American History, 1877 to present
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In explaining American history from the beginnings of the nation to the Progressive era,
textbooks promote patriotism at the expense of other nationalities and attempt to cover the
everlasting racism within the nation. Unfortunately, they continue to take the same approach
while explaining events from 1920 to the present. Indeed, textbooks fuel the irrational amount of
nationalism Americans hold while not revealing America’s faults throughout its history.
Additionally, since 1920, American involvement across the globe has expanded and has
attempted to exploit nations, whether it is for political or economic benefits. However, in their
typical approach, textbooks do not provide the true motive of America, but rather state America
is attempting to help nations develop into democratic nations. Although America has had proud
moments such as the civil rights movement and positive immigration legislation, textbooks also
have the responsibility of presenting America’s faults such as their shortcomings in curtailing
racism and their true motives behind the legislation passed and foreign involvement in the past
century.
In explaining America’s foreign involvement during the 1920’s, textbooks fail to mention
America’s true motive in expanding its “empire” which is evident through their involvement in
the Hawaii and Cuba. For example, in Hawaii, textbooks argue Queen Liliuokalani was
overthrown because of the she aimed to create a constitution that would increase the monarch’s
power. However, textbooks fail to elaborate the constitution would have diminished the
influence of American sugar planters in Hawaii. Essentially, Queen Liliuokalani wanted to
protect her Hawaiian citizens from foreign American sugar planters who wanted to exploit their
land. Nevertheless, a coup was arranged where Queen Liliuokalani was overthrown and Hawaii
was eventually annexed (lecture, October 21). America’s involvement in Hawaii was not to
prevent an increase in a monarch’s power, but rather to exploit and increase economic benefits.
A similar approach was taken in Cuba following the Spanish-American War. After the American
forces defeated the Spanish, Cuba and the United States came to an agreement called the Platt
Amendment. Arguably, the Platt Amendment is perhaps the most telling of America’s true
motives in expanding its “empire”. Provisions in the Platt Amendment include protecting
American property, banning treaties between Cuba and any other nation, and right to intervene
(lecture, October 21). Textbooks may argue America has inserted these provisions to ensure
Cuba will become a flourishing democratic nation like America, but as the future shows, this was
not the case. America’s desire to expand political and economic power was often portrayed as
promoting democratic institutions to nations in desperate need. While America aimed to expand
economic power outside its borders, the Great Depression certainly slowed down that process.
While describing the devastation of the Great Depression, a majority of textbooks fail to
provide perhaps the most meaningful, but darkest statistic of the era: the suicide rate. Textbooks
often provide statistics of how GDP or unemployment was increasingly high. While it does help
provide some perspective as to how overwhelming the Great Depression was, it does not help
stimulate insightful thoughts to the average student. Discussing how the GDP fell from $104
billion in 1929 to $74 billion in 1933 will not necessarily give the full perspective that textbooks
must give (lecture October 28). If textbooks mention the suicide rate during the Great Depression
was the highest rate ever in American history, it will certainly give the full perspective that will
promote critical thinking among students as to how devastating the Great Depression was.
Although it is arguably the darkest statistic in American history, it is necessary for textbooks to
include it in order to truly demonstrate how devastating the Great Depression was. The Great
Depression also provided an opportunity for Franklin Roosevelt to endear himself to affected
Americans through his program called the New Deal.
Although the New Deal showed the government was willing to help Americans in need,
textbooks must also show the government’s alternate motive which is evident through the
Democratic coalition. While it is essential to show the faults of America, it is also necessary to
applaud the government’s initiative to provide jobs within the programs of the New Deal.
Programs such as Works Project Administration (WPA) provided over 3 million jobs to
unemployed Americans (lecture, October 30). In a different approach from President Hoover,
Roosevelt’s initiative to provide jobs to Americans gave the country hope of improvement.
While praiseworthy, it is also necessary to include Roosevelt’s alternative motive in pushing for
these social programs. Known as the Democratic Coalition, the social programs provided by the
New Deal pulled in many different groups who supported the Democrats throughout the 1930’s
to 1960’s. Indeed, the Democrats only lost elections to Republican nominee Dwight Eisenhower
in 1952 and 1956 through the time span. Although the programs helped the Americans in need, it
is evident the Democrats knew the social programs would also help them keep their political
power. However, it was not only the New Deal that helped America recover from the Great
Depression, but also World War II.
World War II can be seen as a blessing in disguise in terms of the opportunities presented
toward previously ignored groups such as women and minorities. With the majority of male
Americans on the Pacific or European front, women and minorities saw an increased opportunity
in terms of the labor force. For instance, during World War II 1 million African Americans had
manufacturing jobs. Additionally, women made over 40% of the total labor force (lecture,
November 4). Certainly, women and minority groups enjoyed the increased responsibility and
opportunities presented to them. However, it is essential to mention these opportunities were
temporary. Once the war ended, the workforce consisted of only 9% women. Indeed the battle
for equal rights among was not over, but would be revitalized in the future. In fact, the battle for
equal rights also devastated the Japanese within America during World War II.
When discussing Japanese internment during World War II, it is crucial that textbooks
elaborate as to how irrational American thoughts resulted in the unjustifiable removal of the
Japanese’s constitutional rights. Following the attack in Pearl Harbor, there was an initial wave
of sympathy towards the Japanese, which was led by Los Angeles mayor, Fletcher Bowron.
However, as time passed the initial sympathy turned to irrational paranoia of an “inevitable”
attack. In perhaps the idea most reflective of the time’s thought process, Bowron argued that “the
absence of evidence of sabotage” shows that an attack is imminent (Kurashige 120). Ultimately,
it was this thought process that culminated in Executive Order 9066. The internment of innocent
Japanese is not only symbolic of America’s paranoia, but also of the everlasting racism within
America. In response to the discrimination, the civil rights movement erupted into the national
scene.
Following World War II, textbooks must not only discuss the achievement of the civil
rights legislation passed, but also of the faults that still need to be addressed in terms of equality.
The mass civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. was ultimately successful through
their peaceful protests and increasing sympathy because of the police brutality in Birmingham,
Alabama. Their firm beliefs and relentless efforts resulted in the passing of favorable legislation
such as the 24th Amendment, Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965
(lecture. Certainly, all the legislation helped address some of the discrimination such as the right
to vote by African Americans. However, textbooks must not give the impression that the
problem has been resolved entirely. Similar to the effects of removing slavery, the lasting effect
of both slavery and de jure discrimination still exists: racism. Racism has and seemingly will
always be prevalent in America unless textbooks explicitly explain it still exists today. Ironically,
the United States tries to instill the democratic principles they believe to hold themselves, upon
other nations during the Cold War.
When textbooks present the events of the Cold War, they often present the idea that
America is attempting to provide democratic principles towards nations in need, but it is also
necessary to present the perspective that America is overextending its influence, specifically in
Guatemala. The United States was so consumed and to a certain extent paranoid, of communism
they falsely assumed Guatemala was becoming communist. United Fruit Company farmers in
Guatemala received unfavorable agricultural legislation and appealed to the United States to help
achieve reform. In order to receive American support, the farmers argued Guatemala was on the
verge of becoming communist. Alarmed by the proximity of a possible communist nation to
America, the CIA acted swiftly to extinguish the “threat.” However, the CIA involvement
ultimately resulted in a civil war in Guatemala that lasted over 36 years. Involvement in
Guatemala was not only misguided, but also affected the future of Guatemala simply to ensure
ideological preferences for America. A similar approach to prevent a victory for communism
was taken in Vietnam.
Textbooks often describe the Vietnam as a battle against communism, but often fail to
provide to how much violent tactics the Americans will go to in order to not only communism to
win. In a demonstration of the violent tactic of the United States, America dropped more bombs
in Vietnam than in all of World War II (lecture, November 25). Evidently, this approach was a
byproduct of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which allowed President Johnson to take any action
he felt was necessary in Vietnam. Additionally, American troops used “Search and Destroy”
missions in which they killed all Vietnamese regardless of whether their allegiance was to South
or North Vietnam. Indeed, these violent tactics portrayed to what lengths America will go to
prevent any conflictive ideologies from growing on a global scale. Essentially, America wants to
boast their set of democratic principles as the best. However, it is evident America’s belief in
their set of democratic principles was shaken by the urban unrest in the 1960’s.
In examining the urban unrest, it is crucial to address the discrimination towards
minorities. During the 1960’s, Anglo Americans moved to the suburbs of cities and minorities
had to stay in impoverished inner city. Suburbs such as Levittown was exclusively available to
Anglo Americans due to legislation such as the GI Bill and redlining allowed only wealthy
whites to get home loans among the suburbs. Eventually, these conditions in the inner city
erupted into urban riots in cities across the nation such as Los Angeles and Detroit (lecture,
December 2). The discrimination and divisive nation was evident through the Kerner
Commission. The Kerner Commission stated the “nation was moving toward two societies one
black, one white – separate and unequal,” (lecture, December 2). The findings of the Kerner
Commission contradict the message textbooks want to give following slavery and Civil Rights
Act of 1964: elimination of discrimination. In fact, the Kerner Commission reinforces the idea
that racism will not be removed with simply legislation. Textbooks must make readers more
aware of the threat of racism dividing America further. Immigration legislation attempted to
remove racist institutions, but ultimately failed to do so completely.
Although America removed previous restrictions on immigration such as the Chinese
Exclusion Act, limitations on Latin Americans through the Hart Cellar Act shows the difficulty
of removing all discrimination within America. The United States attempted to cleanse the racist
perceptions of its immigration legislation by repealing the Chinese Exclusion Act and passing
the McCarran Walter Act. The McCarran Walter Act removed all racial restrictions on
immigration and certainly showed progress towards removing the racial barrier. However, the
significance of the other legislation, Hart Cellar Act, shows the reluctance to fully remove the
racism that exists. Although the Hart Cellar Act did improve immigration in some aspects, it
ultimately limited Latin American immigration to 120,000 a year (lecture, December 2). The
Hart Cellar Act ultimately shows the difficulty throughout American history towards removing
racism and discrimination in society. Abolishing slavery, passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
and the Hart Cellar Act all prove it will take more than legislation to remove racism.
Unfortunately, the New Right during the 1970’s showed reluctance to resolve the problems
within racism.
The presence and ideology of the New Right showed a reluctance to address and resolve
the problems within the divided nation. The New Right pushed for a conservative approach and
did not desire rapid change, especially in racial issues. Their reluctance was evident when a
busing program intended to integrate people from the suburbs and inner city. Ultimately, this
program was ineffective and resulted in violent protests in Boston (lecture, December 4). Years
after the Kerner Commission was published, the busing program was clearly an attempt to
address the divided society. However, it is also evident that in order for the legislation to unite a
discriminatory nation, it is necessary for the citizens to embrace change. Textbooks make this
change difficult by hesitating to discuss racism in society. Therefore, students remain relatively
oblivious to the racism that has existed throughout America’ history. Textbooks prefer to
promote nationalism at the expense of others, which is evident in textbooks’ assessment of 9/11.
Recent events, such as 9/11, are quite sensitive topics to discuss for textbooks, but their
approach is the same in that they promote patriotism at the expense of other nations. For
example, Loewen states a textbook, Understanding September 11th, fuels nationalism by stating
the “Twin Towers symbolize peace,” and the “World Trade Center is a living symbol of man’s
dedication to world peace,” (Loewen 266). Textbooks do not hesitate to provide false
information to promote nationalism among the nation. Rather than say the World Trade Center
shows American dominance, textbooks want to create sympathy towards the nation, and cover
the idea that America is usually the enforcer and at times, ideologically oppressive. Indeed,
textbooks evidently take the same approach in explaining the beginnings of America to the
present.
History can have various perspectives depending on who is discussing the past. America
tends to protect itself from possible criticism by refusing to discuss the longest rooted problem in
its history: racism. Additionally, true motives behind foreign involvement and legislation has
often been concealed from readers, but providing the generic motive as spreading democracy
across the world and the nation itself respectively. However, it is necessary to present these
problems of America to the readers of these textbooks. Changes must be made to address the
faults within America, particularly racism. Only when textbooks are willing to be honest with its
audience, can American citizens have the opportunity to take the necessary changes. After all,
America is the land of opportunity, so textbooks should give readers the opportunity to learn the
truths of the America.