I would like you to read and ponder all of these quotes carefully. Select one from each section that interests you most and write your opinion for both.
Section One: The teaching of history
“High school students hate history. When they list their favorite subjects, history invariably comes in last. Students consider history the ‘most irrelevant’ of twenty-one subjects commonly taught in high school.” James Loewen
“We see things not as they are but as we are.” Anais Nin
“American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.” James Baldwin
“There is no other country in the world where there is such a large gap between the sophisticated understanding of some professional historians and the basic education given by teachers.” Marc Ferro
“Learning social studies is, to no small extent, whether in elementary school of the university, learning to be stupid.” Jules Henry
Section Two: Indians and history
“What we committed in the Indies stands out among the most unpardonable offenses ever committed against God and mankind and this trade [in American Indian slaves] as one of the most unjust, evil, and cruel among them.” Bartolome De Las Casas
“Considering that virtually none of the standard fare surrounding Thanksgiving contains an ounce of authenticity, historical accuracy, or cross-cultural perception, why is it so apparently ingrained? Is it necessary to the American psyche to perpetually exploit and debase its victims in order to justify its history? Michael Dorris
“The invaders also anticipated, correctly, that other Europeans would question the morality of their enterprise. They therefore [prepared] quantities of propaganda to overpower their own countrymen’s scruples. The propaganda gradually took standard form as an ideology with conventional assumptions and semantics. We live with it still.” Francis Jennings
“There is not one Indian in the whole of this country who does not cringe in anguish and frustration because of these textbooks. There is not one Indian child who has not come home in shame and tears.” Rupert Costo
“God has not been preparing the English speaking and Teutonic peoples for a thousand years for nothing….He has given us the spirit of progress to overwhelm the forces of reaction throughout the earth. He has made us adept in government that we may administer government among savage and senile people…..And of all our race He has marked the American people as His chosen nation to finally lead in the redemption of the world.” Senator Albert Beveridge, 1900
13 comments:
“We see things not as they are but as we are” –Anais Nin
To sum up this quote, the ends justify the means. In a more detailed sense, it is to say that when we look at society today, and the things society was built on, we look less at the true inner depths of history and focus on how those things have crafted us into modern terms. If one were to really think about it, they would see the foundation of America as death, genocide, thievery, and enslavement. Sure, America back then was a land of freedom and a better life, but only for the ones holding the guns, contrary to popular belief of thanksgiving in all places. The many un-looked upon victims, the natives who lived here, are still buried beneath the depths of the country and its history. But even after the horrors and mistakes of the past, the people of this land still look upon the flag, hand over heart, and proudly hail it as “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” This is because, no matter how you look at it, we are a land of people who live our lives in relative freedom. We don’t look at ourselves in disgust because we live on stolen land, or because the founding fathers wiped out a large amount of innocent natives, we look at ourselves as one of the most advanced nations in the world, both technologically and ideologically. “We see things not as they are but as we are.” And what we are is a nation with a terrible past but a promising present and future.
“There is not one Indian in the whole of this country who does not cringe in anguish and frustration because of these textbooks. There is not one Indian child who has not come home in shame and tears.” –Rupert Costo
History, for those who did not win in the end, can be a very painful thing. Not only did their whole lives change, but the victors are free to say anything about them, and that will generally be accepted as the truth. One perfectly painful example is the treatment of the Native Americans. The founding settlers killed them, took there land, enslaved them, and all just because they wanted to live where the natives lived. Then, they proceeded to call them savages and barbarians, in an attempt to justify the almost complete massacre of a race of people. Most people believed them, and still do to this day. But, their only downfall was that they lacked the same fire power of the Europeans and got several less epidemics beforehand. They still had advanced cities and even better ideals such as racial equality. But, regardless of that fact, the children of the Native Americans must live with the mistakes of the Europeans. They, who know fully about the truth of their people, must read about the killing of thousands, listed as savages. They must read the lies of the past incarnate as the fact of the present. Who is to blame for the anguish still felt today by the relatives of those victims? Who is to blame for the tears of the young, reading about their people and not knowing what to think? That is a question that has no one answer, but it is still clear that it was not the fault of the natives themselves
“High school students hate history. When they list their favorite subjects, history invariably comes in last. Students consider history the ‘most irrelevant’ of twenty-one subjects commonly taught in high school.” –James Loewen
It’s true very few people enjoy history classes anymore. I only have one friend who I know actually enjoys history. Personally, I like history classes more than other subjects but it is still lower than on the totem pole than others. In science classes I occasionally have some fun when my teachers aren’t lecturing monotonously, during labs or demonstrations where I get to watch changes, both physical and chemical, occurring before my very eyes that I had not even thought possible. Maybe I am a bit of a pyromaniac but to me watching things burn and explode never gets old. In math I learn functions, calculations, possibilities, and options. Learning how to solve problems that I thought were once unsolvable, or did not make even the tiniest bit of sense. I realize why history is the least interesting subject to most high school students. It is because history does not involve options, possibilities, or change. We high school students like to watch things in motion, we like to see change occurring at a fast enough rates that we don’t get bored before the change finishes, and we like to see it in front of our very eyes. Historical artifacts or reenactments on the history channel do not give us these. An artifact attests to an empires greatness and a painting might give a representation of a painters thoughts or feelings of changes in history, but they do not give a feeling of being in the grand empire or a true understanding of the painter. We can admire the work of the artist and the writings of historians but they tell us about a single period in time or a span of history so large that no one still lives to give credence or emotion to the immense change or feelings that a person in that period of time might have felt. Reenactments give movement, but little emotion. What were the victims feeling while they were murdered or tortured? We will never know because only the winner writes history. Another problem with history is its lack of possibilities and options. Nothing ever changes. We might learn something new about history that was previously unheard of, some date or minor detail, but there is still a feeling that it will never change. History cannot change or evolve and so we students lose interest. Unless there is some grand excavation that reveals some new empire, or perhaps the definite grave of Jesus and descendants, which changes the entire idea of history, there is nothing terribly new. We might discover bones of some older human but in the end all I can think is, so what? How does learning about the ancestry of humans affect my present or future? It doesn’t. That's another reason why history is so unpopular, where is the future in it. You can become a historian or maybe an archeologist but that's all I can think of. Sure you can become a history teacher but the teaching profession is so underappreciated right now there isn’t much desire to be one. The only reason I have some interest in it is because my ancestors are a major part in it. I am Jewish. I do not know if this really is what gives me such an interest in history but there is something about it that just makes me feel like I should know more about it. From the Inquisition to the Holocaust, the whole injustice of it intrigues me. I need to know more about what the ancestors of my religion fought through or suffered through just so they could continue their beliefs. Maybe it’s more of an obligation than an interest but I just feel a connection. But you cannot teach this connection. That's why it is so difficult to teach history, because you cannot force interest into someone, they have to have it already. History is carved in stone.
“There is not one Indian in the whole of this country who does not cringe in anguish and frustration because of these textbooks. There is not one Indian child who has not come home in shame and tears.” –Rupert Costo
Well who could blame the children for having such strong feelings about such injustice? If I was being called Indian when I have never even been to India and I don’t even look Indian I would be pretty shameful too. They are Native-Americans, not Indians, and if even the historians, who know the truth, know of the genocide, know that they were a great people who were in America long before anyone else, then there is something to cry about. A man who once coached the Iroquois National Lacrosse Team told me, “Never call the Natives Indians or they will kick your ass.” The historians should really meet the Iroquois Lacrosse Team, one of the greatest teams I have ever seen, it would probably end with one the historians getting taken away in an ambulance. These people deserve to be called by what they are, not what history has wrongly titled them. The Native-Americans still hold as much pride as they did 300 years ago. They are still one of the greatest races in history and it would be nice if people recognized them for what they are, Native Americans.
I believe that most high school students do hate history, but only because it is a difficult subject to learn. Not everyone wants to learn about a whole bunch of dead people and what they did. I do not believe that history is irrelevant, however. History is essential to understanding relationships within cultures, countries and societies. Without history, the present time would not exist. I think that we usually hear that students hate history because they common methods of teaching are not compatible with the modern teenage mindsets. Teenagers, myself included, do not usually enjoy learning about centuries of “old people.” True, history is probably one of the most relevant subjects taught in high school, but it is hard for students to be engaged in lectures because to them, there is no immediate result of their invested time. The only reason that most high school students hate history is because they do not know how to make it bearable for their learning benefit. If we just found something that interests us and brought that back to the history classroom to assist in our learning, I believe that it would make a world of difference. Often times, I also believe that if students do not enjoy a course and are required to take it, they depend on their teacher to make the subject bearable. Learning is a cooperative effort and if a student is not doing his or her part to make the best of it that is their problem.
I agree with de Las Casas because the massacre of entire nations is “unjust, evil, and cruel.” I don’t care what the motives were; we can’t just wipe out civilizations because they don’t share our religion or our idea of society. We are all people, no matter our differences. We are all the same. If they weren’t dead or on the verge of death when the Europeans arrived, they didn’t need the Europeans’ so-called “help.” Because the conquered nations were unfamiliar with Europeans heightens the crime.
Quotes
“American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it” –James Baldwin
I agree with this quote because I feel that when we learn about American history, we tend to learn about the better things in history, rather than the terrible things that happened. History professors tend to leave out the terrible things that America had to do to achieve what we have to this day. For example we do not teach students about the massacre’s that happened. We like to think of our country as the best in the world and the most free, but at one point in time, we were the complete opposite. Knowing that, we like to bring out the positive facts of our American History, rather than the terrible things that occurred, like slavery. America is more beautiful today than it has ever been, therefore in teaching American history teachers like to portray America as being beautiful from the start.
“What we committed in the Indies stands out among the most unpardonable offenses ever committed against God and mankind and this trade [in American Indian slaves] as one of the most unjust, evil, and cruel among them.” –Bartolome De Las Casas
A certain part of me disagrees with this quote because even though what we did was very evil and unjust, the ends justify the means. What we did helped create our world that we live in today. If we didn’t massacre large groups of Indians, we wouldn’t live in the same country we do today. Another part of me completely agrees with this quote. I don’t think that it was necessary to kill of all the Indian population. I don’t see why we couldn’t have gotten along with the Indians and lived together. I also don’t understand why we couldn’t live in peace with the Indians. Our country ended up being the best in the world and if killing the Indians is what we had to do to achieve what we have today, then the ends justify the means.
“American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it” –James Baldwin
I agree with this quote because I feel that when we learn about American history, we tend to learn about the better things in history, rather than the terrible things that happened. History professors tend to leave out the terrible things that America had to do to achieve what we have to this day. For example we do not teach students about the massacre’s that happened. We like to think of our country as the best in the world and the most free, but at one point in time, we were the complete opposite. Knowing that, we like to bring out the positive facts of our American History, rather than the terrible things that occurred, like slavery. America is more beautiful today than it has ever been, therefore in teaching American history teachers like to portray America as being beautiful from the start.
“What we committed in the Indies stands out among the most unpardonable offenses ever committed against God and mankind and this trade [in American Indian slaves] as one of the most unjust, evil, and cruel among them.” –Bartolome De Las Casas
A certain part of me disagrees with this quote because even though what we did was very evil and unjust, the ends justify the means. What we did helped create our world that we live in today. If we didn’t massacre large groups of Indians, we wouldn’t live in the same country we do today. Another part of me completely agrees with this quote. I don’t think that it was necessary to kill of all the Indian population. I don’t see why we couldn’t have gotten along with the Indians and lived together. I also don’t understand why we couldn’t live in peace with the Indians. Our country ended up being the best in the world and if killing the Indians is what we had to do to achieve what we have today, then the ends justify the means.
“What we committed in the Indies stands out among the most unpardonable offenses ever committed against God and mankind and this trade [in American Indian slaves] as one of the most unjust, evil, and cruel among them.”
Bartolome De Las Casas
The most interesting fact about this quote brings up is not in fact that the takeover of Indian land was one of the all time lows in American history, but that it isn’t even truly remembered as a bad act. In fact, everything around this time period is considered to be the glorious start to the Americas. One of the truly horrible moments in American history is hardly commemorated or remembered. Before I studied the takeover of the Americas this year, I did not come close to comprehending the cruelty thrust upon these Indians, yet now I understand that the gloriousness of founding the Americas and building a new civilization, should not overshadow how that civilization came to be. The cruelty the Indians had to go through should be commemorated so much that everyone in America understands what had to happen for us to be living where we are. The suffering these human beings had to go through should be known and understood by everyone early on in their life, they shouldn’t just hear about Christopher Columbus and the discovery of the new world, but rather the crimes committed against God and mankind that made America what it is today. The complete genocide of these Indian tribes is comparatively as bad as the slavery set up in the U.S., yet before this year I understood so much more about the cruelty of slavery towards the Africans and not the Indians. The pain inflicted on these Indians ancestors still resonates through these people today. The cruelty of the people to the Indians needs to be common knowledge to everyone, similar to slavery, so people can continuously commemorate what happened to these Indian tribes.
“We see things not as they are but as we are.”
Anais Nin
This quote displays an idea of how one takes on the world. It is right in the case of history, in which we look at things from the perspectives of our lives. We don’t see them through what was actually happening at the time, or how people felt then, but how we address our problems. In history, we judge if something was good or bad by the final product, yet in reality, if we lived in that time there would be no way to judge the final product. We can form answers based on what we already know; yet without that knowledge how we think would be different. We think as ourselves, there is really no other way for us to do it. In history, our perspectives are different as we see everything to the benefit to ourselves. History is interpreted through our eyes; we ourselves determine what is good and bad, what is wrong and right, and what we feel is good for the world. However the world that we truly understand is our own world. A world in which we look at everything going on to see how it involves and affects us. We can’t truly see things as they are because we cannot address them from every perspective, only our own.
“Learning social studies is, to no small extent, whether in elementary school of the university, learning to be stupid.” Jules Henry
Today, many students find that history, or social studies, is unnecessary to learn about and thus, dislike the subject. Students feel that history is a waste of time and stupid; however, I disagree with Jules Henry’s statement. I find that history is very important and rather interesting to learn about. History being stupid implies that it is a dumb and unimportant subject. I believe that history is something very crucial to learn from, for it depicts situations, not exactly the same, but quite similar from today. To me, history reminds me of the mistakes of the past and how we should learn from those mistakes, so that those mistakes never happen again. I think history causes me to be aware of other places and things, which are not always able to be seen from where I am. Also, history isn’t stupid because it is what shaped the world we live in now. Saying that history is stupid is like saying we don’t care about how things became how they are. To live life without knowing about the history of life is being ignorant.
“What we committed in the Indies stands out among the most unpardonable offenses ever committed against God and mankind and this trade [in American Indian slaves] as one of the most unjust, evil, and cruel among them.” Bartolome De Las Casas
One thing about history textbooks that I find is really horrible is that they tend to “fast-forward” on the most terrible and devastating massacres and slaveries of history, and they make it seem like they weren’t that bad; thus, today, people tend to look over the horrible massacres in the Indies and think that America was always the best of the best, and the good of the good. I feel like Americans have so much pride for the United States, that they do not take the Native Indians’ suffering into account. It was truly an evil and unjust deed, as Las Casas stated, and I believe it would be an unforgivable sin, if God did not forgive all sins. To that extent, I agree with Las Casas’s statement of the American’s “unpardonable offenses.” In reality, to get to the point we are today, we Americans cost the life of the true Natives to this land. We took and stole what was rightfully not ours and made the true Natives suffer. We are the bad guys out to get the innocent and naïve Indians, not the good guys coming to preach God’s word or lead the Indians away from savage lifestyle. Change was force upon, and it was cruel and horrible.
“We see things not as they are but as we are.” Anais Nin
I do not believe that this statement is correct because there is not a difference between what we percieve as the truth and what actually is. What does it mean to say we don’t see things as “they are?” Who decides what things are actually like? The fact of the matter is, what people percieve in this world becomes fact. From the beginning of time people have allowed their assumption and perceptions of the world to control their actions. They do this because the majority of the world believes similarly, making it a common belief. In turn, these beliefs become facts and control what the world is like or how “things are.” Reality of life is only what people percieve it to be. Although perceptions can change over time, as we have seen in history, the way people percieve the world is the truth at that time, meaning the way we see things is the way they are.
“There is not one Indian in the whole world of this country who does not cringe in anguish and frustration because of these textbooks. There is not one Indian child who has not come home in shame and tears.” Rupert Costo
The textbooks in the United States are obviously written by Americans which could in turn upset the Indians of the world. The Indians are talked about relative to how they fit into American history. Indian history is a sub-category. Therefore, Indians could believe that they never get the respect they believe they deserve. Histoy books talk about how Indians were continuously conquered throughout history, inferring that they are an inferior race or ethnicity. Naturally, the statement above is a true one based on how this country views Indian history and the Indian race in general.
“We see things not as they are but as we are.” Anais Nin
It is true that we as people see things as we are, but we also see things we want to see. What we want to see most of the time relates to us as individuals. We all are accustomed to peculiar ways depending on the upraising we’ve had. It is obvious that each individual has had different experiences, different households, and different lives. These factors build and create how we perceive the world and how others, in our view, fit into society in comparison to ourselves. Some people have difficulties accepting change and differences. Some can not accept difference for whatever reason. One reason could be the fact that difference is just too different than what they are used to. No matter if “different” is classified as race, social class, or money, it all leads to the individuals accepting those around them instead of being narrow-minded.
“There is not one Indian in the whole of this country who does not cringe in anguish and frustration because of these textbooks. There is not one Indian child who hasn’t come home in shame and tears.”
Our country is made of the beautiful and ugly but it is hard not to ponder at the facts of what has brought us here today. People have been persecuted, exiled, punished, or enslaved due to their race or beliefs. Who are we to judge others of their choice of religion? Who are we to judge others on their race? Who did the Europeans think they were to believe that they could mistreat Indians in such a way that it is impossible to describe and embarrass them beyond belief? The answer could be arrogance, greediness for land, or maybe they thought they were doing what was best for the Indians. There are many possibilities that it is hard to settle on one. Indians are not the only ones to be ashamed in this country. Blacks were also highly mistreated because of the color of their skin. It didn’t even have to do with how they ran a community. The Japanese Americans, as well, were segregated from the rest of America by being put in internment camps because it was assumed that all Japanese were a threat to America. It has been the way of life in our history, but it has always been a subject of disgrace.
History responses:
“High school students hate history. When they list their favorite subjects, history invariably comes last. Students consider history the ‘most irrelevant’ of twenty-one subjects commonly taught in high school.” James Loewen
1) I disagree on this because I believe there is a connection between the present, the future and the past. To understand and to help resolve events that are happening in the world we live in today, we need to know their causes. It is also natural human curiosity to know the past.
I appreciate that there are some who think it is not necessary to know about life at the time of the settlers, and to live in the modern era, so suggest it would be more relevant and beneficial for schools to spend more time studying today’s issues. In fact, Henry Ford, the US automobile industrialist believed that, “History is more or less bunk. It is tradition, we don’t want tradition, we want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker’s dam is the history we made today”.
However, I believe that there are many reasons why studying history is necessary, beneficial and even enjoyable, and it is certainly relevant to be taught in high schools. History helps you develop skills to look beyond the headlines, to ask questions properly and to express your own opinions; skills employers are looking for. As a result, there are many careers open to a history student.
However, it is wishful thinking that by studying history, we won’t repeat the mistakes of the past. If we have learnt from the past, then over the centuries we ought to have accumulated so much knowledge that things like war, poverty, injustice and immorality ought not to exist. But this is not so.
“What we committed in the Indies stands out among the most unpardonable offences ever committed against God and mankind and this trade [ in American Indian slaves] as one of the most unjust, evil, and cruel among them.” Las Casas
2) I disagree on this, but I have to explain why I take this callous attitude. On reading Las Casas’ reports, I, of course, feel deep sympathy for the Indians. At the time of Columbus’ arrival, they farmed, fished and hunted, and none went hungry; they had networks of trade but were not devoted to material goods; individual tribes had political systems and religious and spiritual beliefs; and they generally lived in peace. So, as a European myself, I just feel extremely guilty that we exploited and mistreated these indigenous peoples.
However, it was not this exploitation or mistreatment that led to their decline; it was the introduction of diseases by the explorers. The Indians had not developed any resistance to these germs, so the resulting epidemics would have happened anyway, even if the settlers did not intend to steal their land. The only way to prevent these epidemics was not to have explored in the first place and this is not an option. Exploration and ‘discovery’ have been vital in the process of creating a better America and a better world.
“Learning social studies is, to no extent, whether in elementary school or the university, is learning to be stupid.” Jules Henry
I feel that there is truth in this controversial statement, depending how one interprets it. In one person’s eyes, it is as if Jules Henry believes the entire subject of history is useless. This, I believe, is not what he is truly means. Stupidity in this case is a lack of individual opinions, and the force-feeding of information into brains that are capable of much greater use. If one only learns events and memorizes dates, there is neither meaning nor understanding of what the future holds. A teacher of social studies cannot just cram information into a growing mind. They must allow the students to interpret and ask “why” in order to actually absorb all history has to offer. History has and will always affect things around us, and without the past there would be neither a present nor future.
“What we committed in the Indies stands out among the most unpardonable offenses ever committed against God and mankind and this trade [in American Indian slaves] as one of the most unjust, evil, and cruel among them.” Bartolome De Las Casas
I completely agree with this statement. Although the exploration and conquest of the Americas in the long run has been very successful, the steps we (especially the Spanish) took to get and maintain Indian lands were immoral. I believe we could have come to a similar, if not more peaceful, place right now without the abuse and horrible treatment of the innocent Indians. The Spanish took everything from them without thinking twice about it. They saw Indians not as humans but as “barbarians”. Some may say in this situation that the ends justify them means, but this is absolutely false. The loss of many innocent lives could have been stopped if the Europeans were not so greedy and cruel minded. This change of history would alter where we live today, but I do not feel a massacre was necessary to achieve a national like ours.
Section 1: The Teaching of History
“American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.”—James Baldwin
When we learn about history, how do we ever know if we are getting the true story? Or getting both sides? Granted, historians are supposed to be unbiased, but are they unbiased on every little tedious detail of history. Maybe, but maybe not. The way we are taught in elementary school is somewhat blinded. No one ever mentions the horrendous or torturous details of history; the other side of the story that maybe isn’t so pretty. We try to play up this whole grand story of how our nation came about, but we lose some important details in the process. We shield our elementary brains from ugly parts of history. And then maybe, just maybe, in 10th or 11th grade, we discover the truth of it all. We discover that our land wasn’t always “free” or democratic. But we still continue to focus on the “pretty” parts of history; the victories, instead of the other sides losses. No one ever likes to look at the downsides of stories, so instead history focuses on the brighter side. Baldwin was completely correct in saying that no one mentions the terrible side of history, but he was also correct in saying that America’s history is beautiful. We live in a country that was developed for the sole purpose of freedom. Freedom for all and for everything. How could that possibly be conceived as terrible? It can’t, because that’s the beautiful part of our history. The terrible part is how we came about that freedom and at whose freedom was lost in that process. But do we celebrate “loss of Indian-land day.” No. We celebrate Columbus Day, the day where Columbus discovered the New World, our United States. We push the terrible parts out our minds and focus on the beautiful parts. We sometimes, on that rare occasion, bring up those parts that we tried so hard to repress. We look at them and feel sorry; sorry for what we have done, and sorry for what past generations have done. We feel that we have wronged the “other side.” But once that somber feeling is gone, it’s replaced with the prettier version. The version that gives us a sense of pride in saying that we do live in the United States. That we are truly a land of greatness.
Section 2: Indians and History
“The invaders also anticipated, correctly, that other Europeans would question the morality of the enterprise. They therefore [prepared] quantities of propaganda to overpower their own countrymen’s scruples. The propaganda gradually took standard form as an ideology with conventional assumptions and semantics. We live with it still.”—Francis Jennings
According to Google©, propaganda is defined as a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of large numbers of people. This concept has been with us since the beginning of time, and it works effectively. According to Jennings, it worked with the colonists too. The government realized early on that some colonists would be angered by the takeover of the Indians. They responded by spreading out propaganda by the millions. Blurring over the bad parts and highlighting the good parts. They allowed this one small idea to become a standard. Soon everyone was thinking that Indians “needed Europe.” To think that the “morality of the enterprise” would be questioned was considered a crime. To them, the Indians needed to be saved from heathenism. They needed help and were blatantly asking for it. So the government played up those parts of the story and everyone thought they were doing a good deed. They blocked out the fact that millions of Indians were killed and land was stolen and replaced it with the idea of a “god set mission.” Some people snapped out of the propaganda haze and went out to set up their own colonies with a greater respect for Indians. But most stayed put and kept thinking that this takeover was only for the benefit of Indians. Propaganda is like disease; one person gets this thought and soon everyone is thinking it. And if you’re not thinking it? You’re the outcast, so most people go along just to be part of the group. Propaganda allowed colonists to support their hometown government in their pursuit of Indian demise. It blinded the colonists from the truth, but if we truly think about it, it also allowed for this great land to be created. If the Europeans hadn’t spread the propaganda that we needed to save the Indians, the United States never would have become what it is today. I’m not saying we should thank propaganda, but it did play a big role in the creation process. Without it, we wouldn’t be here today.
HENRY-i totally agree with you that kids need to have the interest for history in order to enjoy it. i particularly admired the fact that you said "What were the victims feeling while they were murdered or tortured? We will never know because only the winner writes history." it is so true that the history that we learn today is only one or a select few of views. the only way to learn the true history of anything is from first person accounts and their relationships to each other.
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