The Betrayal Of History Analysis

The Betrayal of History by Alexander Stille was an interesting historical perspective about the evolution of textbooks used to teach our children about United States history. Prior to reading this article, I was unaware of the deliberate omissions and lies the publishers used to frame their narrative of our historical events. For example, publishers Holt and Rinehart want to create a multicultural hero for the Hispanic populations of Texas and California so they made up the story that a Spanish explorer Bartolomeo Gomez discovered the Hudson River. When, in fact, Gomez was Portuguese not Spanish and there was no evidence to support that he discovered the river.
There are several interesting facts noted throughout the article. Texas and California account for over 20% of the textbooks sold in America and textbook publishers cater to both of those states because of the amount of money involved. Without contracts from Texas or California could result in
The time period determined what story would be told in the textbooks and the influence of certain groups had the power to re-write history or tell a partial story. As textbooks evolved, they were bland, center of the road, stories that included numerous illustrations that overshadowed the content. What is surprising was that Joy Hakin, a grandmother from Virginia, was able to write and portray true historical stories that included all aspects of our history. Although the major publishers liked Hakin’s writing, they considered her a threat to their profits and refused to publish her work. Eventually, Oxford University Press agreed to publish her books through D.C. Heath that was later sold to Houghton Mifflin, but due to competing interest, Houghton made no effort to distribute her book. Today, Hakin has sold over approximately one million copies to home school parents as well as inner city