A review by booksgurrsandpurrs
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen

challenging informative slow-paced

4.5

Their authors are consumers, not practitioners, of archaeology, ethnobotany, linguistics, physical anthropology, folklore studies, cultural anthropology, ethnohistory, and related disciplines. Pg 95 

 

Indian history is the antidote to the pious ethnocentrism of American exceptionalism, the notion that European Americans are God's chosen people. Indian history reveals that the U.S. and it's predecessor British colonies have wrought great harm in the world. We must not forget this - not to wallow in our wrongdoing, but do to understand and to learn, that we might not wreak harm again. (Pg 134) 

 

The author discusses not only the outdated text books in American classrooms, but the backtracking of factual historical events. 

Discussion: Historical figures are posed as heroes with no nuance or blemishes to their character. 

Who is the intended audience and who authors the material? 

Framing of language is used to rationalize colonial wrong doings. 

Text books have backtracked facts: 

Example: The secession of south has been re-written as a conflict over state rights instead of over the continued existence of slavery. 

History of economics, (and history overall) includes victim blaming. 

Financial and international intervention is viewed as only a humanitarian endeavor. 

Historical and modern events lack context; Why did an event happen and what were the consequence? 

Lies of omission are a key factor.