History Textbooks Do Not Tell the Truth About Slavery

Why Do History Textbooks Hesitate to Tell the Truth About Slavery?

Works Cited Missing

[1] In the movie Sankofa, Haile Gerima does not hesitate to show the audience the horrors of slavery. Not only does he show the brutal and humiliating practices used by slaveholders to subjugate slaves but he also shows how slaveholders used Christianity to control and manipulate slaves. He demonstrates the huge impact of slavery on today’s society and the importance of looking back to slavery to understand the present. Traditionally, history textbooks have hesitated to talk about any of these aspects of slavery. Present history books have begun to describe the brutalities of slavery but still refuse to explain slavery’s impact or to mention Christianity’s role in slavery. There are three main reasons for this hesitance to be truthful about all aspects of slavery when writing history textbooks. These are patriotism for the United States, cultural bias towards the white race, and a bias towards Christianity.

Nationalism/Patriotism

[2] When scholars and historians write history books, they are usually limited by their sense of nationalism or patriotism. They hesitate (or avoid altogether) to write about events or institutions that make the United States look bad. As James Loewen points out, history textbooks "...leave out anything that might reflect badly [on] our national character" (2). Most citizens of the United States are proud of the United States, its history, and its present role in the world’s affairs. They do not want to write or read about wrongs and injustices that the United States government or state governments have allowed or even encouraged. Eric Foner, professor of history at Columbia University, mentioned in a show called "Who Owns History", that the founding fathers considered slavery when writing the constitution and that the constitution strengthened the institution of slavery, by giving slaveholders more power. Most people have never heard of this because the constitution was always heralded as an incredible piece of writing that created a fair and balanced government. Historians avoided mentioning that the constitution strengthened slavery because that would taint the legacy of the constitution and the United States as a whole. History that we learn in school is not an unbiased narration of facts; it is molded and interpreted by the historians who write about it. Historians are constantly influenced by national pride and the desire to make our nation look good.