According to author Alexander Stille, American history taught in schools has been rewritten and transformed in recent decades by a handful of lar

history writing question

Requirements: 3-5 pages
FINAL GIVEN EVERYTHING YOU HAVE SEEN, HEARD, FELT, EXPERIENCED, DISCUSSED AND READ THIS SEMESTER, ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED THIS SEMESTER? MORE SPECIFICALLY, WHAT LESSONS HAVE YOU DRAWN FROM YOUR STUDIES AND DISCUS-SIONS (BOTH IN AND OUTSIDE OF THIS COURSE) ABOUT THE HISTORY YOU HAVE LEARNED THIS SEMESTER, AND WHAT ETHICAL DILEMMAS HAVE ARISEN FOR YOU AS A RESULT OF THIS NEW INFORMATION? COMPREHENSION DOES NOT MEAN DENYING THE OUTRAGEOUS, DEDUCING THE UNPRECEDENTED FROM PRECE-DENCE, OR EXPLAINING PHENOMENA BY SUCH ANALOGIES AND GENERALITIES THAT THE IMPACT OF REALITY AND THE SHOCK OF EXPERIENCE ARE NO LONGER FELT. IT MEANS, RATHER, EXAMINING AND BEARING CONSCIOUSLY THE BURDEN WHICH OUR CENTURY HAS PLACED ON US NEITHER DENYING ITS EXISTENCE NOR SUBMITTING MEEKLY TO ITS WEIGHT.? ~ HANNAH ARENDT
DIRECTIONS  Your response to the question must be typedtwelve point font, double-spaced, one-inch margins. In writing your answer, please do not exceed five pages.  In your response, use your assigned text(s), the instructors handouts, class notes taken from discussions, and any other SCHOLARLY sources you may want.  Your generalizations must be supported by direct citations from the text, class notes, or instructors handouts.  Citations should be made in MLA format. For readings, class notes or presenta-tions, you might use: (Zinn, 26) or (Loewen, 3) or (class notes) or (Powerpoint, Cold War).  Note: You must cite parenthetically throughout your narrative. Please follow this format. There should be many citations throughout your response taken from the sources noted above because assumptions and interpretations must be bolstered by citations. The strength of your response is dependent largely upon the number of citations from the assigned sources.  Do not include a bibliography.  You may consult with your classmates in formulating an answer to this question. However, you must write your own, unique, independent answer to this question. HISTORY IS FICTION, EXCEPT FOR THE PARTS THAT I LIKE, WHICH ARE, OF COURSE, TRUE.? ~ JIM CORDER
Final Written Exercise The most important lesson I have learned from this class is that history, at least the history taught in classrooms, is not an accurate, unbiased account of the past. In reality, history presented by highly regulated textbooks has been twisted in such a way that students are not given a clear picture of past events, individuals, and conflicts. Various interest groups and demographics have essentially dictated which information can rightfully be published, and which information is too threatening to reach the pages. According to author Alexander Stille, American history taught in schools has been rewritten and transformed in recent decades by a handful of large publishers who are more concerned to meet the demands of both the multicultural left and the conservative religious right? (The Betrayal of History). In essence, textbooks have reworked history in such a way that it has become falsified and flavorless. Facts are presented without controversy, and important historical figures are portrayed without blemish. As historian James Loewen writes, authors selectively omit blemishes to make certain historical figures sympathetic to as many people as possible? (Loewen, 26). This quotation declares that authors withhold relevant historical information from textbooks, which further supports the idea that history has been continually distorted in todays classrooms. In regards to Christopher Columbus, I learned that he was not the American hero? that textbooks portray him as being. As we all know, he was credited for discovering America,? yet he was not the first non-Native to reach the Americas. 2People from other continents had reached the Americas many times before 1492. Europeans may already have been fishing off Newfoundland in the 1480s? (Loewen, 33). Also, I was previously unaware that Columbus was involved in the murder and persecution of many Native Americans. In fact, he initiated a punishing policy that resulted in complete genocide? of the Natives (Zinn, 7). Finally, I learned the shocking statistic that there were as many as 120 million Native Americans by 1492 (Discussion 2). Upon learning this number, I was completely stunned, as I had severely underestimated the size of their population. As little kids, we are all told the story of the pious, freedom-seeking Pilgrims who landed in Plymouth. Additionally, we all learned about the First Thanksgiving? where the Native Americans and Pilgrims peacefully united for a wonderful, bountiful feast. This story, however, is historically inaccurate. In reality, the Pilgrims were not seeking religious freedom at all, because they had already found that in the Netherlands (Discussion 3). Furthermore, the Pilgrims were very economically driven. In fact, profit was the primary reason most Mayflower colonists made the trip? (Loewen, 87). Nevertheless, American society perpetuates the story of the brave Pilgrims because it advances the American psyche,? which characterizes Americans as the immaculate, indelible race (Loewen, 70). Before this course, I did not have an accurate picture of the realities of the American slave trade. In all honesty, I had no idea that the slave trade was so large and widespread. Yet, as I soon learned, slavery absolutely dominated the economy of the South. 3For instance, in 1790, a thousand tons of cotton were being produced every year in the South. By 1860, it was a million tons. 4In the same period, 500,000 slaves grew to 4 million? (Zinn, 171). This excerpt from A Peoples History of the United States
demonstrates that slavery was a major force in American society. Fast-forwarding to the present, I was completely oblivious to the fact that slavery still exists today, even here in the United States (Discussion 7). Also, I was upset to discover that everything we touch today-from the bricks that make up the exterior of our homes, to the rug on the floors- has been touched by the hand of a slave? (Discussion 7). As a testament to my ignorance, I was under the impression that slavery, for the most part, had become nonexistent in todays modern world. One week ago, I did not even know what the Gilded Age was. Now, I understand it as a time where a handful of extremely wealthy individuals, such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, owned most of the countrys wealth (Discussion 9). 1Laborers, however, received wages that barely kept their families alive? (Zinn, 257). Worker compensation, unfortunately, was only the tip of the iceberg. Additionally, factory conditions during this time were extremely hazardous. In the year 1904, 27,000 workers were killed on the job, in manufacturing, transport, and agriculture. 3In one year, 50,000 accidents took place in New York factories alone? (Zinn, 327). The conditions described above ultimately sparked the emergence of the Progressive movement, which fought to ameliorate these circumstances. 1In general, the Progressives strove to stabilize the capitalist system by repairing its worst defects. and restore some measure of class peace in a time of increasingly bitter clashes between capital and labor? (Zinn 354). I found imperialism to be one of the most fascinating topics this semester. In essence, imperialism was a mechanism that allowed Americans to find foreign purchasers for [their] goods. and provide the means of making access to foreign markets easy, economical, and safe? (Zinn, 306). In my opinion, imperialism is an example of American greed, which led to the abuse of its power. Regarding World War II, I want to spend a little bit of time discussing the Holocaust. Previously, I thought that the Jews were the only people targeted by the Nazis. However, I learned that Africans, Asians, the physically and mentally disabled, homosexuals, and gypsies were all persecuted by the Third Reich (Discussion 13). Also, I had never really seen what the concentration camps truly looked like. Needless to say, I was absolutely shocked to see thousands of dead bodies just piled up, as if they were not even there at all. Even more disgusting was the way the Nazis just threw the bodies into pits, with absolutely no respect whatsoever (Memory of the Camps). After the Holocaust, the United States vowed to never let anything of this nature happen again. However, recently hundreds of thousands have died in Darfur (Discussion 13). It is upsetting to me that the United States has not done more to help stop this genocide. Throughout this class, I have learned that we, as U.S. citizens, are not completely aware of the actions of our government. For instance, I discovered that the government has orchestrated the oustings of political leaders,? and that we had a hand in assassinating many foreign leaders? (Discussion 14). This demonstrates that the United States believes that it should intervene in foreign affairs, as long as this intervention promotes our own interests. As in the Vietnam War, the United States got unnecessarily involved and ended up being embarrassed by a much less powerful army. While the anti-war sentiment in America was high, possibly the highest of all time, the government still felt the need to deploy troops to Vietnam. 5In my opinion, the U.S. government should make more of an effort to heed public opinion.
To conclude, I want to discuss my general opinions of textbooks and publishing companies. The general trend throughout history is that the most wealthy, powerful, and privileged have had the greatest influence on events and outcomes of the past. In textbook publishing, members of the upper class have had a hand in it? (Loewen, 306). This has to change, so that future students are given an unbiased, impartial layout of past events. If textbooks continue to cater to the needs of particular groups, then history will never be a worthwhile class to take. Considering the day-to-day resistance? that students display towards classes, teachers and textbooks should do a better job telling the exciting, historically accurate story of the past in order to spark students interest (Loewen, 341). Overall, I am glad to have taken a class that focuses on the real story, rather than the sugar-coated, bland version of history that so many students must endure each year.

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