A 1920s Lesson for Today’s History Textbook Wars

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An old American History textbook inside Brighton High School in Brighton, Colo., on Feb. 21, 2019.

. But while the battle is fierce, it’s not new. An earlier round in the conflict in the 1920s — over the teaching of the American Revolution — indicates that it will be crucial for historians to weigh in loudly and forcefully during the current debate. That will give them the space to continue to teach the most accurate, up-to-date version of U.S. History and prevent forces that fundamentally don’t understand the job of historians from shaping what American children learn about the past.

Accustomed to the comforting pre-1900 hagiography, critics — including newspaper columnists, politicians, and patriotic organizations — considered the new interpretation an affront. In the early 1920s, they took to the attack against leading textbooks. Critics decried how the historian-authors questioned the motives of revolutionary leaders as well as their claims against British tyranny.

The textbook reports issued by investigating groups and the laws themselves stopped just short of banning specific books or advocating for it, but they did lay out criteria for schools to follow in adopting history textbooks. Educators began using the discretion recommended in the textbook reports or mandated by the new laws to select history books.They had never been attacked in such a broad way like this.

Despite the revisions to books, several Hearst newspapers and a few independent papers continued to stoke the fury. But many others soon began opposing text censorship. Their editorial comments echoed what historians were saying about their role and need for independence.

 

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