Handicappedby History
Chapter 1 Questions
l. List four (4) of the American "heros" u'hosehistorieshavebeendistortedor altered
t h r o u g hh i s t o r i c atl e x t ,b o o k sa n d m u l t i p l ei n t e r p r e t a t i o n s .
2 . F o r e a c ho f t h e " h e r o s "l i s t e da b o v eg i v et h r e ee x a m p l e os f h o w t h e s ei n d i v i d u a l s
historieshave beendistortedor glorified.
3 . W h a t i s t h e a u t h o r o f t h e a r t i c l et r y i n g t o s a ya b o u th i s t o r ya n d t h e p r o c e s so f w r i t i n g
. , t r , r 1 , 1f r i " f r , f i r ' ' l f i , " ' '
''.1
a D o u th l s t o n c a l l g u r e s 7
4 . \ \ / h y d o y o u t h i n k t h e a u t h o rw r o t et h i s t e x t ? W h a t i s t h e a u t h o rt r y i n g t o a c c o m p l i s h ?
5 . W h a t r o l e d o e si n t e r p r e t a t i o np l a y i n g u i d i n gt h e a u t h o r ' sa s s e s s m e on ft h e r o m a k i n gi n
h i s t o r i c atle x t ?
o tf w h a t y o u t h i n k a b o u tt h e r e a d i n g .D i d y o u l i k e i t ? D o 1 ' o u
6 . P r o l ' i d ea n a s s c s s m e n
a
u
t
h
o
r
s
s
t
a
t e m e n tas n d a s s e s s m e n t sW?h y o r w h y n o t ?
a g r e er . r ' i t ht h e
-
- . ! €
- - --- :EE
'-:*
:
:
i-listcry
T h e P r o c e s so f H e r o - m o k i n g
Whoi possesfor ,ssn11tv
in Americois o seriesof rnyths
-]cmes Bolawin)
cboutones herciccnceslors
in the studvof historvot the
One is ostonished
i'ecurfence
of the ideo lhot evil mustbe forgonen,
distorled,
skimmedover.We mustnol rememberfhot
DonielWebsfergot drunkbul only rememberthothe wos
o splendidconstitulionol
lowyer.We musfforgetthot
GeorgeWoshingtonwos o sloveowner .
ond simply
remember
thethinos
' ' * roonrrins r-r.ditnhie
, Y " *e
cnd
inspiring.
Thedifficulty,
withlhisohilcsophy
is
of course,
thothistory
losesitsvolueos on incentive
ond exomple;
it
pointsperfect
menonCnoblenofions,
butit doesnottell
-W. E. B. Du Boisz
lhe trulh.
8y iioiizing ihcse\^inomw'e honot'w'e oQ o
,Cisservice
bcthtc themcnd i6 e115sives \Ve fcii rc
ieccqnizeihot''trecor,lcigo ond do iike'ryise'
- C h o r i e sv . ' N t i i r e '
T H t S c i { A P T E i lt S A B O U T H t R O l r l c A T l c N ' a i j e q e n e r a t i v e
pritplc ii"'er ittr(} iiertles'
ilri-](r5s lri^i:.ichiixe c;iciiicarionl that makes
indlThr,,-.rqi-iiitiS irt",,.err.Llur ctjuasrionai neiia turn fie'-'h-rnii-'l!ot'd
crr*i'i-riiir"'
i,clllicar. 1:;irn'
...iriir.iisys.1ii,r
i-riu11!.l.lilct.teaiLires',';ithcut
,,; itll:tti iiiarcsl.
'"'ith bittgraphicai vilri:nr' -'in-ieriran hiiton' te::tbrtt'k aic :iircried
.\.-n
ier'.-ie
s .i hilx til tach
iamouS i LCnti 0i' i]r,,titrt
i!-rc:las ci lhc
"Did \bu
lhe fa;:rous (Tht: Litai/tttgt o!'Frttdanr prcviCes
p.e:icirnr,
,1i,-,or..:" ,:nci
hoxes about Eliz.abeth Blackr+eil, rhe irsr \\'onran ro sraduate
Hansberry"
irom meciicai school in the United States' and Lorraine
themselves'
In
others)'
author oi A Raisin in the Sun, among manv
example' Thev
viqnettes are not a bad idea. Thev insrruct bv human
Thev a.llow text,h'ow direrse wa\.s rhar people can make a difference.
Hansberry" t'ho
book to give space ,o .h".r.r.r, such as Blackwell and
oi *'hite maie
parade
monolithic
a
,.liete tn'f,at ,rould othero'ise be
as to our
reflection
provoke
political leaders. Biographical vignettes also
Is Chester A' futhur more desen'ingof
iurpor. in teachiniho,o-,
lX4ro infuences us more (odaYipr.. ,hrn, s.n',Frrik Llo,vdVtight?
*'ti*;,r, ,'ho inu.n,.d the carport and transformeddomestic archirecAcr?
,urj ,pr..r, or Arthur, u'ho, um, sisned the first Civil Sen'ice
Georqe
or
\\,'hoserisero prominenceprovidesmore drama-Blaclovell's
s i l v e r S e n a t es e a t i n h i s m o u r h ) ? ' T h e
B u s h ' s( t h e l a r t e r b o r n * ' i i h
"
s
u
r
e
l vt e x t b o o k s h o u l d i n c l u d e s o m ep e o p l e
b
u
r
c h o i c e sa r e d e b a t a b l e ,
ther'
a
b a s e dn o t o n i r - o n r . r ' h a trh e Y c h i e v e db u t a l s o o n r h e d i s t a n c e
t r J v c r ( ( dr o r t h i e v ei t .
in
\ \ r i , r u i d q o o n I o r h i r d - a n d t o u r t h - q u e s tsh e l i s t o l ' h c r o c s
q
e
t
s
c
h
o
s
e
n'
r e r t b o . r kp . n , i " o n r . \ 1 r ' c o n c e r nh e r e 'h o r * ' e v e irs' n o r r v h o
into our
b u r , r r h er u . h a rh a p p en s t o t h c h c r o e sr- *[ i,vhoe nr h e va r ei n t r o d u c e d
,
{
mericans
n
t
u
n
'
n
{
e
n
t
i
e
t
h
c
e
h i s r o r Yt e x r b o o k sa n d o u r c l a s s r o o m s .
Kcller'
n
Hele
and
\\''ilson
\\io,rdro'*'
oi hcrc,ihcarion:
prorij. casestu<jic-.
e
x
tensl\'e
i
v
e
s
r
e
c
e
h
e
\ F i l s o nw a su n a r g u a b l ta. n i m p o r t a n rp r e s i d e n ta, n d
"little
perso-n"u'ho
rextbook.or..rrg.. x.ller, on rhe other hand, rvasa
ntific discipushedthrough*nolegislarion'changedthe courseof no scie
I
textbooks
history
r*'elve
the
plin., d..l.r.i no **"r' Only one of
Keller
about
talk
to
love
,u.r'.1'.d includesher phorogiaph' But teachers
H A N D I C A P P T D
B Y
H I S T O R Y
'1 n
l v
iilii
cr reccm*:c:-,ii-i'bii:!ji.ipi:ir-s
.ind orr-n shou, iuiiiovisua.ir-nareiiais
e
n
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e
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.
r
s
irer€nr
but thev mav be
relain soirething about borh oF thesehisroricalfi-eures.
no betrer oif tbr it. Heroification so disrorts the iives of Keiler and
tX'ilson(and manv others)rhat r'r':cannor ,hink straiehtaboucrhem.
Teachershave held up Helen Kcller, rhe blind and deaf girl *'ho
l\'f,r.iime her phvsical handicaps,:l-san insprrarionto qenerarions,rf
scho,rlchildren.
Even' hfih-eraderknou'sihe scenein rvhich -{nne Suili. ' ; n s p c l l st i ' d t e l i n t ov o u n q H e i e n ' sh a n d a t r h r p u n r p , . \ t i e a s t' t i j r , z e n
1 1 o . . ! 9a5n d 5 i n ' l s r r i p si r a . . ' cb e c n m l d e c r n K c l i e r ' si i i e . L ; r r n ' . ' , i i i i : l i s
' . ' : r . r r i ) n, . : , i ' l h ci ; n c
; i i l i t l . . \ l ' t i i i ' r a i ' . " ]i i i l . , i i i l : : : l ' : . ; i
i:iir, -i-,trr:r,i:::r
l ' l : r : ; l l ' , i H c i e r i ' . r i i . r . : : i i - l, i : , i t . ! , , r i i i ' ' ' , . n : i : i i ' r ' . " ' , .i 1' :,,i
l.:,,it,,i
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Tir ir.rv.'surir .r oland nr.rrirn riorl the iite ,,f Heicn Kellcr. i.rr:i,-.1;r,',
::-rd ilrlr:iiker.s iraveiisregardedher;rctuai hioqniphv onii icit r)Lltiic
j r r s o n si h c . p e r i h c . r l l v ; i k e du s r o l e i r n r i o m i r . K c l i e r ,t , . h o\ i r u s g l e d .
ro r.alianriyto learn to speal. hasbeen rnademute bv historr'.The resulr
is that rve reallv don'r knorv much about her.
Over rhe past ten vears,I haveaskeddozensofcollege srudentsrvho
Helen Keller w'asand r'vhatshe did. Thev ali know that she rvasa blind
and deaf girl. N{ost of rhem know that she rvasbefriendedby a reacher,
.A.nneSullivan, and learned to read and write and even to speali. Some
srudentscan recall rather minute details o[ Keller'searly life: that she
lived in Alabama, thar she was unruly and without manners befbre
Sullivan came along, and so forth. A few know that Keller graduated
trom college.But about what happened next, about the *'hole of her
adult life, they are ignorant.A few studentsventure thar Keller became
a "public figure" or a "humanitarian," perhapson behalf of the blind or
deaf."She rvrote,didn't she?"or "she spoke"-conjecrures without contenr. Keller, who was born in 1880, graduatedfrom Radcliffe in 1904
and died in 1968. To ignore the sixry-four vears of her adult life or
to encapsulatethem with the single word humanitarian is to lie bv
omission.
The trurh is thar Helen Keller was a radical socialist.She joined the
parry of i\4assachuserrs
in 1909. She had becomea sociairadicai
Socia-lisr
even before she graduated from Radcliffe, and not, she emphasized,
becauseof any teachingsavailable there. After the Russian Revolution,
she sang rhe praisesof rhe new communist nation: "ln the East a new
srar is risen! Wirh pain and anguish the old order has given birth to the
! I E 5 M Y T T A C H E RT O I D M E
20
(eiier a,hOn-'OrOned
wCfien -csJrirJJe. -e'
A,,."Oi.,.C !,Oiae rcr ite yaraeiesS, reien
gs
J 3 5 , : , 1 rc t : r t e \ e a c o i r n i s i I | 2 c e n c r s r r o f r c n 5 n c \ a ' 5h e : c e t e b r t f v ': i o i u s
"Yer'
5:Cles :"'iere
.:s ne. aCmr,:neai tC r,e CCuSe ,-lle S,t,€iCSCr€ Cli frcr, u'^V€,cie.n
.^.a-,ea 4'e:e JiifQg'"' "'^'.'^
re\{,.and behold in rhe Easta man-child is bornl onward, comrades,all
ioqerher!onrvard to rhe campfiresof Russialonrvard to the coming
GraduallYshe
Ja*,nl",,Keller hunq a red flag over rhe deskrn her studv.
'Wbbblv'
a member
moved to rhe lefi oi rhe SocialislParn' and becamea
,,,f the Incusrrial \\lorkers of rhe \x/orld (lv xI), the s'r'ndicalistunton
r e r 5 c ru t c d b r ' \ \ b o d r o r r \ \ ' i l s o n
K e i l e r ' sc o m n t i r n r e n r o s o c i r i i i s ms r e m m e df i o m h e r e x p e r i e n c ea s a
r r h e r su ' i t h h a n c j i c a p ss.h e
, . l i s a b l epdc r s o na n d f r o n r h e r s V m p a r h r , f o o
. u t s o o nc a n l e
r o s i m p l i n ' r h ea l p h a b etro r t h e b , l i n d b
i . , c g abnr ' . r ' o r k r n g
s v m P t o n l .n o t
\
\
'
a
s
t
o
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e
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t
s
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o
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c
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ro rciiizerhat
\
\
:
a
s
n
ot disrribured
h
l
i
r
r
d
r
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s
s
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r
a
r
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a
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.
h
c
. ; r u s c .T h r o u g h r . - s e a r c h
c
o
n
c
e
n
t
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a
t
e di n r h e l o s e r
u
'
a
s
b
u
r
; ; i n g i i , r m rl vh r o u s h o i , rl th e p o p u i a t i o n
; i a s , i .\ l e n r . . . h o$ e r e p o o r n - r i q h rb e b l i n d e d i n i n d u s t r i a lr c c i d e r l r so r
i _ . ,ivn a d e q u a t em e d i c a lc a r e lp o o r \ \ , o m e nu ' h o b e c a m eP r o s r i r u r e s - f z c e d
^ h u s K c l l e r l e a r n e dh o r v
i h e a d d i r i o n a ld a n g e ro f s v p h i l i u cb l i n d n e s sT
o
p
p
o
r
t
u n i t i e si n l i f e , s o m e t i m e s
t h e s o c i a lc l a s ss v s t e mc o n t r o l sp e o p l e ' s
derermining even $,hether rhev can see.Keller's research\4'asnot iust
"l havevisitedsleatshops,factories,crorvdedslums. If I
book-learni*ng:
c o u l d n o t s e ei t , I c o u l ds m e l li t . " H A I { D I C A ' P E D B Y
H I S T O R Y
n l
z l
.ir rirc rime K.=iierbeclne i sociaiist,5ilsB'asiln€ i-rirhr most larncrus
i\-onren{)n ihe planer.*{hesoon becamethe most notorious.Her convers i o n i o s o c i a i i s mc a u s e de n e l v s i o r m o i p u b t i c i w - t h i s t i r n e , r u t r a g e d .
\ e r v s o a p e r st h a t h a d e x t o l l e dh e r c o u r a g ea n d i n t e l l i q e n c e
nclv cmpha, ' i z e i jh e r h a n d i c a p .C o l u n . r n i s tcsh a r g e dt h a t s h e h a d n o i n d e p e n d e n r
srnsor.,.inpur and rt'as in thrall to those .*ho fed hcr intormation.
T-;pic;rl .vas rhe rditor ,-,f thc Brooklvn E,igle,,vho ,.r'rotethar Keller's
" n r i s t . r k essp r i n go u t o i t h e m a n i i e s ti i r n i r a r i o n o
s i l r e rt i e " ' r i o p n r ( n r .
'.\r
r i . i . i iri n r t i i t r ! i r l n r i r l i ; - l -rr,c: f
l . . r i i r r r e c ; l l c i ii n ' . ' i n gr t i t t l h i : i r L i i t r ; r :
:-l- 'r'.i'.i iTIa
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i,irn.in.it
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t:i utii.h
i i - r : - ' : . 1 i .i i t : I
.;,1.i :i:i
. i a i i . - i i n c s s . , * - h i crh, . ca r e r ' ' , ' i t : gi o p r e \ . c n r .
K l l i c r , r r ' h o i c r ' , r r e t im u c h o i h e r i a t c r l i t e t o r a i s i n gi r n d s i o r r h e
n herbelicithar,rur
. l . m e r i c a nF o u n d a t i o nr b r r h e B l i n d . n e v e rt n ' a v e r ei d
locien' neededradical chanse.Hai'ing herselftbught so hard ro sperk.
she helped foLrndthe ,\merican Civil LibertiesUnion to iieht tor the
tiee speechoi others. She senr 5100 to rhe N,$.CP n'ith a letter oi
support that appearedin its magazine The Crisi:-a radical ;lct ior il
r v h i t e p e r s o n f r o m A l a b a m a i n r h e 1 9 2 0 s .S h e s u p p o r t e dE u q e n e\ 1
for rhe presiDebs, the Socialistcandidate,in each of his ca-mpaigns
dencv.She composedessavs
on the women'smovement,on polirics,on
economics.Near the end of her life, she wrote to Elizabeth Gurlev
Flvnn, leader oF rhe American Communist parn', rvho was rhen languishing in iail, a victim of the McCarthy era: "Loving birthdav greetings, dear Elizabeth Flvnn! May the senseof serving mankind bring
srrengrhand peaceinto vour brave heart!"e
One may not agreewith Helen Kellers posirions.Her praiseof rhe
to some eventreasonous.Bur she
LrSSRnow seemsnaive,embarrassing,
was a radical-a Factt-ew,A.mericansknow, becauseour schooling and
our massmedia left it out.ro
'Whar,'ve
did not learn about'Woodrow Wilson is even more remarkable. When I ask my collegestudentsro tell me rvhat they recallabout
PresidentWilson, thev respondwirh enrhusiasm.Thev sav that \il/ilson
led our counrrv relucranrlvinto W'orld War I and after the u'ar led the
srrugglenarionally and internationally to establishthe Leagueof Narions. Thev associate\Vilson n'irh progressivecauseslike rvomen'ssuf.W'ilson
administration's Palmer
frage. A handful of studenrs reca-llthe
Raids againsrleft-wing unions. But my studenrsseldom know or speak
t I E S M Y T E A C H E RT O L D M E
A^.r",:
l'!
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l - l - 1 ' . " ' 5 , : . ' i f 1 3 " ! : 3 n S r ' r g e a 1 5' : : F '
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tLc',c c'Sssure
ciauieo
l,vDicoltv ic,l ic snotn thc
^nC lre Cecs]e.3i,g;ving
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ja.i..-.-?c \r'v,<J.'.iot'c::a-i:\t--er:
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the C:eAt' il ff e nera
le:h:
-:
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re'r-i
;rtor: ncii ci t^,e sziy
a b o u t n v o a n r i d e m o c r a r i cp o l i c i e st h a t w i l s o n c a r r i e do u t : h i s r a c i a l
l o v e r n m e n ta n d h i s m i l i t a n ' i n t e r v e n t i o n st n
. c F r c l a l i o no i r h e f e d e r a q
t o r c i e nc o u n t r i e s .
U n d e r \ \ r i l s o n , t h e u n i r e d s r a t e si n t e r v e n e di n L a t i n . { m e r i c a m o r e
o t r c n t h a n a r a n v o r h e rt i n r e i n , - r u rh i s t o r r '\.\ ' e l a n d e dt r o o P si n \ l e r r c o
i n l l ) l { . H a i t i i n 1 9 1 i . r h e D o m i n i c a nR c p u b l i ci n 1 ! ) 1 6 '\ l e x i c o a c , a i r r
i n l q l 6 r a n d n i n e m o r e t i m e s b e l o r et h c e n d o f \ \ ' i l s o n ' sP r e s i dnec \ ' 1 ,
t l u b r i n 1 9 1 - . a n d P a n a m ai n 1 9 i 8 . T h r o u g h o u t h i s a C m i n i s r r a t i o n
\ ' i l . o r t r l l a r n t a i n ei do r c e si n N i c a r a g u au' s i n gt h e m t o d e t e r m i n e\ i c a rhe
r e q u r sp r e s i i i e n ar n d t o i o r c e P a s s r g eo f r t r c a n ' p r e l i r e n t i a it o
UnitedStates.
I n 1 9 1 7 \ X b o d r o u \ \ : i l s o n t o o k o n a m a i o r p o $ ' e rr n ' h e nh e s t a r t e d
rvar.
secrer moneran'aid ro rhe "\\.hite" side o[ the Russiancivil
sendin,S
soviet
the
of
blockade
I., the"s,r-mer of 1918 he aurhorizeda naval
and
Union and senr expeditionaw iorces to l\'lurmansk' Archangel'
\ladivostok ro help overrhrow rhe RussianRevolurion.with the blesssoli n e o i B r i t a r n a n d F r a n c e ,a n d i n a i o i n t c o m m a n d v i ' i t hJ a P a n e s e
H A N D I C A P P E D B Y
H I S T O R Y
/ <
L V
diers. ,{merican lbrces penerraredu.esnvardfiorn \,'ladivosrokto I ake
Baikal, supporrinr Czech and \X,'hireRussianiorcesri"rr hed derlaied
tn anricomrnunisrgovernmenr heedquarteredar L)msk. _\fter brieflv
m:tinraininglionr Iinesas iar rvestas rhe \irlga, rtre\d,'fiiteRussieniorces
d i s i n r " - q r a r ebdv r h e e n d o f l : ) 1 ! ) ,a n d o u r r r o o p sh n a i l vl e f i \ . i a C i v o s t o k
c n , { p r i l i , i 9 2 0 .i '
Fe',v-{rnericansu.[io were nor alive ar rhe rime knoq' anvrhing ;rbour
our "itnkroto.nq-arrvith Russia."ro ducre rhe rirle ,,i Rct,err \i;,lil,rr'-.
i1-pii i,rnritis ia-.c,,.)i,-rrlltr r-rilllc i,.,rivr .l-rncrii:ti':iti-.r,--i-,
l.:.i1.,,,,.,i.-,,
: n : i i i ' 5 ; ; 1 . . i - l l i j " ' i r n i t l i l : i i ; ; r . i l . R L r : ' , , i . r ni - ,i r r , . r i . , ' i : : r l i r i , r : i : . : .. r ; r - ; r i : . i : L i i i
h;;:i:- gi"i tlir.i-.r.i:,,i;,:i:rt'-i,,ill:ii,:.,r-,-'rt:;g1..\..t,ril:i:l tir '',].:r:,1,....
'il,=
I - l : : ' t . i r . , l - . l i - . i r r i - i ; : i i i . i [ a .! - : r : 1 , . j ] , r . t j i , 1
: . i , , . ,: - i : , , , . r , r , , , : .
: , : - . ' t i . r ; i r , l i t , : l l l - - , i '- 1 r ) i i r i g i j t i i L t : . i : l r ] j , , i . . i . - l c i i i i t n i i : : ' , . . - , i . : . . : _ , .j
.,,
' - :: L
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. q;15fl1
i k' , i : , r . i r r s h ; . i . i , : r r - i - r r i . ) r i .[ . . : l i l
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-,-i J.lil-r)\
:1.'
\('\tit
-i-r\'('i:n)iilt
:I
Ll..::,
.,.:.-
t:rl
:i
;ir.urcc-":
T h i s : q g r e s s i , r tnu e l e dt h e s u s p i c i o n sr h a t m o t i v a t e dr h e S o v i e t sc i u r i n q t h e C o l c i\ \ i r , a n d u n r i l i r s b r e a k u pr h e S o v i e tL , n i o n . o n r i n r i e dr o
claim dam:rgesfbr rhe invesion.
\Vilson'sinvasionsof Latin .{mericaare betterknorvn rhan his Rr-rssian
adventure.Textboola do cover some of rhem, and it is fascinatingro
rvarchtexrbook aurhorsarrempr ro justifu rheseepisodes.Any accurare
portravalof rhe invasionscould not possiblvshow Wilson or the Unired
Staresin a fivorable light. With hindsighr we know that Wilson's inrervenrions in Cuba, rhe Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nicaraguaset
the sragefor rhe dicratorsBarista,Trujillo, rhe Duvaliers,and rhe Somozas, rvhoselegaciessrill reverberare.rr
Even in rhe 1910s, mosr o[ rhe
invxions were unpopular in rhis counrry and provoked a rorrenr of
c r i t i c i s m a b r o a d .B v t h e m i d - 1 9 2 0 s ,V i l s o n ' s s u c c e s s o rrse v e r s e dh i s
policiesin Lacin America. The aurhorso[ hisrorv rexrbool$ know this,
fbr a chapteror n\.o after W'ilsonrhey laud our "Good Neighbor Policv,"
the renunciation of force in Larin ,A.merica
bv PresidenrsCoolidge and
Hoover,rvhich was extendedbv Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Textbook mighr (bur dont) call Vilson! larin American acrions a
"Bad Nei-ehborPoliry" bv comparison.Instead,laced with unpleasantries, rextbook *'riggle ro ger the hero oif rhe hook, as in rhis example
ftom The Cltailengeof Freedom:"Presidenr Wilson wanted rhe United
Statesro build iriendshipswith the counrriesof Latin America. However,he found this difficu.k.. . . " Some rexrbooksblame rhe invasions
on the counrriesinvaded: "Necessirywas the morher of armed Caribbean inten'enrion," s:u;rcsThc American Pageant. Land of Promise is
III5
.1 A
t4
iAY IIACHgR TOTD ME
.'-''j{iie
a^\ iO
'
-!{no
CSUsei
i the invasions bt-tt s;ems c:nai*
lh;"' ivere not
..FIe
..,.;;lron,,
soon discor.eredthat becauseof ibrceshe could not
ioine:
rn sive *'av to- practical
.*n,*1, hi- ii.". of moraliw and idealismhad
"Thus, though he
on ro asserrwilson's innocence:
acrion.,'Pro*tisegoes
into the Caribbear' he
+elievedit morait' undesirableto send l{arines
is sheer invention' Linlike his
no 1\'al'to avoid it"' This pa^-tsage
:a1&,
rhat rvhat \},iiison "ibrced
:-creran' of ,h. nrt"', o'ho larer .o-pl'intd
ime]todoinHaitiu,asabitrerpillfbrme.'ncjdocumentan.cr'idence
titrops
,iisplitci-:inq
::*g*.r,, that \x.iison suitere,.lar:'r'suchQualnlsabout
:c the Cari'bheair'''
'-jli'1''''
:tltJiiltl
- : ' i r ' r c i r t r ' l i i l i i : \ ' i i ' ' r - r : r : ri : : : : ' t - r ' i c i : l t r l 1 ' ' ; - ' ' i i \
.
r
i
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r
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:
r
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i
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i
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r
:
i - , i l ' I i : : i r i ; . ! ; . i i l i h r i ' l a i - 1 5 ' : ii n 3 t l i i c i r t t e n ' t r i i c r t s
tc
'
t
i
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'
i
"
i
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r
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n:ii;r;l"
rr:end
"llcrit:c,ti \]"liiilll *-::;:gcd
" t1l ct :r tcilrdoi n - e
IirILrit ia"r .iti.i,,:ier-"
i - : i i , r t € c tA n r e r l c : r r i n \ - € s t l l r c n I S A n d r c i
:iLiIht'rs tnli-'iltt'tit e lhat rhc
'\-iiii"'n"'"'hi-rsc
ytt ir::rtnpl, tt,{ tht 'it;ttri;ar;
But "a'tlic nronln: i;-\\cd '\'rn
; , r e . . i , l e . , rr , d r r , r h o s e r ; o t t o i i l t e n ' c n c '
'lrresid.n,
\Ititer Karp hr' 'qhorvn.rhat
\ T i i s o n b c s a n t o l o s en , i r i e n c e . "
$'as \\'ilson's idea from
rhis \.ersionccnrraciictsthe tacts-the tnvasion
A m e r i c a n p e o p l er '
t h e s t a r t ' a n d i t o u t r a g e dC o n g r e s sa s u ' e l l a s t h e
Vrilson'sinten'ention\\'asso outraqeousthat leaders
AccorCineto Karp,
.\'{exico.s
ongoing civil rvar demanded that the U.S'
of both si.]esof
U n i t e d S t a t e sa n d
f o r c e sl e a v e ;t h e p r e s s u r eo i i u b l t o p i n i o n i n t h e
the troops'
around the tn'orldfinallv inffuencedWilson to recall
r v h e nd e s c r i b i n go u r
T e x t b o o ka u t h o r sc o m m o n l v u s ea n o t h e rd e v i c e
our iorces to
lv'{exicanadvenrures:thev identifu Wilson as ordering
inl Impartine
them
ordered
ha'ing
u'ithdra*',but nobodv is ipecified as
figures from
historical
information in a passive"oice helps to insulate
t h e i r o u ' n u n h e r o i co r u n e t h i c a ld e e d s '
out lhe act itseli.
s o m e b , o o k sg o b e Y o n do m i t r i n g t h e a c t o r a n d l e a v e
takeoYe'of
\x/ilson's
ntion
me
n
eve
not
Half oi ths nvslr.erextbooksdo
t b r c e dt h e
t
h
e
v
1
9
1
5
'
H a i t i . . { f r e rU . S . m a r i n e si n v a d e dt h e c o u n t n ' i n
p
r
e
s
i
d
ent
a
s
t u r p r e f er r e d c a n d i d a t e
H a i t i a n l e q i s i a t u r teo s e l e c o
.\\hen
s r a t e sd i d , r v e
H a i t , r e i u s - et.ol , l e c l a r e\ \ ' a ro n G e r m a n Va t i c r t h e u r r i t e d
s t a r e ss u p e n ' i s e da
d i s s o l V e ,t lh e l l a i r i a n l e g i s l a t u r eT. h e n t h c L l n i t e d
pleujo-relirendumtoaPPro\.eaneuHaitiatlcollslltlltlon.lessdemo'
p a s s e db r - a
c r a r i c t h a n t h e c o n s t i t u t i c . ,int r c p l a c c d :r h e r e f e r e n d u m
-i'8,
A s P i e r o G l c i j c s u sh a s n o t e d ' ' ' i t i s n o t t h a t
h i l a r i o u s9 E . l l i t o
t h e s el i t t i e
\ \ j i l s o n i i i i e d i n h i s e a r n e s re i - t o r t st o b r i n g d . n l o c r a o ' t c '
h e g t m o . n v ,n o t
c o u n t r i e s .H e n e r . e rt r i e d . H e i n t e n ' e n e dt o i n l p o s e
,lemocrac\..",,,TheUniredsraresalsoarrackedHaiti'sproudtraditionof
datedback ro the
i n d i " i d u i o r v n e r s h i po f s m a l l t r a c t so f l a n d ' r v h i c h
o f l a r g ep l a n t a t i o n s '
H a j t i a n R e v o l u t i o n ,i n f i v o r o f r h e e s r a b l i s h m e n t
H A N D I C A P P T DB Y H I 5 I O R Y
A T
LJ
to x,lrk on roed cL)nstiuc.i;..rericanitr;iiirs icrce,j i!.ll:nts in shaci.'les
U . S .o c c u p a t i o n
1 i 1 , r n ; ; 6 u ,I sn . i 9 1 9 H a i t i a nc i r i z e n sr o s eu p a n d r e s i s t e d
r r o o p si n a g u e r r i l l at a r t h a t c o s t m o r e t h a n 3 , 0 t 1 0l i t ' e s .m o s r , r I t h e n
Heiriin. -!tudents ,.'ho read Triurr':,t/toJ rh, '4nteritan '\iiitiott iearn thl:
i b o u r ' . X ' i i s , ; ni!n r e r ' e n r i o ni n i - i a i r i :" N e i t h e r r h e r r e a n ' n o rr h e c o n t l n uld pre".e
nce ,;i''\nlerican trcropsrestilred,rrder conrplcteIr'. During thr
nc..:liiur ,rr i]te ',.ears,ncariv Lij0(l H.riti:rns$'€re ililed rn riots .tad
c r h e r i , i r i i - r r c : L, -r li t- ' i r , i e n i t . ' 'T h i ( l : t s s i v ea r i n s r r u c t i t ,ir-ne i i si h r t l r c i ; l i - l c h ( . - ' : i - r r q e3 = r n e r i , , t L ' . - r . i r a r l n e . ; t n . l : i , ; ' - , l t - : i ' i : r ; i : r ' .
s r , r n a a s , l ] , . 1 . 1i 1i ' ,h1i 1
'irl'::ric.rli"'i,,,.il:.riL-,1:l,,it
i..lilllrt,-i 1,,,
:!r iiii r.ti:tiii.'r:ti::r:n H,liri:
'
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i
'
i
l:,r. .,lli.:!irjj :!.!iia ;,:l :,-:iilr:lla ii:itf . ij,;i::;li :-iiiiiij :l;1.
llta5t -i'lllii,lg r;1ig 'ri lr: :.;nd :1,;i ,l=: .".i
l:n:lll 1,,,,.. ,,: .,,- ..1
i,..tf!:,
f;.lltng
,it-
lli,,t
ir"'o
rili;iiiCS
rt
lhls
:ciiillri-.
ihc
i'-lliri,l
iirl:\
:i-
r ! . r 1 . . . i ' ,n' ; d c i c i . : n i e s i , i \ . i l ; r i s u a . i l u h , i . t h c t - ) n l t t i r t i c . t :Rl . , . : i r , r l . '
i i i . H . i r r i . , l f l d r c r c r : i .ol r h e r c c , u n i r i c s J. ' i i s , t t r ' ;i i : t c t t o n t t t r i r < i l u . : t ; : '
R e v o i u t i o ns , r l i . l i h c ct ih e : r l i g n m e n to t ' r h e U n i r e t l . ' \ t a r e's, r ' i r i tE u r o p e '
c o i o n i a lp o \ \ ' e r sH
. i s t t a s t h e h r s t a d r n i n i s t r a r i o rno t , e o b s e s s erdi r t h r h e
i D e c r e or l c o m m u n i s m . a b r o a da n d a t h o m e . W ' i l s o nr l ' a sb l u n r a b o u t i r .
I n B i l l i n g s ,\ { o n r a n a ,s t u m p i n gt h e \ { ' e s tt o s e e ks u p P o r tf o r t h e l - c a q u e
o f N a t i o n s ,h e ' " r ' a r n e d",T h e r e a r e a p o s t l e so f L e n i n i n o u r o r v n m i d s t .
I c a n n o t i m a g i n es ' h a t i t m e a n st o b e a n a p o s t l eo f L e n i n . ] t n l e a n st o
be an apostleof the night, of chaos.of disorder."rsEven aiier the V'hite
Russianalternarivecollapsed,Wilson refirsedto extend diplomaric recognirion to the Sovier Union. He participated in barring RussiaFrom
the peacenegoriationsafter World V/ar I and helped oust B6ia Kun, rhe
communist leader*'ho had risen to power in Hungary. Vilson's senriment Forself-determinationand democracvneYerhad a chance3gainst
his three bedrock "ism"s: colonialism, racism, and anricommunism. A
voung Ho Chi Minh appea.ledto Woodrow Wilson at Versaillesfor
for Vietnam, but Ho had all threestrikesagainsthim.
self-determination
Wilson refrrsedro listen, and Franceretainedconrrol of Indochina.tt'It
seemsthat Wilson regardedself-determinationas all right for, sav,Belor Southeast,tia.
gium, but nor for the likes of Latin ,A.merica
At home, \ililson's racial policies disgracedthe office he held. His
R e p u b l i c e np r e d e c e s s o hr sa d r o u r i n e l va p p o i n t e d b l a c k r o i m p o r t a n t
oSces, including thoseof porr collector fbr New Orleans and rhe District of Columbia and register of rhe treasury.Presidentssomelimes
appointed African ,{.mericansas postmas(ers,Parlicularlv in southern
torvns *'ith large black populadons. ,A,fricanAmericans took part in the
RepublicanParry'snarionalconventionsand enioyedsome accessto the
Vtrite House. Woodrow Mlson, for whom manv African Americans
I ! E 5 I A Y T E A C H E RI O L D I | t E
)h
:'.;!-.i i:l i:l;l-;i;-::.led ali that. A sourherner,Vilson had been presidrnr of Princeton,the onlv maior norrhern univers;r,'that rciused to
'*hite supremacist-his u'ife g'as
ac-,rritblacks.fis rvas an ourspoken
',\'orse-an<j
"darkv"
told
storiesin cabinetmeetings.His adminrse1:en
iiari(-jnsubmirterja leeislativeprogramintenciedto curtail the civil riEhrs
but Congressrvould not Passit. Unfazed.\\t'ilson
of Airican .'\::rericans,
rhe lederal governn'lent.
u,retihis po$'er as chief executiveto ,s€gregate
for i-'ieci':-r'
reser,'eC
trediti,tnaiiv
*'hires
ro
oiSces
r{,t-lthern
ie ::;-.,r,rinted
' i ' i i r , : : ri r e r : , r * ; i i i ' , . . l t c , e d : ; i a i ti s, nt r a c i i l . c u a i i n ' i n t h e C o v c n a n t , - t i
cn l'llich i{'iison riL-r 1i'!til
.;r,: l:;gr= itl l-;itiirns. The .-ne i-rccasion
. + i i r ; r , , - . : : : e r i c , i ni c e i l e i si n i h e I ' r i t e i i c u s c r ; r i i i i i i n ; h a : r o ; s : h .
ieq:i'.
:rer.i,jcnr-'rrru:ii,r'ihier*' rhc lisl(on ,,ut cti his i:fhirr. 1i"iisctn's
.iiricarl
to
larn'
rn.ir :-;iarsi.'c: irc ciirctiveh' :1o-ier'ithc Demccriric
:.me:ilansicr;rilthir itvr,iiiec;,jes,;nd paits of'lh,: iciiclri gc'!ern;xani
r e i : - i , l n r d : : g i e E a r ei n
, it t , t h e 1 9 - i 0 sa n c lb e v o n d . r ti n l : ) 1 t . rt h c C t r l o r e c i
. i o r i s o n ' i l o m n i r t e e , ; i t h c R c p u b l i c a n\ a t i o n a l C c m m i t t e c i s s u e da
: r a t c m e n to n \ \ ' i l s o n t h a t , t h o u g h P a r t i s a n \, \ ' a sa . c u r a t e :" N o s o o n e r
rrad the DemocraricAdministration come into porverthan Mr. \X'ilson
rnd his advisorsentered upon a polict' to eliminate all colored cirizens
l overnment."rr
: r o m r e p r c s e n t a t i oi n t h e F e d e r aG
O f r h e n r e l v eh i s t o n ' t e x t b o o k I r e v i e u ' e do, n l y ' i o u r a c c u r a t e l vd e racialpolicies.Land of Protttisedoesthe besriob:
:rcribe\X/ilson's
V/oodrow Wilson's odministrotion*os openly hostile to block people'
Wilson wqs on ouispoken*hite supremocistwho belieued thqt block
people were inferior. During his compoign for the presidency,Wilson
p r o m i s e dt o p r e s sf o r c i v i lr i g h t s .B u to n c e i n o f f i c eh e f o r g o th i s p r o m i s e s .
lnsteod,Wilson ordered thot whiie ond block workers in federol government jobs be segregoted{rom one onother.This wos the first time such
n l h e n b l o c k f e d e r o le m s e g r e g o l i o nh o d e x i s t e ds i n c e R e c o n s t r u c i i o W
p l o y e e si n S o u t h e r nc i t i e sp r o t e s t e dt h e o r d e r ,W i l s o n h o d t h e p r o t e s t e r s
f i r e d . l n N o , r e m b e r1, 9 1 4 , o b l o c k d e l e g o t i o no s k e dt h e P r e s i d e ntio r e u e r s eh i sp c l i c i e sW
. i l s o n* o s r u d eo n d h o s t i l eo n d r e f u s e dt h e i rd e m o n d s ercepr lor one other texrbc,ok' Tite L'niredSntres-A
L'nicrrrunatelr'.
Prontisestandsalotie.\{ost of the rertb'ooksthat
Rryub[ic,
|-iisroryoj-rite
give
ir onlv a sentenceor nvo. Frve of rhe book
trear V'ilson's racism
"black
mark" on \X"ilsonspresidencv'One that
neyerer'enmention this
does, The ,AntcrtcanlV?t, does something even more astonishing: lt
invrnrs a happv endingl "Those in favor oi segregationfinall,t-losr supp o r t i n t h e a d m i n i s t r a r i o nT. h e i r p o l i c i e sg r a d u a l l vw e r ee n d e d . "T h i s i s
s i m p l r .n o t t r u e .
H A N D I C A P P E DB Y
H I S T O R Y
^ 1
/ /
L /
(..;r'i:!iiinq
be;'onc;crrieilinq a .harcr .rbirri'tingWiison'sracism'qr'i35
r . o b i a c k r e i s o n c o u l d e \ : e r! ( l n s r d e r
: . r e r b l e n . : i - - .Iht .i s o t ' e r t l ' , ' r a c i s N
'*bcdro*. \X'ilson ,r hero. Textbook that present him es a hero are
* r i t t e n i i , - i m a r i ' h i r ep e r s p e c t i v eT.h e c { l v e r u pd e n i e sa l l s r u d e n t st h e
'cec i i . r n c ei L 1i i a r n s o m e t h i n gi m p o r t a n t a b o u r t h e i n t e r r e i l r i o n s h i o
r*'een rhe ieacierand the led. White ,l'mericansengagedin a ne''vbtirst
ihe
,-.Iraci,riviolenceduring and immediatelvairer \\"ilson'spresidencr'.
ihe r.:leisc,-rt
.l;torhcr
ione !e!'ov the arimini-.rrltion\\'nsilne cau.se.
".'as
. ' \ l l q : " i ; . i 'rsi r s t. . p i cn t c r i r i nt i c i u r e . : l
f i : . : ri r : r ; : : r i : e r f ) l ' ' l , i * . i - r : t i r n
i';,...lci i
; i . l : l ' ; 1 ' . " 1 , - ' ' , - ' i ; : ' - ,.'- : r : , ' . "
: , , - . .. . , : . . , ii , . l r : . : , r r \ , , ; i , , t L r : : ' ! i ; . , . - .: - : - , : ' i
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.---
.
.
iti.rcn:-cr-,1il11!r'.riid i'l.r.;]li-:,1-:ll 'f .' :
(,,riii:h
, i ll,l,rle-s f)i:':ln'
h;:.d
iil"
:i:|\
li
\\'ho,ic fj.lia\:;,'n
-l-, = l,
' :.
, ' .l : i 1 l . . r ;
.',..islnrir'Jc-c until ,\ietn k-,iinrf-".\r ri prir-atc r\hiie Hi:tt:c :a'J\\l11g.
* ' i i s o n 5 3 u ' r h e n t t t v i e ,n o $ ' r c t i t l c d B t r t h o - 7 , 1- " , ' i i ! i 0 n , , t nidc l u r r c i
C r i i n t h i c o m p l i m e n t :" l t i s l i k e u ' r i r i n q h i s t o n w i r h l i s h t n i n q ' . r n d r n v
r ) n l \ ' : e q r e t i s r h r r i t i s a l l s o t r u e . G r i i f i r h t n ' o u l dg o o n t o L I s el h i i
q u o t l r t i o n i n s u c c e s s f u l ldve f e n d i n gh i s h l m a q a i n s tN A \ C P c h a r q e s
ihat it r.as raciallyinflammatory.t'
This landmark oi.A.mericancinema was not onlv the best rechnical
p r o d u c t i o no f i t s t i m e b u t a l s op r o b a b l vt h e m o s t r a c i s tm a i o r m o v i eo f
a l l r i m e . D i x o n i n t e n d e d " t o r e v o l u r i o n i z en o r t h e r n s e n t i m e n t b v a
presentationof historv that would transfbrm evervman in mv audience
inro a good Democratl . . . And make no misrake a$6u1 i1-r 's t..
d o i n g j u s r t h a t . " r ' D i x o n d i d n o t o v e r s t a l eb y m u c h . S p u r r e db y B i r t b
of a tYaion, V''illiam Simmons of Georgia reestablishedthe Ku Klux
\X/trite House encouraged
Klan. The racism seepingdown from the
rvhich
this Klan, disringuishingit lrom its Reconstructionpredecessor,
PresidentGranr had succeededin virruallv eliminating in one state
(South Carolina) and discouragingnarionallyfor a time. The new KKK
quickJvbecamea nationalphenomenon,It grew to dominare the Democratic Parry in manv southern states,as well as in Indiana, Oklahoma,
of antiblackraceriots
ind Oregon. During Wilson'ssecondterm, a r,r'ave
su'eptthe country. \X4riteslvnched blacksas far north as Duluth.:5
If ,Lmericanshad Iearncdfrom the Wilson era the connectionbenveen
racisr presidentiai leadershipand like-minded public response,they
might nor have put up with a repriseon a far smaller scaleduring the
To accomplishsuch education,ho,r'ever,textbools
Reagan-Bush
l'ears.16
u'ould have to make plain the relationshipberween causeand efrect,
berweenhero and followers.Insread,they reflexivelyascribenoble inrenT I E SM Y T I A C H I I
2B
TOLD IAT
Io excusequestiona'bieac::cns
iilrnsio ihe h:ro a-n,linvcke "rhe people"
the Amnican Naian:'is Presi*J"poil.i.r. According rc Tiumph of
rvhire 'a-mericansthat segregamost
rvith
J.nr, fXtitron seemed,o "gr..
*'ell
as 'a'hite '{'mericans"'
as
,ion
-- *r. in t5e best int.,tit' of black
far Snd 3t'3r' our most
\\:rison r','arnot onlv antiblack; he *'as also
lovalw of those.he called
natilist piesident,repeatedlvquestioningthe
.,hrphe*atedAmericans." "Lo **
,l'ho carries a h'phen 3i16g1*'ith
is readv to plunge into the
him," sai<iWilson, "carries ir**., thar he
"
The .{merican pecPle
=,.itais
oi this F.tpublic ,uh..,.".r-i- =ersreacil'."r'r1"'ils,--n's
erhnlc
l63d r';ith a wa\rr of repressicr'oi t\ihite
rlspo;tiicti i,-,
-fht
'irnert'
sci \I''ilson'
=r.,rrprti:gaifi.rn()sttc:tbcak L'iamethe cecplr'
i--l'.tlrtirrCi;ti
rhc
uE'
sei
;;rt 1,,ia!:i,:ri;:dinitsthat'^Flesiiitnt "Xiiison
Ll;-'ited !13195r'iih
ree ,rn irul--iicinil,rmation' ti'hich :arurated the
hastensio
il#il;ct;
Germans to baibarisrn' Eut
iiatr:3n{ia iir'.ii<ine
"'{thouFh
President
ii,i.lo'X';lron fr,.,n,rhe e*,.uing d,-rmestictailttut:
.rt.'ilscn
!L)-ilateihat mcstAinerlcans
had been caref-ri16li5 u'ar message
ihe anti-GermanProPacitizens"
oiGerrnan ,iescent\\'ere true and loval
ganda
ofien causedrhem suffering'"
'
u'hoseopinions
$'ilron displavedlirtle regardfor rhe righrso[ anvone
insulatehim from
difTeredirom his o*'n. B"t"ttrrbook tJe p^ins to
p a s s e dr h e
l l r o n g C o i n g ". C o n g r e s s "n' o t V i l s o n ' i s c r e d i t e du ' i t h h a v i n g
vear'
follou'ing
the
of
Act
Erpi.rln"e.i., of JJn. l9l7 and the Sedition
,{mericans
o[
liberries
probablv the rnost seriousattacks on lhe civil
1798' In fact' V'ilson
, i n . . , 1 , . s h o r t - l i v e dA ] i e n a n d S e d i t i o nA c r c o f
givin.g.t'road
,ri.J ,o strengthenthe EspionageAct rvith a provision
v/ilson's
u'ith
ir,{oreover,
censorshippo'rn..r,directlv ,o ,ii. president.
to
por'r'ers
censorship
appro.'al.his port*"srer general used ]ris.new
a
nv
t
h
a
t
.
i
n
o
r
' ro-Irish'
. u p p r . r , a l l m a i i r h a t u ' a sJ o c i a l i s ta, n t i - B r i t i s h p
Robert
'var effort'
o,it.r rr'.. mieht' in his vierv' have threatenedthe
T
he Spirir{':6' a
f
o
r
p
r
o
d
u
c
i
n
g
C o l , l s r e i ns e r v e dt e n v e a r si n p r i s o n
t h e B r i t i s h ,r v h o $ ' e r e
l t l m a b r t u t t h e R e r o l u r i o n a r r ' \ x j atrh a t d e p i c t e d
s u g ' g e stth a r r r ' a r t t m e
n o \ \ ' o u r a l l i e s ,t l n t a r o r a b l r ' - rTse x t b o o k a u t h o r s
lrfssuresexcuse\\lilson.s.upp,.ssionoIcrr.illiberties.butinl9]0'
that t.ould have
, , h e n \ \ b r i d \ \ a r I u . a sl o n g o r ' . r . \ \ ' ' i i s o nv e t o-ef edax tbbiol l, r k
a u t h o r sb l a m e
. i , b c i i s h c rah e E s p i o n a q ., n - . i s . d i , l o n a c l s . r n
\
X
' i l s o n 'sse c o n d
o
f
h
u
n
t
s
r
T
'
i
r
c
h
r h e a n t i c o m m u n i r ,, n J a n r i - l a b o ru n i o n
No evidence
a
m
o
k
'
r
u
n
t e r m o n h i s i l i n e s sa n d o n a n a t t o r n e l ' g e n e r a l
Palmer asked \\'ilson in
supparts this vierv. Indeed, AtrorneY General
V' Debs' who u'as sen'ing
hi, i"r, davs as presidenrto pardon Eusene
wbrld Vtr I to economic interestsand
rime for ,' ,p..ih
"ttributini
u n d e m o c r a t i c ' 3T0h e p r e s i d e n rt e p l i e d '
. It
d e n o u n c i n gt h e E s p i o n a g A
"'
..Neverl,,
in prison until warren Harding pardoned
and Debs langu"ished
H A N D I C A P P E DB Y H I S T O R Y
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TEACHER TOtD
ME
.:'9--5i!-
atiii
-:il'
li
---r
''1,'::r t":
'",'-:.,i'.; , 1. , , ' ^
a:t i.,*ae t^e,re:JTpC,la5
stole.
Tr-'iia :aou,'
nJS:.e
:.i*r.:1 TheAr:rzir;n x?-7acioptsprrhaPs rhe most innovative approach
-'Filson
cf ="vronqdoin* \Yhysimplv moves the "red scare"
:-r,absoiving
io rhe i920s, aiter'$'ilson had left officel
\Xriisons
Beceuse heroification pie\:€nts textboola flom shorving
iexibook are hard pressedto explain the resultsoi the
..lorrcon.rin,gs,
james
Cox, the Democratic candidatewho rvasHiilson's
l'11.0eiecrion.
was crushedbv the nonentiry V/arren G. Harding,
o'culd-besuccessor,
...'honever e'en canpaiened. In rhe big5:estlandslidein the hisrorv of
:,;-nerican
presi<lentialpolitics, Hlrding qot almosr (t4 percent nf the
,iaior-larn"..ores.The pecplt rvere"tirtd." rexrhc,'kssuggcst.anciiu,tt
r.;,::teda !-i';r-n iil ncr:liall-r'."The p,;-.,.ibilir"thrt lhe electttrareknerv
r.'ii.itii'u.':r,ji-:in{ in rtir':ii;ll \ijiison nc'ri t.cilrs ic ilui:1t-lihcrs.-':it
She cliiied'"1'iison"lhe gitatest intii;Lciirri.i tc Heieli ii-eiirr.hc..'e','er.
-'-idual,1is=i:plllnIn-*i the rvciiC ha-sei'ei Lnorvni"
i r i s n r c r i . , ' i i r h s c h o , ,hi i s r c n - c l - ) L 1 risl :ea-t(h e r c i h ,W i l s o n . T e x t b c o k , s
\\jii-son'sracism, have to batrle
,,ucha-.Laril o; i;rc'zrirre:r'hjch ciiscusses
.-r";il ;-. .!---,.
.,.,.--ie
'
.
.
.
:
i
,
againstthe archen,pallxbodros, \iilscn com',,..'
, u b , l i ct e l e v i s i o nd o c u m e n t a i n s o m a n y h i s t o n m u s e u m sp
aremorated
ries,ard historicalnovels.
For -.omevearsno\r',Michael Frisch has been conducting an experiment in socialarchcn-pes
aI the StateUniversiw of \-e*'\'ork at BuFfalo.
He askshis frrst-r'earcolleeestudentsfor "rhe first ren names thar vou
'!7ar.
\I/hrenFrisch fouhd
ihink of" in,\merican hisrorv beforethe Civil
that his studentslisted the same political and military figures'r'earafter
lear, replicatingthe privileeedpositions afforded them in hieh school
textbook, he added the proviso."excludingpresidents,generals,statesm e n . e t c . F r i s c hs t i l l g e t sa s t a b l el i s t , b u t o n e l e s sp r e d i c t a b l eo n r h e
basisof hisron' iextbook. Sevenvearsout of eight, Bersv Ross has led
t h e l i s t . f P a u l R e v e r eu s u a l l vc o m e si n s e c o n d . )
\ \ ' h a t i s i n r e r c s t i n ga b o u t r h i s c h o i c e i s t h a t B e t s v R o s s n e v e r d i d
r the actual
a n t r h i n g .F r i s c hn o t c st h a t s h e p i a v e d" n o r o l e u ' h a t s o e v ei n
c r c a r i o no f ' a n va c t u a li i r s t f l a g . "R o s sc a m et o p r o m i n e n c ea r o u n d 1 8 1 6 .
\ \ ' h ( r '\l( ' m e o l ' h e r d c . c e n d a n r s .i e k i n qt o c r e a t ea t o u r i s t: l t t r a c t i o ni n
P h i l a d e i p h i al .a r g e l vi n ' c n t e d t h e n r v t h o f t h e l i r s t f l a g . \ \ i i r h j u s t i c e ,
h i e h s c h o o l t e r l b o o k s u n i v e r s a . l iivq n o r e B e t s v R o s s l n o t o n e o f m v
ni'eivebook lists her in its index. So hou' and rvhv'does her storl' qet
transmitted,Frischoffersa hilariousexplanarion:If CeorgeV/ashington
is the Father of Our Countn', then Bersv Ross is our BlessedVirgin
I{an4 Frisch describesthe pageantsreenacted(or did we onlv imagine
ihem?) in our elementaryschool I'ears:"V/ashington [the godl calls on
the humble seaJnstress
Bets;-Rossin her tiny home and asksher if she
will make rhe nation'sflag, .o his design. And Bersy promptly brings
H A N D I C A P P T DB Y H I S T O R Y
a
v
t
l
r,:rth-i],;m her lapl-the nation itself, and the promise oi tieeiom
and naturai ii-ehrsibr all rnankind."''-'
I r h i n k F r i s c hi s o n t o s o m e t h i n g ,b u t m a v b eh e i s m e r e l v{ - i ns o r n l r;nklng
iiling. l,Lterher or not Llnebuvs his explanltion' Bersv R',,ss's
;mLri.igiiudents surelv prot'esthe pou'er oi the s,rcialarchel"oc. In the
ca.re.;f \{bodrorv \{jiison, iextbooksacruailvparticiparein crcatinq the
-.ocialrirchen'pe.\siil,.on is pctrtraved,r.s"g.l,ld." "i,jeaiisr." "t,-.,r.rii
'i,-,ilr.l
b r - e n i s i ; i ; t i i l n i : i\ c r : . i r r e r l l i i i l , . i i o nn. o r c o i , r n l . riin t e n ' r n r i , r r t . "
'
" ; h c = d , - , fi l ! . . r i r i t r . \ \ i . r ' i i r r l : l n . l i r l l i , ' n : , i i l t ' : r r i : : . r : r i I i r . ' : r
= : e. ' , i , : i j
'
.
i
':.",',:1."r
i : t ' . ; ; i : . , : . 1 - ;l l::: ' ' . " ; ' : l
' .'
.
,l'ic
, , , . - r( . - i I i i
rit f.rr:;tu:.' Iililli,r:.
i llr,::;:.'-:
"'-i,.:':
::nh ial,i !\'cit rr bc :i,l.tical lllia: \Jcui:t ll.::', lll,',.
-r,-;:i Il
r.. . ':
]''.i' ,l'.'.
1 , r i : ' . \ ; ; ' . a t , . , ' i . ' , , , r , u . i :i , l . . t t , , r r , i ] . i I i i
1 ' , ] , , 1 r ' ,- ii : ; , l r l l i l : n : . c i t , , t ; i
. , . t r { . ' i a , - 4 . ; , . . i.i . r
r'Li.n tria];!i..-i:.ii{,-tc.i:-ltsi. -','ett iii.';r-.lusu:iil,).'iir,,n's r;:i:i':t
in
Litr;ri ol lir;;s/liirj iinnoI
i-rti,richr:railil-:.lii
bui raii io :tick
in -iudc;1i,.
-i I nrls.
C u r a t c r so f h i : t o r v m u s e u m sk n o w t h a t t h ei r v i s i r o r sb r i n e a r c h e n ' p c s
i n ' n ' i t h t h e m . S o m e c u r a t o r sc o n s c i o u s l vd e s i g ne r h i b i r s t o . c n r r o n t
lhese archen'pesu'hen thev are inaccurate.Textbook authors' teachers'
;nd moviemakersrvould bener fulfill their educationalmission ii thev
also raught asainstinaccltratearchen'pes.Surelv\X/oodrowWilson does
not need their flattering omissions,after all. His progressivelegislative
accomplishmentsin jusr his 6rst rwo vears,including taritf retbrm, an
income rax, {he Federal ReserveAct, and rhe Vorkingmen's Compensa-
fhis srcrueci Cecrge WcshinEton now
:nstiltJiicn,
,n :hg -cm1t1566,cn
exerlci,f,es
ihe mcnnerin which iextbooxswouio
potttov gvgr,yAmer,conrero: :en leer
toll. btenishjree, wih rhebooy of o
Greek god.
rtts
J L
MY TIACHTR TOtD MI
ricn .*'cr. a;e ai;rosi u:rpara-ileied.ltrtiscn! sperchescn
benalf cf srii,-leteininationstirredthe r.r,orld,evenif his
did not li.,,cup to his
-,="ords.
".i,on,
r\i' do rertboo]ri oromore rvartiessstereon,pes?
The authors,omrs:ir-nsanci error-scan hardrv be accidenral.The pro*Jucers
oi rhe fiim:i*ps. rnoi'ies,and orher educarionalmarerialson
Helen Keller sureh.
inou'she *'as a socialist;no one can read Keiler's r'rirings
rrirhout
i'-ecomingatrare of her politicai and sociril phiicisoph.r.
A,'r*,,., ,.,n.
i:xrf-'r'i'rx:urhor' Thomas Bailer',-;tnior aurrrr-i
r o{ Ti:l,4it;.:ricti!}r:irii:?lr,
.leaii'i;e*
r_iiihe l:llS Li.S. in'asi,_rn,-;i Ru.s.ria.
fur hr i!.r.rr r.i a
c i i i e r e ; : i ' r L - ! l L i r ; r l)l j - _ j , ' _ . 1 m e r i i . a n
i r i , s p - .s h c - riri r i u r u , i t h l i u s s i ; r r ,
- - i ; ' ei ! ' : r t r : ' - ' r :R r r s s r - irro i i i n r ' , r ' ot i : r a i r e .
i i o r n i ) ) rE i . l i l i u . , .
I':,tbati'' :ci'era] lihe r ;irihc;"s krerr. oi it. ir_,C,.
\"\.'ijson.s
recisil-liS al-cr-)
'='.'rjl.cli;r,..n
iil tioicls;L1nrilhisrorians.,\.hr.ij,_,niiiier,
ltr rhc pubirc in
. , nt h c s ri n a n c r s i
Heroil-:cationirseif suppliesa hrsr ansro,er.
Socialismi,sie-nrrgnantro
=ost ,{rrlericans.So are raci_sm
anci colonialism.I{ichael K"nr*.., ,ug_
rests that authors selecti'elvomit bremishesin
order to make cerrain
i'istoricalfiguressvmparhericro as manv
peopreas possible.-rc;The
rextSook critic Norma Gabler has restified,h.,
,"*rbotks should .,presenr
cur narions parriorsin a rvay rhar r,l,ould
honor and respecrth._.,; i.,
ner e1'es,-admirring
Kellers socialismand vlilson,s racismu,ould hardlv
do thar'rt In the earlv r 920s the ,{merican
Legion said that .urho., j
"are ar fiulr in placing before
rexrbooi<s
immature pupirs the brunders,
: b i b l e sa n d f r a i l r i e so f p r o m i n e n - ht e r o e sa n d
p a r r i o t so f o u r N a r i o n . , , 3 s
The Legion r"'ould hardlv be abre ro fault ,oi"y,
hisrory rextbookson
i n l Sc o u n t .
Pcrhaps\1'ecan go {irrrher.I began*'ith Helen
Keiler becauseomirtrng
,
'lti'-auf,i:r".:f herlifeexemplifes
rhesortof culrure-senins
'.,1"11i::
i r s r o r r r o nr h a r r ' i l l h , ed i s c u s s elda r e ri n
t h i s b o o k . \ \ / e r e a c hK e l l e ra sa n
a r e a l p e r s o n ,t o i n s p i r e o u r ! , o u n g p e o p l e r o
e n r u l a t eh e r .
l ! . . 1 1 ,1 . ,
\ c l l e r b e c o m e sa m ' r h i c E g u r e ,r h e " * . o m a n * , h o
o'ercame"-bur fbr
:iv"il-There is no conrenrr
J u s r r o o k u ' h a r - , / r ea c c o m p l i s h e dr,' e ' r e e x r o r r i d - \ ' e r * e h a ' e n ' ta c l u e a s t o * . h a t r h a t
r e a l l r *. , a s .
K c l l c r d i d n o r \ \ ' a n rr o b c l r o z c n i n c h i l d h o o d .
S h c h c r s e l f- c r r e s s e d
t h a r .r h e m e a n i n go f h e r l i f e l a ' i n * ' h a t s h e
d i d o n c e s h e o ' e r c a m eh e r
lisat,ilin. In 1919. u,hen she *.as nearing
l i f n , , s h e \ 1 . r o r ea , f . o ' d
":L:*. of autobiographr.,enritled ].li&m,lm. rhar describedher social
p h i l o s o p h vi n s o m ed e r a i l .K e l r e ru ' r o r ea b o u t
' i s i r i n g m i l l r o w n s ,m r n ing
and packrng ro*,n5 e.fiss. rvorkers\\,ereon srrike
. She rn.towns,
tended rhar we learn of rhese experiences
and of the concrusionsto
r'hich rhev led her. consistent rvirh our
American rdeorog'of indi'iduH A N D I C A P P E D B Y
H I S T OR Y
{ <
s t o r v s a n i r i z e sa h e r o '
. : j i s m , : h e i i u n c e t e d v e r s i o nt l I H e l e n K e l l e r ' s
i53r'ing.lai',iher.irtues.risei|-heipandhard'.'o'1..1ieiier5g156||'''vhile
ideolop"
s . i i r c € 1 \ ' i : p p c s i nhga r d l r ' o r k ,e x p l i c i r l vr e j e c t e dt h i s
we could
i hcd cnce beiie,redthot we w'erecll i'ncsiersof our {cte-thoi
deofness
cvercome
mouid our iivesinto ony lorm *e plecsed.. . . I hod
cculd
cnd biindnesssufficiendyto be hoppy, ond I suppcsecjthct cnyone
But os
cci.:ieoui vicicriousif he $rew hinrseifoclicndyinto life'sskucgle
!
ncd
:ooken'o'!i'l,
ihoi
I
ieorned
..{.ni
ccunir'l
the
r-:lcietnC m+ie cbout
i
c s : r : . c n i ec n c s u b i e c li i n : n e ' i-i i i l eo ' C c u ii.i c r . l c t * r c i i c ' . " = d , ' r Y ' r l J . a e s 3
iJ3"' -i'*gvgr
,",--=irih cnc €nvi,lo-.;rert
l=rii.i ic irje c,iY'.triit+ges
"f
iie r+ccir:i , = c r r e * i i i c l i h e : c . w e ! -f o i i . . e i n i n e ' , ' c r ! d l l . r : r ' . * r i i ' r - '
r'
lYer 'vcne,
i:-l) :(ic'I" i ilt:r<i';'it:rt ii('i: iilrr"\
r r t r i r c h i : g e t t i : 1 r 1 i i ' -l '" i t i : : :
: : , : . : . : . h , , , - 'i^, r i r l r s i t i l t $ ' . t n ; j i t o r ' i t t r l l (
;,\,i,','l-.),.i, tll
t'lnt iLittuth
" s e r . r c i i g i o r i . . , n ,.l , l . l . i . l e s s . " r Y h r l eI h a d b e e n r b l e r o g u e s si h e i r ; t
of stlcial
n r . o , t h e r h i r d f l o o r e d m e . s o c i o l o g i s r sk n o r v t h e i m p o r r a n c e
me that
c,lnvinced
tertbooks
American historv
atter .ril. Rer.ie\\.ing
clrrss.
be
mi-qht
right, hott.t'.r. The notion rhat opportuniry
rhis cditor ','"'as
in
the
"the
rise
Power to.
unequal in America, that not evervonehas
teachersas rvell'
manv
to
and
authors,
textbook
to
rtorld," is anarhema
s o u r c eo i e n c o u r E d u c a r o rus ' o u l d m u c h r a t h e rP r e s e nK
t e l l e ra sa b l a n d
it' vou can do itl
do
can
she
rgemenr an,1inspiration ,o ot,, voung-if
e
x
istenco
e'er into
S i r h . u l . r u e o , . . ,ht e r a d u l t l i f e a n d m a k e h e r e n t i r e
tiis
make
thev
. .'.gu. "up by the boontraps" oPeration'In. the process'
into something she never rvas in life:
f"rrion"r.'figh,.. for the ioot
boring.
history
vb"odrow Mlson gets similarly vuhitewashed.Although some '\{/ilof
underside
rexrbook disclosemore rhan otiers about the seamy
tone: reson's presidenry, all nvelve books reviewed share a common
waswidely despised
,p..,t rl, p"rrioiic, evenadulatory.Ironicallv,Wilson
rhat he came to be
war
II
world
in the tgzos, and ir was only after
posr*ar bipartisan
Our
viewed kindiy by potirymakersand historians'
humanitarforeign poliry, one of far-reachinginterventionsshearhedin
the interian explanarions'was "shapeddecisivelvby the ideology and
according
n.,ion"l program deteloped by rhe wilson Administration,"
to unmotivated
thus
are
authors
ro N. Gordon Le"in, Jr';o Textbook
were
which
of
manv
ntions'
derplay or excuseWilson's foreign interve
of
his
aspects
*.ll asother unsatisfactory
.oun,.rproducrive blund.rr,
",
adrninistration.
"ruling class,"Pressure
A host of other reasons-Pressurefrom fie
L I I S M Y T E A C H E RT O L D M I
<ll
:c,rpriitit iilmmiii-es, :-he t+ish io avcid ai:-rbiguitics,a
iir:r: :=;ii'i,-,.r.-ri,d=sircio shield chilCrentiom harm or corrflicr,the perceivedneed to
.u.rlrrolchildren and avoid classroomdisharmonu;prfssurero provide
:*1s\\'€rs-inavhelp expiain *'hv texrbook omit troublesomefacts' A
tones about
ii:iain etiquettecoercesus all into spea-kingin respectli-rl
to
on Our Heritage our l'oung'
ii:e tr.r. especiailvr.'hen t*'e'repassin.q
Cruid it be r}at rve don't it:antro think badlv of V/oodrow V;ilson? \T'e
s-.m ro ieel that a personiike Helen Keller can be an inspiration oniy
-t,'la;ig as sheremainsunccntroversial,one-,jimensional.\Ie don't ii'ant
i-:jrpii.ated icras. "Pecoledo r,or like io think. ii cne think' cni irlust
Heler S,rller p,;inrec .tur. "con;iusti-;n::ail- flilr
r..,rh cr}rcjusioi-1s."
:;',.;ii'rFlciija;lt.'-'' ltlosi':i'us =utcnaticJlr shr';-*lf iit'm ct-tnfiicr.'i-ic
ri-t."drecarticuiarl'"seek ro avoid c,tnfi.icrin ihc;i;:-t-;'Jcil.t;ini.i,iLriv
(
.
i
n
c
'
1
;
;
.
,
i ( i ! ' { ; i ri s h a t , i t :* e i t c 5 0 a L - L ' t s r t ' ; -r-or cbdl i n d n < s rt h a t t h c
l;-.:lbri,kor rcaahgr.*,ho brcuqht rea-lintellecrualconrroversv into thc
r_.irsr,_r.tm
rn,ouldstrike us as a vioiation of polire rheroric,of clr.rsroom
afreraii. Piobablv
-rrnls. \\re ere supposedro spealirvelloithe deceased,
\\i are :uppcsed (o maintain the same attitude of arve.reverence.and
;-c:pdct*'hen rve read about our narional heroesas \4'henrve visit our
\;itional Carhedraland view the final restingplacesoiHelen Keller and
''XooCror,r'\\rilson,as close phvsicallv in death as thev u'ere distanr
ideologicallvin life.
\\.hateverthe causes,rhe resuksof heroificationare porentiallv crippl;ng to students.Helen Keller is nor the only person this approach
i:eatslike a child. Denving srudenrsrhe hurnannessof Keller, vilson,
and otherskeeps studentsin intellecrualimmaturin'. Ir perpetuateswhat
;nreht be called a Disnev version of historv: The Hall of Presidentsat
s sh e r o i cs r a r e s m e nn,o r i m p e r n r so u r l e a d e r a
D i s n $ . l a n ds i m i l a r l vp r e s e
j - e ; th L i m a nb e i n g s . ' rO u r c h i l d r e ne n d u p u ' i t h o u r r e a l i s t i cr o l e m o d e l s
l o i n : p i r c t h e m . s t u d e n t sa l s od e Y e l o pn o u n d e r s t a n d i n go f c a u s a l i n ' i n
h i : i r r - r r cr .) u r n a t i o n ' sr h i r t c e n s e p a r a r ef o r a v s i n r o N i c a r a g u a ,f o r r n : I : r n c e .a r e s u r e l vu ' o r t h k n o n ' i n g a b o u t a s \ \ ' e a t t e m p t r o u n d e r s t a n d
r r h | r h a r c o u n t r v c m b r a c e da c o m m u n i s tg o v e r n m e n itn t h e 1 9 8 0 s '
T..rrbooks:hould shor{ hisron' as contingent, afrectedbV the pou'er of
i d c a sa n d i n d i r i d u a l s .i n s t e a d ,r h e v p r e s e n th i s t o r va s a " d o n e d e a l ' "
Do rextbooks,filmsrrips, and ,tmerican histolv coursesachievethe
rrsuitstiev seeku'ith regardto our heroes?Surelytextbook authorsrvanr
us to think *'ell of rhe hisroricalfiguresthe.vtreat with such sympathrr
,i.nd, on a superficiallevelar least,we do. Almost no recenthigh school
g i a d u a r eh
s a v ea n w h i n g " b a d " r o s a ya b o u re i r h e rK e l l e ro r ' w i l s o n . B u t
.r. ,h.r. rw'oconsideredheroes?I \ave askeJhundredsof (mostl,v*'hite)
collegestudents on rhe 6rsr day of classro tell me who their heroes in
H A N D I C A P P E DE Y H I S T O R Y
A
F
< \
VJ
*it'cri;rv
'{s a tuie' ihev io nct liei;' Heien iicii=r'
i:i.ticr-;
a-.:nerl*:r'i
"re'
w'iison,ChrisiopherLoiunrbus,tr,liiesStantiishuianr'oneeiscin[}ivrnLincoln' or
, r u r h . J o h n S m i t h o r a n v o n ee l s e i n V i r g i n i a ' A b r a h a m
impiore
te-rtbooi<s
the
rvhom
i;:deecian.,'oneelse in -&rerican hisrorv
"escablishstudentsviet' ail such
ri:em io ci:oose.ilour post-\x/atergate
bor-r-rirrg'
The"'re
;nent" hefoesct'nicallv.
have no heroes
'.!cmestu,ientsrhoose "nsns"-1h2t is' *rev sav thev
-imert.haricteriiric;-.llv
the
,iispla"'
in ,!mericaa hi:ton. L-}ther:;rudenr
l''{ariln
-.;:c
':J":terl;'::''s:
;:ndtrrlog 5'' ;ii6ar:irq 'ijrican
:;r :.';ii:i;iih" icr
'r
.i
jraii;'
T"-ii'=in'
Hrrrrel
uriei i'.,,,*, ir.' ;ol:;coim .\, irerhapsFi:sa
. l: . . . ' : : ; ^
i'i, tC,ajsiJl
rig"
'\(l!l:il! lrf'll
lli'l-: :nr'1
li'ii'':::-
'ie'tcn ] i'rnCri'i '-'l' 'l'"'
--'i;:_ :
':lUcsf
-llr:t;'
; r , r j : | ' , , ; : . : i : 1l.' .1 , : r i r r
":
\
.
l
t
s
i
n
'
E
i
t
r
i
s
:
h
:
:
:
:
r
;
'
.
.
'
r
i
i
-tiIL;r,;ii
\ r l : ' : i ) ' r ' '' " i r i ' i r i i i ' : : : i
i n . , r i : c- = l l - t t : h i s i s ' r : " e i i r h i ' t l e ' " e i c l n c r t
..r...rlr.r, lhem t,,, citrrile.ge rc:i-lg.l, i.i .t i'' ::'
ir-r i.e !<,:,'rici. l;obabl.,
g i i b ' c t l o : : i h i i i s t i c ' i ' - r rn l ; ' : : l ' r : '
: , o ' r : c 1 i e " i' n
e. B u t : e p l v i n g n o n e i 5 i 3 s
to heroiiicarion' Ftlr $'htn
It rs. ho$'ever, ,n '-,n*lt'ltandable resPonse
lexlbookauthorsieaveouttherr.arts'theproblerns.theunrortun;ti
reduce heroes tiom tjracharactertraits' and rhe mistaken ideas' thev
figures' Their inner srrugmatic nen and rvomen to meiodramatic stick
and rhey become goody-goodv' not merelv good'
''-qlesdisappear
them ali bv p;ssing on
S,ud..t,, poke fun at the goody-goodiest of
not poking crue I fun
are
Ilele n Keller jokes. In 'o doi'ig, schJolchildten
symbol that is too
at a disabled Person, they are deflating a Pretentious
Helen Keller as anl'rhing but a
good to be real. Nontthelts', our loss o[
realiry of,her quite amazing
."our.. of jokes is distressing' Knowing the
but anv schoolgirl'
life might emPower t'o'ottiy deaf or blind studenrs'
*ell' For like other PtoPlT^^:9utl tt "orld' we
p."rhrp, boy,
"
"nd
"If Mardn Luther King
need heroes' Statementssuch as
,A.mericans
r"erealive'hed'..''suggestonefi:nctionofhistorica.lGguresinour
contemPorarysociery'Mo'tofustendtothinkwellofourselvesu'hen
done' Vho our
,ve have acted as *t i-ngint our heroes might have
makes them
that
u'ay
heroes are alrd whether thev are Presentedin a
significantbearingon
lifelike, henceusableas role models,could have a
our conduct in the world'
.Wenowturntoourfirsthero,ChristopherColumbus...Careshouid
erudition," '*'rote
be tal<en to vindicare great narnes from pernicious.
.\c.ashingron
biIrving, defi.,ding heroification.e Irving! rhree-volume
high
rvhat
infuences
ogr"phy-of colufrbus, prblished in lg2g, still
Navigator' Therefore
Great
rhe
about
say
school teachersa,td tt*tbooks
itwillcomeasnosurpri,..h"rheroificationhasstolenfromusthe
minutiae'
important facersof his iife, lt"uittg only melodramatic
tIES ilY TIACHENIOtD
{ar
ME