American Revolution History Facts
07 Jun 2008
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Christianity and the American Revolution
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American Revolution History Facts Q&A
Does the winner really write the history books?
When WWI, WWII, the American Revolution, the Civil War…etc. is discussed in schools, is it really a fair and balanced look at history or a bit one sided? If the other side had won, would the "facts" still have remained the same? The above wars were the first that came to mind but this question can be applied to pretty much any conflict.
It's not the 'facts' so much as the emphasis and the way events are presented.
In the history courses I teach, I try to present both sides or even multiple sides as the case may be. Facts lend themselves to interpretation. History is not all facts and dates. The interesting part is figuring out reasons and motivations for the actions of people. We are talking about human history, and human minds are complex.
We should remember that every writer of history has some bias. It is unavoidable. To be fair, we have to look at other viewpoints. This only works in advanced education since it makes things much too complicated for elementary school.
I teach college history. I try to convey the idea that history is almost never black and white. Historian George Trevelyan wrote that in the early 1900s.
As Shakespeare's wrote in Hamlet Act 2 Scene 2,
"There is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so."
'Tis often a matter of perspective.
The winners do seem to have certain advantages when the final stories are written, but as the answerer noted above,
you will see a different slant in the textbooks of other countries. The history of WWII is taught quite differently in Japanese schools compared to American primary education.
The watch word is "bias" - - it is always there.
Good question!
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American Revolution History Facts Videos
Christianity and the American Revolution
Part1 Chess Madness
American Revolution History Facts Q&A
History Help I need tons of information for the test tomorrow?
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