Rethinking How We Teach History
What happened on July 4, 1776? This is the year the colonies won their independence from British rule. It was NOT the founding date of the United States for we weren’t yet the United States of America. It was the year we declared our independence from British rule. We became the the United States upon ratification of the Constitution in 1789 and elected George Washington as our very first President. But in 1776, we were the Confederate States of America. We had a weak central government with strong state governments. As I sit and read Education Week, I am aghast. Slavery is as ancient as ancient history. But in 1500, settlers in the new world needed people to run their plantations and the natives were wipe-out. So slave trade intensified around 1580. You need read history books from before 1950s observing the beginning of American (the American continent) slavery. There is a systematic approach to teaching history.
Now what happened in Aug. 1619? In August 1620, a group of English Settlers set sail for Virginia in a ship called the The Mayflower (aboard the ship were pagans and Catholics). The settlers belong to a strict religious group who wanted to be free to worship God in their own way. Later, they became known as the Pilgrims, or the Pilgrims Fathers. After their first harvest, the Pilgrims made a simple meal and held a service of thanksgiving. This is how the tradition of Thanksgiving began.
By 1650s, many settlers were sailing from Europe to North America. Groups of Puritans (strict Protestants) and Catholics settled in America so that they could be FREE to follow their own religion.
In an article by Education Week, the writer poses the questions, I highlight above. But the article misstates the facts. It says: July 4, 1776 — just about any American knows it’s the founding date of the United States. This is wrong. It also says that August 1619 will draw a blank stare in most Americans and that it’s the date when the first enslaved African’s arrived in Virginia. This is also wrong.
People have bought and sold slaves since ancient times. In the 1580s, the trade got worse and many African’s were captured and sent across the ocean to the Americas. The settlers in the West Indies use to use the native people to work the plantations. But in 1550s, many of these natives died and the settlers were desperate for help.
By 1600, many European countries had joined in the slave trade. Click on Usborne’s quicklinks to learn more about slavery. Click here to learn about A Triangle of Trade. At least 12 million African’s were taken to the America’s between 1532 and 1832.
In 1625, the British captured Barbados in the West Indies and in 1655 they secured Jamaica. English slave traders started supplying African slaves to the English colonies.
But I agree that schools do over stress the issue of slavery. And it’s overkill. This approach misses crucial components to understanding this fundamental American topic such as slavery. It also contributes to hatred.
What brings so much fear in teaching history?
