Analysis Of ' Thinking Through The Past ' By John Hollitz

Also, the variety of viewpoints presented in this book help to expand the reader’s knowledge. The editors provide a well-rounded collection of additional works that show the reader some of the major theories on a historical event. Basically, a reader is able to see historical issues through the eyes of professional historians. Interpretations of American History does not merely state the facts, it allows the reader to decide where they stand on the historical event in question. This can lead to a deeper, more profound study of history.

The world is full of rich culture, diversity and experiences unique to each individual. When determining the validity of historic accounts we must factor in that particular historian’s point of view, which should be characterized by ethnicity, idealogy, theoretical or methodological preference. With these factors views of the past often vary from person to person. In this essay I will be discussing the four different stages that shaped the writing of American history over the last 400 years.

A more pressing matter is that of the history in the classroom. With the one sided history being instructed to Native students bring a message that “Their history does not matter,” alienation begins to form and all motivation soon leaves the students (Laura).

High school history textbooks are seen, by students, as presenting the last word on American History. Rarely, if ever, do they question what their text tells them about our collective past. According to James W. Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me, they should be. Loewen has spent considerable time and effort reviewing history texts that were written for high school students. In Lies, he has reviewed twenty texts and has compared them to the actual history. Sadly, not one text measures up to the author's expectation of teaching students to think. What is worse, though, is that students come away from their classes without "having developed the ability to think coherently about social

As the professor James W Loewer, author of the book, referred that Americans have lost touch with their history. Our teachers and textbooks play important roles in our history study. However, it is their eliding and misrepresenting factoids that have been obstacles in our history studying. Because access to too much errors and distortion, many Americans can hardly understand the past of the country. As a result, we lack the ability to reflect on what’s going on right now and in the future.

[ 2 ]. Hollitz, John. Thinking Through the Past: A Critical Thinking Approach to U.S.

The study of history and the teaching of history has come under intense public debate in the United States in the last few decades. The “culture-wars” began with the call to add more works by non-Caucasians and women and has bled into the study of history. Not only in the study of history or literature, this debate has spread into American culture like wildfire.

The perception of history is often crafted by the information given and the information available, however, almost too often the facts accessible are warped by the viewpoints of others before they can be properly assessed. Differing outlooks thus explicate the controversial nature of historical events and why the motives and conclusions behind certain occurrences are called into question. The Mexican American war as many American historians would call it ushers a contrary tone in Mexico as their own historians would claim the “war” as United States invasion; the difference in referral is based on the different perceptions of the conflict. In the American viewpoint, the Mexican American War was driven by economic, social and political pressures to bolster United States territories, through the annexation of Texas. In the converse, it could be argued that Mexico did not declare a formal war against the United States but rather was interested in defending their country’s territorial integrity and resisting United State’s invasion. In a Mexican viewpoint then, the war was not a result of arrogance but a consequence of defending Mexican territory from United States invasion. Nonetheless the aftermath of the war produced immense repercussions, furthering American exceptionalism, slavery, and disregard for international borders prompting the inquiry of not only the unjust methods applied but the unjustified results.

In 1898, the United States of America was in the midst of a complete remolding of the nation's reputation. Just having recently ended the Civil War among the states in the United States and once again forging war with the Spanish-American War, the United States was after a more masculine image and reputation. Due to the nature of the country at that moment in time, the American government wanted to prove their superiority among other emerging nations and in doing so chose to colonize and annex nations such as the Philippines. Primary resources indicated that the annexation of the Philippines was indeed motivated by the lack of masculinity that was felt by the American government at the time (Hollitz, 2010). Gender roles in the United States were at a point where their stereotypical reputations were changing and women were gaining more social power. This was unlike any comparable country at the time, and the United States was taking this transition negatively as their reputation as the most powerful nation in the world was at stake. This allowed for gender to play a dominate role in the debate over the Philippines.

Why acknowledge history? The solution is because we essentially must to achieve access to the laboratory of human involvement. In the essay “Haunted America”, Patricia Nelson takes a truly various and remarkably gallant stance on United States history. Through the recounting of the White/Modoc war in “Haunted America,” she brings to light the complexity and confusion of the White/Indian conflicts that is often missing in much of the history we read. Her account of the war, with the faults of both Whites and Indians revealed, is an unusual alternative to the stereotypical “Whites were good; Indians were bad” or the reverse stand point that “Indians were good; Whites were bad” conclusions that many historians reach. Limerick argues that a very brutal and bloody era has been simplified and romanticized, reducing the lives and deaths of hundreds to the telling of an uncomplicated story of “Good Guys” and “Bad Guys”.

The acquisition of Philippines by the United States is the topic that is going to be focused upon throughout this paper. The historical context of this topic deserves to analyzed with reference to both the primary and secondary readings assigned. The highlighted issue takes place after the treaty of Paris was signed between the United States and Spain which liberated Spain’s remaining colonies. Towards the end of the 19th century, Americans were influenced by the ideology of imperialism. They believed that advanced industrialized nations like the United States, Great Britain and France needed to acquire colonies in order to provide raw materials to feed their industrial economies. Extensive markets were wanted in order to sell finished products to those colonial masses.

History is often fabricated and told in a way that is appealing to youth and descendants. History is often told from “white eyes” Loewen suggest that it be told through red eyes to provide true insight in what has formed our country. “One does not start from point zero, but from minus ten” (Loewens 93). High School students are presented information in a biased way. Students are not always taught how to view a situation through another perspective. Students are only able to view a situation based on how they have lived or what they know best. When teaching history of the world teachers often teach harsh situations from the past in ways that are fabricated. “If we look Indian history squarely in the eye, we are going to get red eyes” (Loewen 95). In this statement Loewen suggest that if a reader looks at a situation “squarely” the reader will develop “red eyes” that open the reader up to reality of our decedents and the

History is a remarkable subject that offers and eagles eye view into the past. With textbooks such as, Hist3, a great deal of interesting information can be acquired. However, a common misconception runs rampant through students minds; the idealism that history is useless and that the subject is that of a drag. Who can blame them? Our text books can only do so much in terms of providing the means in educating ourselves when we’re not in a class room and when given the opportunity to appear in class we have the luxury of (hopefully) having and interesting professor to enlighten us on all the side conflicts, affairs, and bloodshed that has happened. Even so, when we as students have exhausted the book and our instructors, we have the privilege

In the book “Lies My teacher Told Me”, Professor James, Loewen has criticisms of the misreading and deliberately forgotten of the figures, events, and social form in American history from American high school’s history textbooks. Also, he discussed why American history teacher cannot guide students to treat and study history in a positive attitude. From this book, I realized many lies in American history from textbook. However, distortion of contemporary history was not only in America, since other countries had the same situation as well. Many Chinese and Koreans points that some description in Japanese history textbook between 1905 and 1945 are full of prejudices and errors. Iran's textbook also denies Nazi for the massacre of the Jews.

Today, in the 21st century, English has become one of the most used languages around the world. It is so widely used that linguists have considered it to be the new ‘lingua franca’. Along with its language the United States is one of the most influential countries around the globe. There is no denying its presence in everything from international politics to entertainment. In fact, it is thought to be the only country that rivals the world 's once-great empires in terms of its global impact. In an article written by Mclean, she proclaims, “the U.S dominates world politics by providing the language, ideas, and institutional frameworks around which much of the world turns” (2). However, the United States did not just become an imperial power over night. From the middle of the 19th century till present time the U.S has been intervening in foreign lands. One country that has been immensely influenced by English colonization, to present day, is the Island of the Philippines. Whether it was consciously or not, the control of the Philippines by U.S after the Spanish-American War was a small step towards world power. A brief look into Philippines’ history shows how much different the island would’ve been without English rule. Although the Philippines were not pleased with the transfer of power over to America in the Treaty of Paris, the short 50 year rule proves to have had a major impact on Philippine culture, customs, and politics today.