SC PIE - Feature Article

In the last two editions of the SC Parents Involved in Education newsletter, I recounted some of the errors and biases in world history textbooks submitted for use by South Carolina high schools. There are so many of these errors and biases that they merit a third article to describe them and the list is by no means complete.

Here are some of the things that these textbooks are teaching our children.

They are taught that American forces crossed the 38 th parallel into North Korea only two weeks after they entered the Korean War, when in fact the badly outnumbered American forces were pushed back to the Pusan perimeter in southeast Korea and barely held on for three months until the brilliant landing at Inchon defeated the North Koreans.

They are taught that the French revolutionist stormed the Bastille on June 14, 1789, when this actually occurred on July 14, which is well known as the French independence day, or Bastille day.

They are taught that Communist China has 2.2 billion people, when they actually have 1.3 billion people.

They are taught that Britain had control of Syria and Lebanon after World War I, when actually these countries were under the control of France.

They are taught that Mohammed had only four wives, when it is well established that he had at least eleven.

They are taught that Puerto Ricans are not represented in the U. S. Congress, when Puerto Rico actually is represented by a Resident Commissioner, who has a vote in committees but not on the floor.

They are taught that, in the 14 th century in France, ‘The king could print money,’ when in fact the printing press had not then been invented, and coinage, not paper money, was used.

They are taught that ‘AIDS’ has claimed many more lives because people often have poor diets, unclean water, and little health care.’ In fact, there is no evidence that poor diets or unclean water have anything to do with the cause or spread of AIDS. In the United States, during the period 1985-2001, 86.8% of all AIDS cases among men were contracted through homosexual activity or drug injection with needles used by persons already having the disease; and 95.2% of all AIDS cases among women involved sexual activity or drug injection with needles used by persons already having the disease. There are very few AIDS cases outside of illicit sexual behavior or drug addiction.

They are presented with a map showing Cyprus as a member of the European Union, but the island identified as Cyprus actually is the island of Crete.

They are taught that, when World War II ended, Allied forces occupied only two-thirds of Italy, when in fact Allied forces had taken almost all of northern Italy and had reached the Swiss border before the German surrender ending the war.

They are taught that September 11, 2001, ‘was a day of mass death from enemy action, the first time this country had ever suffered such an act on its own soil,’ when in fact this country suffered mass death from enemy action on December 7, 194l.

They are taught that the Warsaw Pact nations of East European Communist countries following World War II included European Turkey, part of Greece, and part of Yugoslavia; and that East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Poland were not member nations; none of which is true.

The perspectives of many of the textbooks are disturbing. One textbook makes only two references to George Washington, both with regard to his command of the Continental Army during the Revolution, while it makes three references, and devotes much discussion, to the motion picture Dr.Strangelove: Or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Washington’s achievement in establishing the United States as the largest and most enduring republic in the world should merit at least as much attention as a fictional motion picture which set no box-office records and won no Academy awards. Perhaps this emphasis is because the textbook cites the movie for portraying the President of the United States as and ‘insane moron.’

The same textbook gives more space to Juan Carlos Mariategui, founder of the Communist Party of Peru, than if does to George Washington.

Another textbook teaches that United States investments in Latin America ‘benefited the wealthy, but not the majority of people in Latin America, and, six pages later, that ‘A number of Latin American countries have begun to benefit from Japanese investment.’

Another textbook teaches that ‘Only governments can raise the capital to invest in factories, steel mills, roads, irrigation systems, and schools.’ This is a socialist point of view and demonstrably untrue, as the factories and steel mills of the United States and of many other countries were built by private capital, not by the government.

A textbook titled Documents in World History, Vol. I: The Great Traditions: From Ancient Times to 1500, publishes excerpts from writings considered significant in the history of the world, and includes excerpts from the sacred writings of Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Taoism, Islam, and Confucianism. For Christianity, however, the textbook chooses the document, the Acts of John. This particular document is spurious, it is not a part of the New Testament, and the textbook describes it as ‘not necessarily factual.’ One can only speculate as to the reason for the choice of this document to represent the Christian religion.

This list could go on and on, but it is time to present the factual errors and biases in U. S. history textbooks, which I hope to do in the next newsletter: they are worse.