W. E. B. Dubois Rewriting History Analysis

The Influence of Black Reconstruction Claire Parfait in “Rewriting History” proves that W. E. B. Du Bois’ Black Reconstruction influenced American history by correcting misinterpretations of the reconstruction era made by biased white historians. In Black Reconstruction Du Bois argues that the reconstruction era was not a failure due to the benefits it brought to the black community. “Rewriting History” analyzes how Black Reconstruction influenced history due to the discrimination during the time it was written and the hardships that came with getting published. Parfait’s use of Black Reconstruction in her dissertation is effective because she shows how because getting published was harder for black historians, therefore making history skewed towards a white historian’s bias. Parfait successfully argues that because Du Bois did …show more content…
White historians had a large advantage getting published in mainstream journals and getting media attention, therefore, their ideas dominated and influenced American history. Black historians who wanted to correct misinterpretations made by white historians had a harder time getting published, which is why W. E. B. Du Bois’ Black Construction is so significant. Because Du Bois was able to get published, Americans views on the reconstruction era could be more well rounded. Both Black and White interpretations of the era were represented in the media which influenced history because instead of people viewing the reconstruction era as a failure Americans could understand the successes that came from the era. Parfait also used the example of Black Reconstruction to show that Du Bois’ popularity was an exception, not the norm. Most black historians could not get their work published which makes history one-sided and therefore increases the importance of Du Bois’