The Progression of History Books Throughout History
History books have always been subjective; every generation has had a new generation of history books. Through his essay “Rewriting American History”, FitzGerald claims that each generation learns a new version of history. It has been shown through history books that the topic is very subjective; history is simply “his story”.
New information arises throughout many years, decades, or centuries that provides context for past textbooks. Information that has already been discovered may take many years to eventually be recognized. In his essay, FitzGerald mentions Christopher Columbus, who, in the 50s, was likely seen as the true founder of America. That was what was recognized in FitzGerald’s time and in his generation’s textbooks. If someone from this generation were to say Columbus founded America, their claim …show more content…
“What was once portrayed…as a peaceful haven of scientific advances and Presidential inaugurations, is now a tangle of problems: race problems, urban problems, foreign-policy problems, problems of pollution, poverty, energy depletion, youthful rebellion, assassination, and drugs” (Page 779). FitzGerald is correct that textbooks have changed a great deal from the 1950s until now. That’s because the 1950s was a significantly different era. There were different problems, different viewpoints, and different things that were accepted by society. In the author’s era, racial segregation was abundant, the Cold War was still occurring, homosexuality was hardly considered acceptable, and women had been voting for only 30 years. Since FitzGerald’s time, many problems have been (mostly) resolved, but this generation has it’s own set of problems and standpoints, which is evident in our history
History books have always been subjective; every generation has had a new generation of history books. Through his essay “Rewriting American History”, FitzGerald claims that each generation learns a new version of history. It has been shown through history books that the topic is very subjective; history is simply “his story”.
New information arises throughout many years, decades, or centuries that provides context for past textbooks. Information that has already been discovered may take many years to eventually be recognized. In his essay, FitzGerald mentions Christopher Columbus, who, in the 50s, was likely seen as the true founder of America. That was what was recognized in FitzGerald’s time and in his generation’s textbooks. If someone from this generation were to say Columbus founded America, their claim …show more content…
“What was once portrayed…as a peaceful haven of scientific advances and Presidential inaugurations, is now a tangle of problems: race problems, urban problems, foreign-policy problems, problems of pollution, poverty, energy depletion, youthful rebellion, assassination, and drugs” (Page 779). FitzGerald is correct that textbooks have changed a great deal from the 1950s until now. That’s because the 1950s was a significantly different era. There were different problems, different viewpoints, and different things that were accepted by society. In the author’s era, racial segregation was abundant, the Cold War was still occurring, homosexuality was hardly considered acceptable, and women had been voting for only 30 years. Since FitzGerald’s time, many problems have been (mostly) resolved, but this generation has it’s own set of problems and standpoints, which is evident in our history