When your history classes covered the Civil War...

[phk]

Yes (Non-southernor)

[minionofmidas]

Not only that, but the American Civil War is the defining conflict in American history.  More so than either of the World Wars or even the American Revolution.  If you want to understand America, you need to understand the Civil War.

Now I understand why no American understands America! I always thought it was mostly because they lacked education about everywhere else (since you cannot understand anything if you don't have something to compare to.)

[Josh/Devilman88]

No, my teacher just taught us the stuff and that was it.

[Ban my account ffs!]

The book was certainly less biased than the teacher or any of the students.

The general idea here was that the war was over slavery (which was hte main reason Minnesota became a state and joined the union forces:  to battle against slavery), and that attitude remains even now.

The south was portrayed as horribly backwards and immoral and that "states' rights" was nothing more than a pathetic facade on the simple issue of keeping white land owners on top and everyone else ground down into the ground.

It also explains why Minnesota was so reliably and overwhelmingly Republican long after the Republican party stopped representing the voices of common Minnesotans (hence the rise of the Farmer-Labor party, as Democrat was still a dirty word synonymous with slavery-sympathizers and drunken Irish immigrants)

[tik 🪀✨]

Because it didn't have much of an effect on your countries. Not much of a major event in European history.

Wrong actually (although that tends to be forgotten, even here). Where do you think all (or at least a lot) of all that cotton was exported to? And in any case, it all links up into slavery.

And that's no reason not to teach something anyway.

Our basic history courses are very America-centric. Even world history that we do get taught is based upon how it influenced America. I'm jealous of Europeans for getting a broader lesson in history, I barely know anything between the fall of the Roman empire and the discover of the "New World" as far as what I was taught in school is concerned. What I do know is rooted in dabbling and research I've done on my own time. What's more frustrating is the widespread belief that if it didn't influence us then why should it matter to us? Perhaps we'd be less haughty and more cautious in our foreign policy. Sigh.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Because it didn't have much of an effect on your countries. Not much of a major event in European history.

Wrong actually (although that tends to be forgotten, even here). Where do you think all (or at least a lot) of all that cotton was exported to? And in any case, it all links up into slavery.

And that's no reason not to teach something anyway.

Our basic history courses are very America-centric. Even world history that we do get taught is based upon how it influenced America. I'm jealous of Europeans for getting a broader lesson in history, I barely know anything between the fall of the Roman empire and the discover of the "New World" as far as what I was taught in school is concerned. What I do know is rooted in dabbling and research I've done on my own time. What's more frustrating is the widespread belief that if it didn't influence us then why should it matter to us? Perhaps we'd be less haughty and more cautious in our foreign policy. Sigh.

Really?

Our world history purposely ignored America for the most part.  It did tie it in where its influence was large (like the end of WWI or the Pacific war during WWII).. but we started with neolithic cavemen and progressed through Egyptians, Sumerians, Greeks, Romans, the dark ages, Medieval Europe, the Renaissance, and then the Industrial Revolution.

Our world history wasn't Amerocentric, but Euro-centric.  We learned almost nothing about the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, or east Asia.

[Hash]

yes. My teacher was great though and made fun of everybody.

[tik 🪀✨]

Because it didn't have much of an effect on your countries. Not much of a major event in European history.

Wrong actually (although that tends to be forgotten, even here). Where do you think all (or at least a lot) of all that cotton was exported to? And in any case, it all links up into slavery.

And that's no reason not to teach something anyway.

Our basic history courses are very America-centric. Even world history that we do get taught is based upon how it influenced America. I'm jealous of Europeans for getting a broader lesson in history, I barely know anything between the fall of the Roman empire and the discover of the "New World" as far as what I was taught in school is concerned. What I do know is rooted in dabbling and research I've done on my own time. What's more frustrating is the widespread belief that if it didn't influence us then why should it matter to us? Perhaps we'd be less haughty and more cautious in our foreign policy. Sigh.

Really?

Our world history purposely ignored America for the most part.  It did tie it in where its influence was large (like the end of WWI or the Pacific war during WWII).. but we started with neolithic cavemen and progressed through Egyptians, Sumerians, Greeks, Romans, the dark ages, Medieval Europe, the Renaissance, and then the Industrial Revolution.

Our world history wasn't Amerocentric, but Euro-centric.  We learned almost nothing about the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, or east Asia.

Well different states have different ways of approaching history and teaching it, obviously. I'm not surprised Minnesota's was better. I did have an "ancient civilizations" class my senior year in which we learned about Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and a handful of others. One of the main points of learning about them was what they did that influenced America and modern civilizations. Not a ridiculous way of doing things I suppose, but I dare say some world events can be important without having anything to do with us ..

[Franzl]

Yes (Non-southernor)

it saddens me to learn that the schools in north dakota dont give their children accurate history lessons.

maybe that is why north dakota is so behind the rest of the country.

Who said anything about accuracy? that's basically an attack for no real purpose, you could have asked the same about anyone else that answered yes

[??????????]

Pretty much 95% of all schools, both north AND south teach the yankeefied version of US history. From colonial times through to reconstruction. Of course that was the outright stated goal of the United States Govt. post civil war. Demonize the south, it's citizens, and all things about the south. Why do you think the yankee govt sent trained northern teachers into southern public schools?

[The Mikado]

Tried to be neutral...as will I when I'm a teacher.  Vilifying Calhoun, Davis, and Lee isn't necessary, showing why they were wrong is.  The logic behind the Slaveholders' Rebellion (as Marx so rightly named it) was absurd enough without resorting to partisan invective.

Just like I have no intention of vilifying the Nazis...just showing, in painstaking detail, who they were and what they believed in...the Nazis vilify themselves.

[War on Want]

Pretty much 95% of all schools, both north AND south teach the yankeefied version of US history. From colonial times through to reconstruction. Of course that was the outright stated goal of the United States Govt. post civil war. Demonize the south, it's citizens, and all things about the south. Why do you think the yankee govt sent trained northern teachers into southern public schools?

Oh yeah the South was completley right! Slavery was great, and every state in the country should have the right to break off and form its own country! I also think that Southern Landowners should control politics as well!

[TomC]

Yes (Southerner). One of my two U.S. history teachers was African American, the other a big feminist.

[Person Man]

Pretty much 95% of all schools, both north AND south teach the yankeefied version of US history. From colonial times through to reconstruction. Of course that was the outright stated goal of the United States Govt. post civil war. Demonize the south, it's citizens, and all things about the south. Why do you think the yankee govt sent trained northern teachers into southern public schools?

Oh yeah the South was completley right! Slavery was great, and every state in the country should have the right to break off and form its own country! I also think that Southern Landowners should control politics as well!

Agreed. I come from a Southern Family and even I am offended by much of southern culture.

[Gustaf]

really there wasn't a good guys or bad guys in our program... IB is violently non-partisan and tries rather hard to "evaluate all perspectives"

IB as in International Baccalaureate?

[??????????]

Pretty much 95% of all schools, both north AND south teach the yankeefied version of US history. From colonial times through to reconstruction. Of course that was the outright stated goal of the United States Govt. post civil war. Demonize the south, it's citizens, and all things about the south. Why do you think the yankee govt sent trained northern teachers into southern public schools?

Oh yeah the South was completley right! Slavery was great, and every state in the country should have the right to break off and form its own country! I also think that Southern Landowners should control politics as well!

Grow up.