Lies My Teacher Told Me

I never learned history from the perspective presented in Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James Loewen. Loewen provides an anti-European view on the history of the United States and reinforces his opinions with very strong supporting cited materials - a requirement which almost every book I read in school must have decided to ignore. From Christopher Columbus, the alleged founder of America, to the racism that still exists in the country, the reader is provided an alternative perspective on how life really was in the earliest days of the United States. Loewen goes into great detail outlining the racist practices of U.S. Presidents such as Woodrow Wilson, Washington, Jefferson, Kennedy, and even Lincoln. Oh my, wasn’t there anyone who was interested in equality, justice, and care for the individual?

A scathing section on how we treated the first inhabitants of America, the Native Americans who attempted to provide support to the European immigrants, was supplied by Loewen. The Europeans exposed the Native Americans to less hygienic practices which caused dysentery, smallpox, typhus, and other massive illness which led to significant death among the native populations. And yet this is not what history students come away with, as emphasis is placed on celebrations like Thanksgiving, where the Europeans “invite” the natives to eat the food that the Europeans allegedly grew.

The major question is how did this misinformation continue to be taught in our schools? Has nobody stopped it from being printed in a textbook? Why not offer competing or diverse perspectives? Did we become a community where only positive and good news is the history of the day? Loewen offers some answers, and also illuminates the challenges that our society faces in getting the “other side of the story” to be taught.

Overall, Loewen’s book is a must read for young history buffs, let alone anyone who never had the opportunity to hear the other voice. I appreciate all of the citations that Loewen provides to make his points, the interesting pictures, and clearly some new thoughts on how our leadership, including the Presidents of the US of A, have been functioning.