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Lies my teacher told me

James W. Loewen is a sociologist who spent two of his years studying and surveying American history. After his study, he came up with a book entitled “Lies My Teacher Told Me”. He found out that the American history is only plain misinformation, blind nationalism and bland optimism (Loewen 56). Americans had a wrong perception about the civil war and the confederacy. Americans have not had time to go through the history, and they have a negative attitude about it especially high school students. James in his book identifies the main point which is deceptive and inaccurate teaching told about American’s history because of ignorance and lack of enough information. History is based on factual recordings without any modification. James argues that many scholars do not have facts and information critical for writing history books, articles and teaching materials. The writers must therefore carry out rigorous research, mine data extensively and trace the analogies of events to be able to know how the events began, the movers of the events and how they shaped the American history.

James criticizes modern American History because it is shallow and deceptive. An example of an event that he points out is the Christopher Columbus which gives incorrect history regarding the dealings between the Native Americans and Europeans. They mainly offer deceptive history concerning American commerce in slavery. He says that most of the historians in America elevate American historical figures to become heroes hence giving students a false impression about American History (Loewen 367). The historians emphasize on the position of slaves during the colonial period. James says that there is much information on American History apart from slavery that should be taken into consideration.

James Loewen confirms that Americans have lost touch with their History. History is no longer memorable and interesting in learning institutions. He says that all the books that have been published have outright lies and omit the aspects of conflict and passion about the American History. Most of the books have dropped all theaters about World War II. This is the basis of a clause in racial equality. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs have been left out. The Nagasaki of the World War just as the wars in Iraq and Vietnam has greatly damaged the American reputation internationally. Many historians leave out the facts about the devastating effects of the wars and how millions died in the process. James does this by restoring the American History to its position and giving real information about American History (Loewen 145).

In his book, James Loewen shows how in high school students do not have any interest on learning History. They consider it as an irrelevant subject, and they do not attach any interest to it. They consider it as a boring subject which lacks sense. Most of the students have a negative attitude about the subject. Subjects like Mathematics and Sciences are taken seriously compared to history. Teachers have also lacked interest in teaching the subject thus making the subject more boring. History should be taken seriously, and writers are supposed to show how history connects with the modern life and modern situations. Loewen in his book connects this appropriately. He gives the accounts that are missing in other textbooks.

The accounts written in James Loewen book are clear, and they do not have any form of deception. He gives information about the Native Americans. The lies that James Loewen bring out is the backwardness of Natives to the extent that they did not understand land as property. Natives classified as uncivilized and who do not uphold civilization standards. James shows the way Natives are pushed into reservations and at the end killed because they were unable to live in a civilized society. He brings out the truth by saying that Natives were originally farmers and even taught Pilgrims how to carry out farming. Additionally, natives clearly understood land property right the only difference was in the ownership (Loewen 212). Where land was owned by the tribe, there was no individual ownership of land.

As most of the historians claim that lack of civilization was the main reason that the Natives were wiped out of the society that is not the main reason. According to correct history, it is clear that most Natives did not have American citizenship. They did not have full rights as American citizens. Thus, it was easy for whites to take them in courts and acquire their property. It was not easy for them to stay in place where they did not have full rights as citizens. Some of the whites killed them out rightly because they did not have any right as Native Americans. They were not even recognized by the government at any point. Multiracial society could also work because there are states in America where natives and whites lived peacefully (Loewen 98). Thus, natives had the right to have American citizenship and get the rights that go with it.

I agree with the author’s opinion that modern American history is full of deception, though not entirely. Most writers have left out some important aspects of the American history. History as a subject is not accorded full support even by teachers in the modern society. Records have shown that when students list their subjects history comes last. They consider it as irrelevant and they are not ready to take it seriously. It is important to note that history reveals how we got to this point thus it is very important. Most of the writers do not use present to illuminate the past (6). That is why history to most of the students is boring because it does not apply to the modern life. The author argues that scholars should be ready to write the truth concerning history so that they can give a clear picture on the American History. History is nevertheless very crucial in helping the students understand the past happenings and events in their countries. It is factual that failure to know the history of a country may lead to repetition of the acts. Education should be objective and tell history as it is without any distortion of facts. The author however managed to effectively introduce scholarship into the argument. While the author generally accuse all the teachers for their failure to teach the correct history, his assertion that the history of America has been doctored is not entirely correct. The purpose of education is to act as an eye opener, while the learners use the acquired knowledge to carry out more researches and inquiries about their country’s history.

Work cited

Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me. Columbia: Simon and Schuster, 2007. Print.