History of America
History classes were always booooorrrring. I was never amused, I never really thought history to be too important, and plus there were friends in the class with me, and we all know how that stifles learning. So being that I feel like I’m not very knowledgeable on historical matters pertaining to the nation in which I live, I decided I would like to know a thing or two. I’m learning some things that are just insane!
Did any of you know that Christopher Columbus was an eh’hole? This guy not only enslaved indians, he would also go around cutting off their hands if they didn’t bring him enough gold once every three months. He had smooth sailing coming over, his ships weren’t pieces of crap like the history book said, and his motivation was money, not exploration (which I could have concluded before reading this book).
The people of his time didn’t believe the world to be flat. That’s something Washington Irving made up in 1828 that somehow stuck. I never did believe this one, but it’s nice to hear that they really weren’t as stupid as history books make them.
Did you know Hellen Keller was a founder of the ACLU? She was a social radical who praised communism. Who would have thought little Helen Keller was such a political figure? I had no idea, I only knew about her being blind and deaf, befriending Anne Sullivan, and becoming a “humanitarian.” Hell if I knew the rest of her story.
I wish history books would really teach these students some of this stuff. History would really cease to be so boring, and kids might have a better understanding of our foundation. It’s really about time someone stood up against the Betsy Ross myth, and stopped lying about that damned Cherry Tree and Washington’s not-lying ass. College History professors are the only educators that must un-learn what students learned in high-school. That’s just sad.
If you haven’t read it, I’m reading Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen. It reads almost like a textbook and takes a while to get to a point, but the information is good.
How’s this little bit of history: Gen. George Washington’s godson owned up until the point it was annexed by the Government in 1863 the land that is Arlington National Cemetary. Oh, and that godson’s daughter? She married a young officer who had reciently graduated from West Point - one Robert E. Lee. Who says that a single family can’t carve scars on a nation over a nearly one hundred year period?
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