Most of the education on the white man’s “taming of the West” in my generation was garnered through watching tv westerns like Rin Tin Tin, the heroic US cavalry vanquishing the evil natives, etc. Hopefully that is taught more sensitively in schools by now as well as for the discussions on the history of the Middle East.
I got more out of “F Troop”.
And WW2 is pretty much a wrap after a few episodes of Hogan’s Heroes. MAS*H, for the Korean War.
2 Likes
Guessing that MASH was the only one close to a realistic portrayal! The actors who played the Germans in Hogan’s Heroes were all Jewish in real life, which I found interesting.
1 Like
I’m having trouble reconciling this statement with my understanding of history.
The US’ involvement in the Vietnam War was from roughly 1964 - 1973 depending on how you count it. If that was a “current event” (as opposed to a future one) and your textbooks were less than 50 years old then they would necessarily have either
A) Colossally sucked OR
B) Included both the Spanish American War and WWI
Spanish American war may have been in the books, but not much covered by the teacher.
WWI was 1914-1918. If you believe that nothing less than 30 years old is “history”, the first books to include it would have been written in kids history text books around 1948. I was in school on the 60s. So yes, my history books were old, but they were 20 years old, not 50 years old.
I’m sure the AP courses that i didn’t take in high school covered more. 
I did take a super “world history” class. It was very “Western civ” oriented, but we used a surprising number of primary texts for a high school class, and covered a lot of ground.
2 Likes
We learned it.
That’s how I learned about Cuber
I appreciate the context on the formation of the country. It’s a subject I should do a deeper dive on. I know enough to know that I don’t have strong opinions.
If you asked me if America had the right to exist, my answer would be very similar. “That’s a lot to unpack but we weren’t the good guys for significant parts of our existence. We had the guns, it’s done now, and I don’t think every non-Native should leave the country today.” (More focusing “not the good guys” on America, there… though I have criticisms of Israel in the modern day my historical knowledge is lacking regarding what Israel chose to do (versus being done for/to them) through the 1900s.)
Countries don’t as a matter of course formally recognize each others right to exist.
Eh, having normal diplomatic relations with a country essentially accomplishes that.
I mean, France was one of the first (maybe THE first?) to recognize the United States’s right to exist in 1778.
I don’t know if the United States ever formally said “we recognize France’s right to exist”, but D-Day is pretty concrete evidence of our commitment to recognizing France’s right to exist.
3 Likes
If by 1948 you mean 1944 then I understand your point, but disagree. I think history includes things more recent than 30 years ago, and textbooks, which stick around for years, should strive to be as up to date as possible. Unless they’re covering a specific time period or something. I substitute taught for a middle school social studies teacher and that school split US History into two sections… I think the Civil War was the dividing point. Everything through the end of the war was “Early” and everything after was “Late”. I’m sure those kids have a better understanding of post-Civil War US History than a lot of others.
And they had two separate textbooks, so obviously the “Early” one ended in 1865. But the “Late” one essentially ended within a year of the publishing date.
Time for everyone with high-school-age kids to check the final pages of their kids’ history books.
I mean, sure, the class never got to them, but let’s not blame history books until we actually have evidence.
3 Likes
Heck, and kids taking history at any level. I mentioned my 5th grade textbook including the initial portion of Reagan’s presidency … and Reagan was still President! I’m certain the book was published during his first term and he was in there.
Did it analyze his Presidency? No. It mentioned that he campaigned on improving the military and getting the hostages in Iran home. And that his opponent in the primary, George Bush, became his running mate / Vice President.
You don’t need 30 years of hindsight to put those objective facts in a textbook.
Our oldest ally!
2 Likes
Makes sense.
We were told in history class that the American Revolution would probably have failed without the help from the French and other allies. Is that what Americans are taught in school?
1 Like
Yes.
1 Like
France should be the USA’s soul mate but the USA has always touted the UK as its greatest ally. Strange.
First time around the Frenchies were hardly mentioned. Like it was all those plucky colonists sticking it to the big bad English oh and there were a couple French ships that helped out at Yorktown. Second time around I think it was much clearer just how much help the French were on this side of the pond particularly with the finances, but perhaps even more so on the other side of the pond since they seemed to engage the English in pretty much nonstop war.
As for being soulmates, I think the fact that the French don’t speak 'murican while the Brits do with a funny accent has a lot a to do with the commonalites.
1 Like
My recollection is that early on we were more taught that the French were basically just eager for an excuse to fight the British. Which I’m sure played a role in their decision to help us.
I think by AP US History there was more acknowledgment that we were in over our heads without the help of the French.
I was an adult when I heard the quip that the American Revolution was started by the North, fought by the South, and won by the French.
1 Like
Similarly, I was an adult when I realized that the Soviet Union basically won WWII in Europe, with a little help from the United States… rather than the other way around.
But the French are so… French.
I mean, the colonists were descended from the British. Their beef was with the King and his soldiers, not with ordinary Brits. When the war was over we still had more in common with the British than the French.
France is our oldest ally. The UK is our strongest ally. They’re both important. 
And in WWII we certainly paid France back, with interest, for their help in the Revolution.