material

1. need help for history questions
history writing question and need the explanation and answer to help me learn.
Requirements: 3-5 pages
FINAL GIVEN EVERYTHING YOU HAVE SEEN, HEARD, FELT, EXPERIENCED, DISCUSSED
AND READ THIS SEMESTER, ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: WHAT HAVE YOU
LEARNED THIS SEMESTER? MORE SPECIFICALLY, WHAT LESSONS HAVE YOU DRAWN
FROM YOUR STUDIES AND DISCUS-SIONS (BOTH IN AND OUTSIDE OF THIS COURSE)
ABOUT THE HISTORY YOU HAVE LEARNED THIS SEMESTER, AND WHAT ETHICAL
DILEMMAS HAVE ARISEN FOR YOU AS A RESULT OF THIS NEW INFORMATION?
COMPREHENSION DOES NOT MEAN DENYING THE OUTRAGEOUS, DEDUCING THE
UNPRECEDENTED FROM PRECE-DENCE, OR EXPLAINING PHENOMENA BY SUCH
ANALOGIES AND GENERALITIES THAT THE IMPACT OF REALITY AND THE SHOCK OF
EXPERIENCE ARE NO LONGER FELT. IT MEANS, RATHER, EXAMINING AND BEARING
CONSCIOUSLY THE BURDEN WHICH OUR CENTURY HAS PLACED ON US – NEITHER
DENYING ITS EXISTENCE NOR SUBMITTING MEEKLY TO ITS WEIGHT.” ~ HANNAH
ARENDT
DIRECTIONS Your response to the question must be typed—twelve point font, double-
spaced, one-inch margins. In writing your answer, please do not exceed five pages. In your
response, use your assigned text(s), the instructor’s handouts, class notes taken from
discussions, and any other SCHOLARLY sources you may want. Your generalizations must
be supported by direct citations from the text, class notes, or instructor’s handouts.
Citations should be made in MLA format. For readings, class notes or presenta-tions, you
might use: (Zinn, 26) or (Loewen, 3) or (class notes) or (Powerpoint, Cold War). Note: You
must cite parenthetically throughout your narrative. Please follow this format. There should
be many citations throughout your response taken from the sources noted above because
assumptions and interpretations must be bolstered by citations. The strength of your
response is dependent largely upon the number of citations from the assigned sources. Do
not include a bibliography. You may consult with your classmates in formulating an
answer to this question. However, you must write your own, unique, independent answer to
this question. “HISTORY IS FICTION, EXCEPT FOR THE PARTS THAT I LIKE, WHICH ARE, OF
COURSE, TRUE.” ~ JIM CORDER

2. Final Written Exercise The most important lesson I have learned from this class is that
history, at least the history taught in classrooms, is not an accurate, unbiased account of the
past. In reality, history presented by highly regulated textbooks has been twisted in such a
way that students are not given a clear picture of past events, individuals, and conflicts.
Various interest groups and demographics have essentially dictated which information can
rightfully be published, and which information is too threatening to reach the pages.
According to author Alexander Stille, “American history taught in schools has been
rewritten and transformed in recent decades by a handful of large publishers who are more
concerned to meet the demands of both the multicultural left and the conservative religious
right” (The Betrayal of History). In essence, textbooks have reworked history in such a way
that it has become falsified and flavorless. Facts are presented without controversy, and
important historical figures are portrayed without blemish. As historian James Loewen
writes, “authors selectively omit blemishes to make certain historical figures sympathetic to
as many people as possible” (Loewen, 26). This quotation declares that authors withhold
relevant historical information from textbooks, which further supports the idea that history
has been continually distorted in today’s classrooms. In regards to Christopher Columbus, I
learned that he was not the “American hero” that textbooks portray him as being. As we all
know, he was credited for “discovering America,” yet he was not the first non-Native to
reach the Americas. 2“People from other continents had reached the Americas many times
before 1492. Europeans may already have been fishing off Newfoundland in the 1480s”
(Loewen, 33). Also, I was previously unaware that Columbus was involved in the murder
and persecution of many Native Americans. In fact, he initiated a punishing policy that
“resulted in complete genocide” of the Natives (Zinn, 7). Finally, I learned the shocking
statistic that there were as many as 120 million Native Americans by 1492 (Discussion 2).
Upon learning this number, I was completely stunned, as I had severely underestimated the
size of their population. As little kids, we are all told the story of the pious, freedom-seeking
Pilgrims who landed in Plymouth. Additionally, we all learned about the “First
Thanksgiving” where the Native Americans and Pilgrims peacefully united for a wonderful,
bountiful feast. This story, however, is historically inaccurate. In reality, the Pilgrims were
not seeking religious freedom at all, because they had already found that in the Netherlands
(Discussion 3). Furthermore, the Pilgrims were very economically driven. In fact, “profit
was the primary reason most Mayflower colonists made the trip” (Loewen, 87).
Nevertheless, American society perpetuates the story of the brave Pilgrims because it
advances the “American psyche,” which characterizes Americans as the immaculate,
indelible race (Loewen, 70). Before this course, I did not have an accurate picture of the
realities of the American slave trade. In all honesty, I had no idea that the slave trade was so
large and widespread. Yet, as I soon learned, slavery absolutely dominated the economy of
the South. 3For instance, “in 1790, a thousand tons of cotton were being produced every
year in the South. By 1860, it was a million tons. 4In the same period, 500,000 slaves grew
to 4 million” (Zinn, 171). This excerpt from A People’s History of the United States
demonstrates that slavery was a major force in American society. Fast-forwarding to the
present, I was completely oblivious to the fact that slavery still exists today, even here in the
United States (Discussion 7). Also, I was upset to discover that “everything we touch today-

3. from the bricks that make up the exterior of our homes, to the rug on the floors- has been
touched by the hand of a slave” (Discussion 7). As a testament to my ignorance, I was under
the impression that slavery, for the most part, had become nonexistent in today’s modern
world. One week ago, I did not even know what the Gilded Age was. Now, I understand it as
a time where a handful of extremely wealthy individuals, such as Andrew Carnegie and John
D. Rockefeller, owned most of the country’s wealth (Discussion 9). 1Laborers, however,
received “wages that barely kept their families alive” (Zinn, 257). Worker compensation,
unfortunately, was only the tip of the iceberg. Additionally, factory conditions during this
time were extremely hazardous. “In the year 1904, 27,000 workers were killed on the job,
in manufacturing, transport, and agriculture. 3In one year, 50,000 accidents took place in
New York factories alone” (Zinn, 327). The conditions described above ultimately sparked
the emergence of the Progressive movement, which fought to ameliorate these
circumstances. 1In general, the Progressives strove to “stabilize the capitalist system by
repairing its worst defects. and restore some measure of class peace in a time of
increasingly bitter clashes between capital and labor” (Zinn 354). I found imperialism to be
one of the most fascinating topics this semester. In essence, imperialism was a mechanism
that allowed Americans “to find foreign purchasers for [their] goods. and provide the means
of making access to foreign markets easy, economical, and safe” (Zinn, 306). In my opinion,
imperialism is an example of American greed, which led to the abuse of its power.
Regarding World War II, I want to spend a little bit of time discussing the Holocaust.
Previously, I thought that the Jews were the only people targeted by the Nazis. However, I
learned that Africans, Asians, the physically and mentally disabled, homosexuals, and
gypsies were all persecuted by the Third Reich (Discussion 13). Also, I had never really seen
what the concentration camps truly looked like. Needless to say, I was absolutely shocked to
see thousands of dead bodies just piled up, as if they were not even there at all. Even more
disgusting was the way the Nazis just threw the bodies into pits, with absolutely no respect
whatsoever (Memory of the Camps). After the Holocaust, the United States vowed to never
let anything of this nature happen again. However, recently hundreds of thousands have
died in Darfur (Discussion 13). It is upsetting to me that the United States has not done
more to help stop this genocide. Throughout this class, I have learned that we, as U.S.
citizens, are not completely aware of the actions of our government. For instance, I
discovered that the government has “orchestrated the oustings of political leaders,” and that
“we had a hand in assassinating many foreign leaders” (Discussion 14). This demonstrates
that the United States believes that it should intervene in foreign affairs, as long as this
intervention promotes our own interests. As in the Vietnam War, the United States got
unnecessarily involved and ended up being embarrassed by a much less powerful army.
While the anti-war sentiment in America was high, possibly the highest of all time, the
government still felt the need to deploy troops to Vietnam. 5In my opinion, the U.S.
government should make more of an effort to heed public opinion.
To conclude, I want to discuss my general opinions of textbooks and publishing companies.
The general trend throughout history is that the most wealthy, powerful, and privileged
have had the greatest influence on events and outcomes of the past. In textbook publishing,
“members of the upper class have had a hand in it” (Loewen, 306). This has to change, so

4. that future students are given an unbiased, impartial layout of past events. If textbooks
continue to cater to the needs of particular groups, then history will never be a worthwhile
class to take. Considering the “day-to-day resistance” that students display towards classes,
teachers and textbooks should do a better job telling the exciting, historically accurate story
of the past in order to spark students’ interest (Loewen, 341). Overall, I am glad to have
taken a class that focuses on the real story, rather than the sugar-coated, bland version of
history that so many students must endure each year.