeks ago. They didn't even know what the Reichstag was. I bet it's because the Russians took the Reichstag.

Biased anti-commie culture.

I almost didn't know what you were talking about. Then I remembered that whole episode with the brown shirts....

[Cannot think of a name]

Well, considering you all are asking where I go to school and such, I guess its just my school in general.

Just so nobody asks again I GO TO A PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL NEAR ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

I still feel American's are generally uneducated when it comes to the outside world however.

For instance, they make wild assumptions about things others know and their experiences in education?

[Laerod]

Well, considering you all are asking where I go to school and such, I guess its just my school in general.

Just so nobody asks again I GO TO A PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL NEAR ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

I still feel American's are generally uneducated when it comes to the outside world however.

For instance, they make wild assumptions about things others know and their experiences in education?

However, someone going to school in Missouri now will have a better insight into current American education than most people that went to school twenty or more years ago.

[Encara]

All history texts are of some bias to one end or the other. No one writes non-fiction from an omniscient seat. But don't get too riled, it is your duty as an intelligent citizen to search out knowledge, and better yourself. But specifically to your post, you must realize, publishers have to bid out a contract, typically a 5 year or longer, to supply textbooks. In order to profit publishers have to limit size of the textbooks and edit down content to fit while covering an entire course typically within 1 text( for primary through high school k-12).
Aside from issues on the publishers side it's common knowledge that the average American education is sub-par for an industrialized nation of our prowess. However (and this is only speculation, I am sure I'm correct, but no evidence) I would venture to say most countries do the same not necessarily for propaganda although yes for some. I'm sure Chinas public schools glorify the peoples republic much as ours instills a patriotic feel.
The most important part of gathering knowledge is knowing its source, much like watching any mainstream media, every host right or left will present stories or omit events/facts based on their priorities. It's up to you to gleam facts and while hopefully you learned a lot in school, know that it's just a piece of the puzzle.

[Kanslavia]

My school was guilty of skipping over a lot of world events during US history class but it was US history.

The closest my history books came to lying was when it tried to argue that slaves had nothing to do with the civil war. Luckily it was an AP class and most of us were smart enough to call out the book on it's revisionist history BS. This also happened in an inner city school in Baltimore, so I guess the schools in St. Louis are REALLY messed up.

[Grays Harbor]

*It says we won the Korean War, or was a "tactical success." Yea....no. It was a total stalemate and waste of life.[/b]

Considering that the war was fought to drive back a North Korean invasion of South Korea and to prevent North Korea from conquering South Korea, and that goal was accomplished, I'd say it was a success.

[Blazedtown]

Why do American history books (I'm talking about high school/grade school caliber) lie, or leave out certain things when talking about important events?

In my high school and grade schools especially, and in other American made history books I've seen, there is always some kind of obvious bias or down right lies about America in general. The one I'm mainly going to focus on is military, although there are many more you can note. I'm looking through one of my old textbooks right now and im going to flip through it to try and find some inaccurate facts or other things that stand out.
A couple of things I've noticed:

*LITTLE TO NO MENTION of the Eastern Front of World War II (the deciding factor of the war and the deadliest conflict in human history?)

*Also, no mention of the Soviets capturing Berlin to end the war in Europe. Can make people think the U.S. did.

*Little to no acknowledgment of the British/Commonwealth contribution to D-Day. Americans never really thank Britain for anything though.

*No mention of North Vietnam capturing South Vietnam. Kind of a big deal considering we fought a decade long war to PREVENT that from happening. Also, no mention of war crimes or other bad things the U.S. did in Vietnam.

*It says we won the Korean War, or was a "tactical success." Yea....no. It was a total stalemate and waste of life.

*Makes Britain and France look weak. (ex- It says "France and Britain could not have won without American support.) Can be argued, maybe.

*Tries to make excuses for American conquests (Mexican-American War, Spanish-American War.) Says the Spanish blew up the U.S.S. Maine for example, and that Mexico was claiming American territory.

*NO MENTION of Franco-Spanish support in the American Revolution. It was a huge factor.

*Says we won the War of 1812. Also, no mention of freaking NAPOLEON (besides the Louisiana Purchase a decade earlier.)

I'm sure I could find more but those are the main few that stick out to me. Now, why does this bother me you may ask?
Well, it makes American teenagers and young adults look like idiots. They end up not knowing a THING about basic history. They think America did everything, had a reasonable reason for everything, and that every other nation's contributions were useless. Then I see them on websites and in classrooms and such talking about military history, as if they truly know it, and say America's the best and stuff like that.
I saw this on the iPhone App iFunny earlier today:

"I what how German history books are like."
"I'd be like Well, we fucked up here, and here, a little bit here, big time here, also here, and there."

Then there were comments on it to, that said things like:

"French version. We ran away here, here, a little bit there, there, here."

Obviously neither of those are true, and makes me cry a little to see how uneducated America's youth is about world history. And you wonder why people from other countries hate us so much?

Your guy's thoughts?

You're looking at American History books for American History classes for World History. Take World History, and read a World History textbook.

[Jagalonia]

Every text is riddled with bias.

Shit...Even Canadian history textbooks have bias to them.

[Wallonochia]

I went to high school in rural Michigan 13 years ago and I learned all that.

[Blazedtown]

I went to high school in rural Michigan 13 years ago and I learned all that.

Rural>suburban>urban

That's just the way it works man. People who attend rural schools are by and large better educated. Sure, bigger schools might have as many AP students as my high school had students, but on the whole, we ended up with a better education than schools with graduating classes of 600.

[Baltenstein]

I was talking to two Americans a few weeks ago. They didn't even know what the Reichstag was. I bet it's because the Russians took the Reichstag.

In all fairness, if you ask an average German about the Duma, the Sejm or the Palazzo di Montecitorio, chances are he doesn't know what you're talking about either.

[Arbites]

We covered all of that, even in the bare-bones US history courses from middle and high school, never mind AP courses. I remember wishing we had more than 2 years of world history, but in that period we covered all the international points you seem to have missed. I'm guessing if all that stuff is being omitted, it's a problem with your school board. There are some really shitty textbooks and curricula out there that are dripping with bias; they whitewash every mistake the US has ever made, overstate the US' importance in world events, downplay and glorify select historical figures according to partisan bias, and omit countless details that make the US seem less infallible and glorious.

[Laerod]

I was talking to two Americans a few weeks ago. They didn't even know what the Reichstag was. I bet it's because the Russians took the Reichstag.

In all fairness, if you ask an average German about the Duma, the Sejm or the Palazzo di Montecitorio, chances are he doesn't know what you're talking about either.

That's not all fair given that none of those have played the backdrop to historical events in the same manner as the Reichstag has.

[Blazedtown]

I was talking to two Americans a few weeks ago. They didn't even know what the Reichstag was. I bet it's because the Russians took the Reichstag.

In all fairness, if you ask an average German about the Duma, the Sejm or the Palazzo di Montecitorio, chances are he doesn't know what you're talking about either.

Impossible. Everyone from an industrialized country other than "murica is supremely intelligent and versed in world history and politics. I'm sure if you went up to a random German on the Street they could name the major battles of the Pacific War, who won those battles and who led them. They would be equally able to name the major players in the industrialization of Japan.

[Gigaverse]

Kind of expected that and the rest of it to happen.