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Truth in Florida Textbooks Review

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt United States History: Beginnings to 1877, Florida Edition (2018)

Problem: Omission of Fact (OF), Half-Truth (HT), Factual Error (FE), Slant (S), Bias (B), Incorrect

Terminology (IT) OF means that there is additional useful information to help students learn complete history. The author/publisher has not deliberately omitted

material to fulfill an agenda. HT means that the author/publisher has presented "half of the story" and has omitted the other half for agenda-based

reasons. HT leads to slant and bias.

Location Quote Problem Fact & Source Module 1: America, Africa and

Europe Before 1500, Essential

Question, America, Africa and

Europe Before 1500, ¶1

Beginning around 38,000 BC, people

migrated to the Americas and spread

across the continents.

HT, B The sentence should be modified by “scientists believe”. It is not

an established fact. This modification is used elsewhere in the

text and it should be consistent.

The Reviewer suggests that the following rewrite: Many

scientists believe that the first people arrived in North America

during the last Ice Age.

Mod 1, Lesson 1: The Earliest Americans, Early Migrations, ¶ 1

Although no one knows exactly when or how people crossed into

North America, evidence suggests that people called Paleo-

Indians crossed this bridge into Alaska between 38,000 and

10,000 BC. Mod 1, Lesson 1 “The Earliest Americans, Early

Migrations, ¶ 2

Module 1, Lesson 2, Native

American Cultural Areas,

Northeast and Southeast,

paragraph 5

Some scholars propose that the

constitution and structure of the

Iroquois Confederation inspired the

framers of the U.S. Constitution.

OF, HT These claims are widely disputed, as differences are significant.

…the Iroquois system is based on hereditary positions and clan-

based leadership -- elements that are entirely foreign to the

United States’ system (and arguably seem more similar to the

British system the colonists were trying to escape).

www.politifact.com/truth-o-

meter/statements/2014/dec/02/facebook

Mod 1: America, Africa and

Europe Before 1500, Lesson 3.

Empire of Ghana, Islam in

Islam spread quickly through the

Arabian Peninsula.

OF, HT, B While both traders and missionaries helped to “spread” Islam,

Islam was spread by the sword and it conquered the Arabian

Peninsula by the force of jihad.

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Ghana, ¶2

-----------------------------------------------

By the mid-seventh century, traders

had already helped spread Islam to

northern Africa.

Muhammad’s last injunction from his deathbed was, “Let not two

religions be left in the Arabian peninsula.”

Source: Ibn ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, page 689.

The entire Levant was under siege between 637-638AD.

Source: “Syria”, 2006, Encyclopedia

Britannica.2006.Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Mohammed taught that Jihad was the second most important

activity of a Muslim, after the Shahadah (profession of faith).

Sahih Bukhari 1:2:25

The last major Surah of the Quran includes the following

command: “Fight against such of those to whom the Scriptures

were given (i.e., Jews and Christians) as believe neither in Allah

nor the last Day, who do not forbid what Allah and His apostle

have forbidden and do not embrace the true Faith, until they pay

tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued.” (Surah 9:29)

The armies of Islam quickly and easily conquered the Arabian

peninsula before moving on to take the homelands of their

various neighbours. Marching out of Arabia in 639 they entered

non-Arab Egypt; 43 years later they reached the shores of the

Atlantic.

Source: www.historytoday.com/eamonn-gearon/arab-invasions-

first-islamic-empire

Module 1, Lesson 3, Empires of

West Africa (Interactive Map,

900-1500)

Slaves are mentioned as part of a list of

products and goods traded.

OF While the text focuses on salt and gold, the vast Arab slave trade

between 900-1500AD is ignored. Slaves were captured by

Africans and sold to Europeans directly or through Arab slave

traders.

Source: Source: Peter Hammond, Slavery, Terrorism, and Islam,

(2010), pages 18 - 19.

“From North to South, and from East to West, the African

continent became intimately connected with slavery both as one

of the principal areas in the world where slavery was common,

and also as a major source of slaves for ancient civilization, the

medieval world and all the continents of the modern period.”

http://latinamericanstudies.org/slavery/perbi.pdf (Accessed

8/24/17)

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Module 1, Lesson 3,

Enrichment,

Ibn Battutah, 1304-c.1377

In 1346 Battutah began his return trip

home to Morocco. Battutah arrived in

Tangier in 1350. He left Morocco at

the age of 21 and returned at the age of

45—a 24-year adventure! Once back,

Battutah did not stay in Morocco for

long. In 1350 Battutah sailed across

the Mediterranean Sea to Andalusia,

what is today southern Spain. Then

between 1351 and 1353, he traveled

across the Sahara, stopping in Mali in

western Africa to find a job in the

government.

OF Ibn Battula described the importance of slaves in Mali in the 14th

c. Noel King (ed.), Ibn Battuta in Black Africa, Princeton 2005,

p. 54

Mod 1, Lesson 4, Europe Before

1500, Middle Ages, The

Crusades, ¶2

The Turks had captured Palestine, also

known as the Holy Land because it

was where Jesus had lived.

FE, OF, B Palestine was not known as the Holy Land because it was where

Jesus lived. The name comes from the Torah where the land

given by God to the Jewish People was the Holy Land. (Eretz Ha

Kodosh). Later, after the advent of Christianity, the name was

adopted by them as well.

“In Judaism the term Holy is used for something that stands

apart. Something that is different or designated.

The land of Israel stands apart, is different, and designated.

It is the land "of the book". It is the land that G-d considers gift-

worthy. G-d has a different set of standards for this land. And

beginning with a covenant made with Abraham, G-d clearly

designated this land for the Jewish people.

A Holy Land has high standards, and before entering Israel G-d2

warned the Jewish people about their behavior there: “You shall

not defile yourselves ... for the nations, whom I am sending away

from before you, have defiled themselves with all these things.

The land became defiled, and I visited its sin upon it, and the land

vomited out its inhabitants.”

http://www.askmoses.com/en/article/410,2167692/Why-is-Israel-

called-the-Holy-Land.html

Mod 1, Lesson 4, Europe Before

1500, Middle Ages, The

Crusades, The First Crusade

video

(1) 0:24-0:36 The Christians in

Europe believed that the Islamic

message of Muhammad was

against and contradictory to what

FE, OF,

HT, B The video clip is a well-done apologetics for Islam. The Crusades

are presented from the viewpoint of the Muslims who have

always maintained that they were the victims of Christian hatred

of non-believers. According to this video the Crusades spread

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the Christians were saying. They

were worried that this idea could

overrun the Christian idea.

(2) 0:38-0:45 Pope Urban II conceived

the idea that it was not a sin to kill

non-Christians or non-believers.

(3) 0.49-1.14 Pope Urban made this

deal that if you go and fight in the

Holy Land, you will be forgiven

all your past sins. A knight could

sin as much as he liked and simply

by going to the Holy Land he had

been given his passport to Heaven.

That was an extremely attractive

deal. And combined with that he

could bring fame, glory and the

treasures of the Middle East.

(4) 1:33-1:58 These guys [i.e.,

Muslims and Christians] believe in

the same God, the same beliefs,

and the same prophets

bloodletting across the Muslim world and created a new kind of

Muslim piety. Islam was the Religion of Peace and the Muslims

driven into the Piety of Jihad (word not used) by the Crusades.

The video has Factual Errors, Omissions of Facts and Half

Truths, all of which create a biased video.

(1) There would not be any problem with these lines if it were not for

the condescending and almost mocking tone of the narrator. The

statements are correct but the presentation is clearly biased and

they lead the students to incorrect and biased conclusions about

the Christians.

(2) There is no explanation on how Pope Urban II could conceive

and then implement the idea that it not a sin to kill non-Christians

or non-believers when the New Testament does not contain this

tenet or does any portion lead to such an interpretation.

(3) This contains a blatant Factual Error which negates the entire

“deal” made by Pope Urban, allowing the Crusaders to sin at will

and then giving them a Passport to Heaven and a free pass to

slaughter and pillage. Pope Urban promised absolution and

remission of sins for all who died in the service of Christ. Those

Crusaders who did not die in the warfare received nothing.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pope-urban-ii-

orders-first-crusade

(4) The claim of the equivalency of Islam, Christianity and Judaism

is one of the trademarks of Islamist apologetics. Muslims and

Christians (and Jews who are eliminated from this) do not believe

in the same God, do not have the same beliefs or the same

prophets.

Despite many claims in the early Surahs of the Koran that

Muslims worship the same god as Christians and Jews, the later

texts, namely Surah 109, state “I will not worship that which you

are worshiping. Nor will you worship whom I worship.” This is

confirmed in Tasfir Ibn Kathir, who writes, “There is no (true)

object of worship except Allah and there is no path to Him other

than that which the Messenger (Muhammad) came with.” Source:

Tasfir Ibn Kathir, Volume 10, page 615.

Allah and God are described differently in their respective sacred

books. The Quran says that Allah is the source of both good and

evil. (Surah 4:78), while the Bible states that God cannot be

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tempted by evil and He tempts no one. (James 1:13)

Mod 1, Lesson 4, Europe Before

1500, Renaissance, Search For

Knowledge, ¶1

As Turks conquered much of the

Byzantine Empire in the East, scholars

fled to Italy. They brought ancient

classical writings with them.

HT It should be noted that these were Christian scholars.

“the Turks finally captured Constantinople and many other

Greek Christian scholars fled to Italy.”

Philosophy and Living – Page 171-Google Books Result,

books.google.com/books?isbn=0907845339,Ralph Blumenau-

2002-Philosophy

also see ¶2 source

Mod 1, Lesson 4, Europe Before

1500, Renaissance, Search for

knowledge, ¶2

Excited by the discoveries brought by

Turkish scholars, European scholars

went looking for ancient texts in Latin.

FE These were not Turkish scholars, but Byzantine Christian

scholars.

“Many Byzantine scholars fled westward, particularly to Italy,

and made a substantial contribution to the Renaissance.”

Christianity and the Ottoman Empire - Oxford Islamic Studies

Online

www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t253/e2

also see ¶1 source

Module 3, Lesson 4, French and

Indian War, Native American

Perspective on Colonial Rule

In 1864, Garangula, a chief of one of

the Iroquois tribes, plainly stated that

his people were subject to neither

French nor English colonial rule.

FE This statement was recorded in 1727.We may go where we please

and trade with whomever we please...if your allies be your slaves

then use them as such...but we are born free!" Cadwallader

Colden (1727)

www.judhartmanngallery.com/work/grangula.html

Module 3, Lesson 4, French and

Indian War, North American

Empire before and after the

Treaty of Paris, 1754

Color coding of English and Russian

territories

FE Colors assigned to both countries are virtually identical. They do

not match the key.

Module 6: Citizenship and the

Constitution / Lesson 1:

Establishing the Constitution /

Constitutional Convention

Also, the convention did not reflect the

diverse U.S. population of the 1780s.

There were no Native Americans,

African Americans, or women among

the delegates. These groups of people

were not recognized as citizens and

were not invited to attend.

S / B The language here needs to be “cleaned up” a bit. Native

Americans and African Americans were not recognized as

citizens. Women were citizens with limited rights; “very few

rights” as stated in the Lesson 7 Enrichment article about Abigail

Adams.

Module 6: Citizenship and the

Constitution / Lesson 1:

Establishing the Constitution /

Great Compromise

The delegates struggled to solve the

problem of representation in the

legislature. In early July, a committee

led by Roger Sherman and other

OF This statement makes it seem that this compromise was proposed

in its final form. It took several iterations to get this final

solution.

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delegates from Connecticut offered a

deal known as the Great Compromise. The verb “offered” should be changed to “proposed”.

This suggestion was made [the Connecticut Compromise] was

made three separate times during the heated debates before it was

finally accepted.

Pg. 161, The Making of America by W. Cleon Skousen, The

National Center for Constitutional Studies, Copyright 2007

[the original proposal by Sherman was] in the Senate each state

should have one vote.

Pg. 211, America; Land of Principles and Promises by Philip W.

Winkler; Published by Heritage Academy, Copyright 2015

Module 6: Citizenship and the

Constitution / Lesson 2:

Structure of the Government /

The Federal System

Sometimes, Congress has had to

stretch its delegated powers to deal

with new or unexpected issues. A

clause in the Constitution states that

Congress may “make all Laws which

shall be necessary and proper” for

carrying out its duties. This clause,

called the elastic clause—because it

can be stretched (like elastic)—

provides flexibility for the

government. The federal government

has used this clause to provide public

services such as funding for the arts

and humanities.

OF This clause has been surrounded by controversy from the

beginning. Not everyone agrees with using it to ‘stretch’ the

constitution to provide some of the public services in effect

today.

One of the many statements in discussions by the founders

brought out this point -- “Under such a clause as this can

anything be said to be reserved and kept back from Congress?”

pg. 239, The Founders’ Constitution edited by Philip B. Kurland

and Ralph Lerner, Copyright 1987 by The University of Chicago

Press.

Module 6: Citizenship and the

Constitution / Lesson 3: The Bill

of Rights / First Amendment

Federalist James Madison promised

that a bill of rights would be added to

the Constitution. This promise allowed

the Constitution to pass. In 1789

Madison began writing down a huge

list of proposed amendments. He then

presented a shorter list to the House of

Representatives. Of those, the House

approved 12. The states ratified ten,

which took effect December 15, 1791.

Those ten amendments, called the Bill

of Rights, protect U.S. citizens'

individual liberties.

HT Madison received this list from the states.

“The continuous conflict over some of these minor problems [the

bill of rights] finally led George Washington and others to

promise the state conventions that if they would approve the

Constitution in its present form, the states could each submit

suggestions for amendments and these would be taken up in the

first session of Congress.”

“The states took this invitation literally. They submitted a total of

189 proposed changes!”

Pg. 226, The Making of America by W. Cleon Skousen, The

National Center for Constitutional Studies, Copyright 2007

Module 7: Launching the Nation

/ Lesson 1: Washington Leads a

The Judiciary Act of 1789 created

three levels of federal courts. In

OF This act also “gave the Supreme Court a Chief Justice and five

Associate Justices.”

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New Nation / Organizing the

Government

addition to the Supreme Court, it set up

federal district courts and circuit courts

of appeals.

Pg. 224, America; Land of Principles and Promises by Philip W.

Winkler; Published by Heritage Academy, Copyright 2015

Module 8: War and Expansion in

the Americas / Lesson 1: The

Coming of War / Conflict in the

West

Tecumseh traveled south to ask the

Creek nation to join his forces. In his

absence, Harrison attacked. Harrison

raised an army and marched his troops

close to Prophetstown. Fighting broke

out when the Prophet, the spiritual

leader of Prophetstown, ordered an

attack on Harrison’s camp on

November 7, 1811. The conflict

escalated into the Battle of

Tippecanoe.

OF, HT, S This statement leaves the impression that the settlers took it upon

themselves to attack.

The text doesn’t mention that “Attacks on frontier settlers led

Harrison to move with a force of about eight hundred to one

thousand to camp a mile from the Shawnee town of Tippecanoe

Creek.”

Pg. 267, America; Land of Principles and Promises by Philip W.

Winkler; Published by Heritage Academy, Copyright 2015

Module 8: War and Expansion in

the Americas / Lesson 2: The

Coming of War / The War of

1812

The British sailed on to Baltimore,

Maryland, which was guarded by Fort

McHenry. They shelled the fort for 25

hours. The Americans refused to

surrender Fort McHenry. The British

chose to retreat instead of continuing

to fight.

OF This battle spurred the song we now have as our National

Anthem.

Pg. 272, America; Land of Principles and Promises by Philip W.

Winkler; Published by Heritage Academy, Copyright 2015

Included in the Enrichment section of the material

Module 9: A New National

Identity / Lesson 1: American

Foreign Policy / Growing

Nationalism

With the Adams-Onís Treaty, Monroe

secured Florida for the United States.

HT The Treaty also settled the boundary between Spain’s territory in

the West and America’s from the Louisiana Purchase.

Pg. 283, America; Land of Principles and Promises by Philip W.

Winkler; Published by Heritage Academy, Copyright 2015

Module 9: A New National

Identity / Lesson 2: Nationalism

and Sectionalism / Nationalism

Guides Domestic Policy

The Cumberland Road was the first

road built by the federal government.

HT Introducing the other name for this road, “National Road”, would

further the idea of Nationalism vs the Sectionalism concept.

Pg. 276, America; Land of Principles and Promises by Philip W.

Winkler; Published by Heritage Academy, Copyright 2015

Module 10: The Age of Jackson

/ Lesson 1: Jacksonian

Democracy / Expansion of

Democracy

In the South, small family farms began

to give way to large cotton plantations,

owned by wealthy white people and

worked by enslaved African

Americans.

HT / S / B Not all plantations were owned by whites. Some were owned by

blacks.

The fact is large numbers of free Negroes owned black slaves; in

fact, in numbers disproportionate to their representation in society

at large. In 1860 only a small minority of whites owned slaves.

According to the U.S. census report for that last year before the

Civil War, there were nearly 27 million whites in the country.

Some eight million of them lived in the slaveholding states.

https://dixieoutfitters.com/2017/08/05/didnt-know-blacks-owned-

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slaves-in-america/ accessed 3/10/18

Module 10: The Age of Jackson

/ Lesson 2: Jackson’s

Administration / Panic of 1837

Shortly after Van Buren took office,

the country experienced the Panic of

1837, a severe economic depression.

Jackson’s banking policies and his

unsuccessful plan to curb inflation

contributed to the panic. But people

blamed Van Buren.

OF, HT The textbook does not discuss the reasons for this panic. The

Reviewer suggest that some of the following information be

added.

Inflation from banks issuing excessive paper money, wild

speculation in western land, dropping cotton prices reducing the

nation’s income from trade, banks in Great Britain raised interest

rates and cut back on loans.

Pg. 313, America; Land of Principles and Promises by Philip W.

Winkler; Published by Heritage Academy, Copyright 2015

Module 11, Opener: Westward

Expansion, heading Westward

Expansion 1800-1900 timeline

1807: Great Britain abolishes the slave

trade in its empire.

The Act for the Abolition of the Slave

Trade essentially declared all British

ships carrying slaves to be pirates.

However, the trade continued on in the

empire for several more years. The

end of slavery in the British Empire

came in 1833, with the passage of the

Abolition of Slavery Act.

OF The abolition of slavery in Great Britain is mentioned on this

timeline, yet there is no mention that in 1865, slavery was

abolished in America.

The Reviewer suggests that the abolition of slavery in 1865 in

America should be on the timeline.

https://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/13th-amendment

Module 12, lesson 2, subtitle

“American Settlement in the

Mexican Cession”: Interpret

Maps (located below map)

Question: “Human-Environment

Interaction What possible problems

did settlers face when moving to the

Mexican Cession?

Technical

Error The student is unable to pick an answer from the multiple

choices, which is “correct”. Regardless of the choice a student

makes, when clicking “check” it states that the answer is

incorrect.

Module 13, Lesson 3,

Transportation Revolution

brings Changes, heading “A

New Fuel”, 2nd

paragraph, last

sentence, lines 6 and 7.

As the demand for coal increased, a

coal-mining industry developed in

many states, including Pennsylvania,

western Virginia, and Illinois. Coal

mining changed the landscape in a

number of ways. New towns, such as

Coal City and Carbondale in Illinois,

sprang up in places where coal

deposits could be mined. Miners made

deep gashes in the earth removing the

coal.

S The word “gash” suggests injury or deep wound. And it gives the

impression that the text is biased against coal mining.

The Reviewer suggests that the following sentence be removed:

“Miners made deep gashes in the earth removing the coal.”

Module 13, lesson 3. Review,

key term #4

Gibbons vs. Ogden: a Supreme Court

ruling that reinforced the federal

government’s authority over the states.

HT The answer given for the term “Gibbons vs. Ogden” is very

broad; it should state why the government’s authority was

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reinforced by this court case.

The Reviewer suggests the following rewrite: “A Supreme Court

ruling that reinforced the federal government’s authority over the

states regarding interstate commerce by ruling that waterways are

important for interstate commerce and cannot be controlled by

single states.”

--This restates the explanation given in Lesson 3 “Steamboats”

subsection.

Module 14, Lesson 2 Southern

Society and Culture, heading

“Southern Society and Culture”,

2nd

paragraph, 2nd

sentence, 1st

and 2nd

lines.

During the first half of the 1800s, only

about one-third of white southern

families had slaves.

FE, OF Omitted is that most Southerners owned no slaves, as stated here,

"Most Southerners owned no slaves and most slaves lived in

small groups rather than on large plantations. Less than one-

quarter of white Southerners held slaves, with half of these

holding fewer than five and fewer than 1 percent owning more

than one hundred. In 1860, the average number of slaves residing

together was about ten."

https://eh.net/encyclopedia/slavery-in-the-united-states/

The Reviewer recommends the sentence be changed to read as

follows: “During the first half of the 1800s, less than one-quarter

of white Southerners had slaves. Free African Americans also

had slaves.”

Module 14, Lesson 3 Living

Under Slavery “Analyse

Sources” questions

What does Curry’s story reveal about

relations between white masters and

enslaved African Americans?

FE, OF Students need to know that not all slave owners were white.

The Reviewer recommends the sentence be changed to read:

“What does Curry’s story reveal about relations between slave

owners and enslaved African Americans?

Module 15, Lesson 1, Slavery in

the United States, timeline 1776

Tukolor empire arises in the former

Songhau region of West Africa

This empire was founded by a Muslim

cleric who wanted to create a country

based on strict religious rules. He

trained a military force, armed it with

European guns, and launched a holy

war against his neighbors. His son

ruled after his death, but in 1893 the

French conquered the empire.

OF Students need to understand that the Tukolor Empire is not an

isolated episode. It is an example of Islamic expansion and

conquest via Jihad (holy war) with the aim of imposing Sharia.

Without this understanding, it will be impossible for students to

fully understand the nature of Islam and Jihad, and the threat it

currently poses.

Students must understand that it is a religious duty for all

Muslims to spread Islam and implement Sharia by force (jihad) if

necessary.

Jihad is holy war against unbelievers. Islamic jihad involves

forced conversion to Islam, slaughter or enslavement of

unbelievers, or, in the case of Christians and Jews, acceptance of

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Dhimmi status (living as a 2nd

class citizen and paying the jizyah

tax in order to be protected from slaughter).

http://www.dhimmitude.org/

“What does the Arabic word jihad mean?

One answer came last week, when Saddam Hussein had his

Islamic leaders appeal to Muslims worldwide to join his jihad to

defeat the "wicked Americans" should they attack Iraq; then he

himself threatened the United States with jihad.

As this suggests, jihad is "holy war." Or, more precisely: It means

the legal, compulsory, communal effort to expand the territories

ruled by Muslims at the expense of territories ruled by non-

Muslims.

The purpose of jihad, in other words, is not directly to spread the

Islamic faith but to extend sovereign Muslim power (faith, of

course, often follows the flag). Jihad is thus unabashedly

offensive in nature, with the eventual goal of achieving Muslim

dominion over the entire globe.”

http://www.danielpipes.org/990/what-is-jihad

The reviewer suggests the heading read as follows: “Tukolor

Islamic Empire arises in the former Songhau region of West

Africa”

The Reviewer suggests the paragraph be edited to read as

follows: “This Empire was founded by a Muslim cleric who, in

accordance with Islamic teachings, sought to create a country

based on Sharia, the Islamic legal system. He trained a military

force, armed it with European guns, and launched a Jihad against

his neighbors. His son ruled after his death, but in 1893 the

French conquered the empire.”

Module 15, Lesson 1 The Slave

Trade, heading “The Slave

Trade”, 1st paragraph, 3

rd

sentence

The practice of slavery had existed in

Africa and in many parts of the world

for centuries. Traditionally, slavery in

West Africa mostly involved only

black Africans, who were both

slaveholders and slaves. This changed

in the 600s when Arab Muslims, and

later Europeans, became slave traders.

Though Europeans had long traded

resources with Africa, they became

OF, FE The third sentence would suggest that Arab Muslims were

practicing slavery in the 600s. This is false. The Arab slave trade

began during the 9th century.

Allan G. B. Fisher, Slavery and Muslim Society in Africa, ed. C.

Hurst (London 1970, 2nd edition 2001)

The sentence also suggests that the Europeans then took over and

ran their own slave trade. That is also false. The beginning of

European slave trade in Africa dates from 1441. The Portuguese

captains Antão Gonçalves and Nuno Tristão captured 12 Africans

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more interested in the growing slave

trade.

in Cabo Branco (modern Mauritania) and took them to Portugal

as slaves.

https://jicolerenaissance.wordpress.com/portugal-the-african-

slave-trade/

The textbook fails to inform the students that slavery continued

throughout the Muslim world long after it ended in the United

States and continues in some areas in the Muslim world today.

The facts of the Arabs starting and dominating the slave trade are

omitted entirely.

“10 Facts About The Arab Enslavement Of Black People Not

Taught In Schools” By A Moore. Atlanta Black Star. June 2,

2014. Accessed May 18, 2017.

http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/06/02/10-facts-about-the-arab-

enslavement-of-black-people-not-taught-in-schools/

The textbook omits the fact that there are still “an estimated 20.9

Million people trapped in some form of slavery today. It’s

sometimes called ‘Modern-Day Slavery’ and sometimes ‘Human

Trafficking.’ At all times it is slavery at its core.”

“Slavery Today.” End Slavery Now. Accessed May 19, 2017

http://www.endslaverynow.org/learn/slavery-today

The Reviewer suggests that this sentence be changed to read as

follows: This changed in the 9th century when Arab Muslims

began the Atlantic Slave Trade, which Europeans exploited for

labor in their colonies. Some of those slaves were taken to

America.

Module 15, Lesson 1,

Beginnings of Slavery in the

Americas, The Big Idea

Europeans forced millions of African

slaves to work in their colonies.

OF, B, S Europeans exploited an already established slave trade known as

the Atlantic Slave Trade run by Muslims out of Africa. See entry

Module 15, Lesson 1, The Slave Trade, heading “Middle

Passage”, 2nd

sentence, 1st – 3

rd lines.

The Reviewer suggests this sentence be changed to read as

follows: “Europeans exploited the Atlantic Slave Trade to

procure slaves to work in their colonies.”

Module 15, Lesson 1, The Slave

Trade, Main Idea

Europeans enslaved millions of

Africans and sent them to work in their

colonies.

OF, B, S The Reviewer suggests this sentence should read as follows:

“Europeans exploit the Atlantic Slave Trade to procure slaves to

work in their colonies.”

Module 15, Lesson 1, The Slave Most enslaved people had been OF, HT The Reviewer notes that this text has mentioned that some Arab

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Trade, heading “Middle

Passage”, 2nd

sentence, 1st – 3

rd

lines

captured in the interior of Africa, often

by Africans who profited from selling

slaves to Europeans.

Muslims were active in the African slave trade, but it is very

much downplayed.

The Atlantic Slave Trade depended on the huge and complex

Muslim slave kidnapping and transportation industry that had

already been in operation for 700 years.

When they landed on the west coast of Africa looking for a cargo

of slaves, white slave traders did not trek into the interior of the

continent and do the dirty work of kidnapping black Africans.

The Europeans were dealing with middlemen, the vast majority

of whom were Muslims. 103

Approximately 80% of all black Africans ever enslaved and

exported from the continent passed through the hands of

Muslims. 103

“Submission”. pp 127, 131; Hugh Thomas, The Slave Trade,

Sion& Schuster (New York 1997), p. 46.104

K.S. Lal, Muslim

Slave System in Medieval India (“Lal Muslim Slave System”),

Aditya Prakashan (New Delhi, 1994, pp. 176-177).12.29.18 TNT

ACT for America Education Textbook Report full version

7312012.pdf, page 55).

The Reviewer suggests this sentence be changed to read as

follows: “Most enslaved people had been captured in the interior

of Africa, mostly by Arab Muslim slave traders who profited

from selling slaves to Europeans.”

Module 15, Lesson 1, The Slave

Trade, heading “The Slave

Trade”, heading “African

Diaspora”, 1st paragraph

Between the 1520s and 1860s, about

12 million Africans were shipped

across the Atlantic as slaves. More

than 10 million of these captives

survived the voyage and reached the

Americas. The slave trade led to the

African Diaspora. Enslaved Africans

were sent all across the New World.

OF, HT The text states that 10 million reached the Americas, but fails to

state what percentage of that 10 million came to America. It is

not clear enough that only a small number came to America. In

the absence of that information, it may seem that the early

European settlers in North America were responsible for much of

the slave intake, when only a few hundred thousand were taken

there.

“Between 1525 and 1866, in the entire history of the slave trade

to the New World, according to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Database, 12.5 million Africans were shipped to the New World.

10.7 million survived the dreaded Middle Passage, disembarking

in North America, the Caribbean and South America. And how

many of these 10.7 million Africans were shipped directly to

North America? Only about 388,000. That’s right: a tiny

13

percentage.“ https://www.theroot.com/how-many-slaves-landed-

in-the-us-1790873989

Students need to know that the majority of slaves were

transported to other areas outside of North America. For

example, Portuguese took slaves to Cape Verde and The Madeira

Islands, and the Spanish conquistadors took slaves to the

Caribbean. https://www.britannica.com/topic/transatlantic-slave-

trade

The Reviewer suggests the paragraph should read as follows:

“Between the 1520s and 1860s, about 12 million Africans were

shipped across the Atlantic as slaves, via the Atlantic Slave

Trade, which was run by Arab Muslims. More than 10 million of

these captives survived the voyage, and the majority of slaves

were shipped to South America and the Caribbean.

Approximately 388,000 enslaved Africans were shipped to North

America. The slave trade led to the African Diaspora. Enslaved

Africans were sent all across the New World.”

Module 15, Lesson 1, The Slave

Trade, heading “The Enslaved

Fight Back”, 2nd

paragraph, 1st

sentence

In South Carolina, the enslaved vastly

outnumbered whites, who lived in fear

of slave rebellions.

OF, FE Students must understand that most white people did not own

slaves. Some free Africans also owned slaves. (see entry at

Module 14, Lesson 2 Southern Society and Culture, heading

“Southern Society and Culture”, 2nd

paragraph, 2nd

sentence, 1st

and 2nd

lines.)

“The census of 1830 lists 965 free black slave owners in

Louisiana, owning 4,206 slaves. The state of South Carolina, lists

464 free blacks owning 2,715 slaves. How ironic it is that so

many blacks owned so many slaves in South Carolina. Yet, no

one seemed to mention this during the flag controversy.”

http://www.ironbarkresources.com/slaves/whiteslaves05.htm

The Reviewer suggests the sentence be changed to read as

follows: “In South Carolina, the enslaved vastly outnumbered

the slave owners, who lived in fear of slave rebellions.”

Module 15, Lesson 2, The Slave

System, heading “Slave

Uprisings”, 1st paragraph, 1

st

sentence

Although violent slave revolts were

relatively rare, white southerners lived

in fear of them.

FE, B, S See entry directly above.

The Reviewer suggests this sentence read as follows: “Although

violent slave revolts were relatively rare, slave owners lived in

fear of them.”

Module 15, Lesson 2, The Slave Although the North was the center of B, S It is bias to omit that many other northerners were social activists

14

System,

Heading “Opposition to Ending

Slavery”, 1st sentence

the abolitionist movement, many white

northerners agreed with the South and

supported slavery.

who wanted real freedom for Negroes and formed abolition

groups and operated the underground railway, as recorded here

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h477.html

The Reviewer suggests the sentence be changed to read as

follows: “Although many northerners agreed with the south and

supported slavery, it should be noted that many northerners

formed abolition groups and operated the underground railway.”

Mod 16 L1.Millions of

Immigrants. Anti-Immigrant

Movements. P2S1

Yet a great many native-born

Americans feared losing their jobs to

immigrants who might work for lower

wages.

OF Omitted: Whether the job fears were grounded in reality or not.

The text doesn’t describe whether the immigrants are needed to

fill industrial jobs, or whether they do in fact displace and

threaten the jobs of those already living in the US.

Mod 16 L1. Millions of

Immigrants. Anti-Immigrant

Movements. P2S1

Yet a great many native-born

Americans feared losing their jobs to

immigrants who might work for lower

wages. Some felt implicitly threatened

by the new immigrants’ cultures and

religions.

HT Some had valid fears that trying to absorb the enormous number

of immigrants over quite a short period of time could lead to

instability and disease. See this textbook itself in Mod 16 L1.

Urban Problems.

“The nineteenth century was a time of massive population growth

for the United States. In 1800, slightly over five million people

called America home. By 1900, that number skyrocketed to

seventy-five million. A large portion of this extraordinary growth

can be attributed to European immigrants.”

Brackemyre, Ted. Immigrants, Cities, and Disease. US History

Scene. 10 Apr. 2015. Accessed 3/7/18.

http://ushistoryscene.com/article/immigrants-cities-disease/

Mod 16 L1. Urban Problems.

Photo hotspot caption

Women—and frequently children—

labored all day in small rooms making

clothing to be sold to the wealthy.

S Slant - A “wealthy exploiting the poor” jab.

However, in the previous section the text: “This new middle class

was a social and economic level between the wealthy and the

poor. Those in the new middle class built large, dignified homes

that demonstrated their place in society.”

So, it would stand to reason that the new middle class people

would also be customers of these clothes makers.

Mod 16 L1. Enrichment. Irish

Immigration.

The wave of Irish immigration to the

United States began in the 1820s

because Ireland had too many people

for the land to support.

HT/OF The Irish also emigrated to escape oppression and persecution by

the British.

http://broadcast.lds.org/elearning/FHD/Community/en/Communit

y/

Paul Milner/Irish_Migration_to_NA-2011.pdf

15

“Before the Famine: In 1798, inspired by the American and

French revolutions, the Irish staged a major rebellion against

British rule. Widespread hangings and floggings soon followed as

the rebellion was brutally squashed. The English Army in Ireland

was also increased to nearly 100,000 men. Two years later, the

British Act of Union made Ireland a part of the United Kingdom.

The Act abolished the 500-year-old independent Irish Parliament

in Dublin and placed the country under the jurisdiction of

Britain's Imperial Parliament at Westminster, England. Although

Ireland was to be represented there by 100 members, Catholics

were excluded.” Irish Potato Famine. The History Place. 2000

Accessed 3/7/18.

http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/before.htm

Mod 16 L2. American

Romanticism. Little Women

Analyze Sources Possible

Answer

she was aiming to do something more

than be a wife and mother as was the

norm of the time.

OF/HT/S And yet her character, used here to advance a shallow feminist

trope, goes on to marry and have two sons.

“Jo hates the idea of romance, because marriage might break up

her family and separate her from the sisters she adores.

As you might have guessed, Jo is being set up for a Meaningful

Journey of Self-Discovery and Surprises (TM). By the end of the

novel, her dreams and dislikes are going to be turned topsy-turvy;

her desire to make her way in the world and her distaste for

staying at home will be altered forever. She may not find

romance in the places that readers expect, but she will find it.

She'll also realize that romantic love has its place, even though it

changes the relationships you already have”

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Shmoop. Accessed 3/7/18.

https://www.shmoop.com/little-women/jo-march.html

Mod 16 L3. Reforming Society.

Second Great Awakening. P1S1

During the 1790s and early 1800s,

some Americans felt there was a strong

need for religious reform

OF Text gives no reason that people would feel that need.

Mod 16 L3. Reforming Society.

Second Great Awakening. P1S1

and took part in a Christian renewal

movement called the Second Great

Awakening.

OF Text gives no information about a First Great Awakening.

Mod 16 L3. Reforming Society.

Second Great Awakening. P3S1

Finney’s style of preaching and his

ideas angered some traditional

ministers, like Boston’s Lyman

Beecher.

OF Text provides no reasons for Beecher’s objections.

16

Mod 16 L4. Opposing Abolition.

P3S2

To northern workers, freedom for

slaves meant more competition for

jobs.

OF The authors should provide some idea of the pressure for

employment as this is the second reference to competition for

jobs, the first being back in the section on immigration.

“The notion of work being scarce would have seemed ludicrous

to early Americans, who, after a day in the field, made their own

soap, clothes and candles. Then came the industrial revolution --

and unemployment. As early as the 1820s, Americans had begun

a gradual exodus from farms to factories. At first, some

experimented with doing both -- working in a textile mill or iron

foundry part of the year while growing crops or raising livestock

at home. But industry was growing so rapidly that manufacturers

began actively recruiting workers from farms, especially young

women awaiting matrimony. Meanwhile, productivity gains in

agriculture were making some male workers redundant.

Immigrants, particularly from Ireland, hastened the midcentury

rush toward industrialization. Destitute and often without a trade

or skill, they flocked to manufacturing jobs and settled in

America's growing cities. For several decades, the demand and

supply of American labor seemed to be in rough balance. “

Crossen, Cynthia, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal.

Until the Late 1800's, U.S. Had Never Known Unemployment

Woes. WSJ. 12/3/03 Accessed 3/8/18

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB107040655254249400

Mod 16 L5. Opposing the Call

for Women’s Rights. Photo:

Antisuffragists

As the suffrage movement picked up

speed, opponents to women’s suffrage

also began to organize. Antisuffragists

argued that women’s suffrage would

distract women from building strong

families and improving communities.

OF Although this is the introduction of the term, suffrage, the authors

do not define the term.

Mod 16 L5. Seneca Falls

Convention. Women’s Rights

Leaders. Final P

Leaders such as Stanton, Anthony,

Stone, and Gage continued to fight for

equal treatment and recognition. This

increased activity was one of the

movement’s greatest accomplishments.

OF Although Anthony remained single and never ran a household,

the authors never explain how Stanton, Stone, and Gage were

able to run households and raise children and perform the level of

activism in the days before convenience foods and labor saving

appliances.

Mod 17

Lesson 1

Opener

The marshals say you must help them

find her. If you don’t, you will be fined

or even sent to jail.

OF This is a legal question since the consequence is threat of being

“fined or even sent to jail.” Asking a sixth grader such a legal

question is stretching the bounds of a middle-school history

17

If YOU were there...

End of par 1

educational experience. The sixth grader will undoubtedly refuse

the demand for help. This then becomes a lesson in civil

disobedience. We have seen with recent anti-Trump riots on

campuses and anti-historical monument destruction and many

other such situations back to anti-Vietnam-War protests, which

even college students are not yet mature enough to decouple self-

righteous emotions from their civil-disobedience decisions. Sixth

grade is pretty young to be pumping up these anti-authority

hormones.

There is room here to discuss such things as marshalling of posse

comitatus and nullification. But be very careful about just

plopping an act of civil disobedience on the plate of a sixth

grader.

Mod 17 L1. New Land Regional

Differences about Slavery.

They worried that slave labor would

mean fewer jobs for white workers.

HT Inconsistent.

Here again the authors raise the issue of jobs. This time exactly

the opposite worries, that free African Americans threatened jobs,

as were mentioned above.

The authors have only pointed out job “worries” not the reality of

the jobs picture at the time.

Mod 17

Lesson 1

Antislavery Literature

End of Par 5

Stowe later wrote A Key to Uncle

Tom’s Cabin to answer those who had

criticized her book.

OF A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin deservers more discussion than one

brief sentence. That book gives Uncle Tom’s Cabin credibility on

which we today can judge Stowe’s writing. It is important to

know that, although she wrote with great emotion, everything she

said was based on well-researched facts as rigorously

documented in A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This is a quality that

is essential in worthy social-political narrative and makes her

achievement all the more important and admirable.

Mod 17 L2 The Kansas-

Nebraska Act Two New

Territories

Map:

From Compromise to Conflict

Technical Map resolution needs to be good enough that it remains clear at

any scale up to full.

Mod 17 L2 Bleeding Kansas.

Attack on Laurence. P1S1

The new pro-slavery settlers owned

guns, and antislavery settlers received

weapons shipments from friends in the

East.

OF This statement has no supporting proof or explanation.

Mod 17

Lesson 3

Opener

How do you think this new party will

affect American politics?

OF If the publishers wish the student to answer this question from the

point of view of a person in that time and place, they should

18

Question express that in the question. Without that premise articulated, the

student may use current historical data to assist the response.

This Reviewer suggests: “With your 1854, Michigan point of

view, how do you think this new party will affect American

politics?”

Mod 17

Lesson 3

Political Parties Undergo

Change

Par 5, last sent

Most importantly, he had been in Great

Britain as ambassador during the

Kansas-Nebraska Historical Source

IT End of sentence is an error missed by editors.

Mod 17

Lesson 3 Review

Key Terms and People

#3 Buchanan

… [James Buchanan] was chosen as

the Democratic nominee for president

in 1854 …

FE James Buchanan was chosen the Democratic presidential

nominee in 1856.

Mod 17 L4. The South Secedes.

Southerners’ Reactions. P1

People in the South believed their

economy and way of life would be

destroyed without slave labor. They

reacted immediately. Within a week of

Lincoln’s election, South Carolina’s

legislature called for a special

convention. The delegates considered

secession. Southern secessionists

believed that they had a right to leave

the Union. They pointed out that each

of the original states had voluntarily

joined the Union by holding a special

convention that had ratified the

Constitution. Surely, they reasoned,

states could leave the Union by the

same process.

OF Omission of the states’ rights argument.

There is no question that the main cause of the Civil War was

slavery. There were, however, other important issues. The

principal one was states’ rights vs. a strong central government.

This was the main issue at the time of the writing of the US

Constitution and was debated fiercely during the ratification

conventions. The South was far more driven toward a federation

of free and strong states—independent of slavery—than was the

North. Remember that most Southerners were not slave owners—

and, in fact, suffered a loss of wages because of the cheapness of

slave labor. Yet many of them supported the war.

http://www.civil-conflict.org/civil-war-history/causes-of-the-

civil-war.htm (3-12-18) and

Boldin, Michael. “South Carolina Secession: The Truth.”

http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2010/12/south-carolina-

secession-the-truth/ The Tenth Amendment Center. 12/20/10.

Accessed 3/10/18.

Mod 18

Opener

Title:

The Civil War, 1860 – 1866

FE The Civil War started in 1861 and ended in 1865.

Mod 18 L1 Americans Choose

Sides. P3S4

In a last-ditch effort to avoid war

between the states, Secretary of State

Seward suggested a united effort of

threatening war against Spain and

France for interfering in Mexico and

FE/HT/S Simplistic interpretation of the Secy of State, Seward’s,

intentions. Misleading and misrepresents Seward’s stature as a

statesman. This ridiculous assertion was to be found, verbatim, at

other online textbook websites.

19

the Caribbean. “There is no real evidence, taking the memorandum in context,

that Seward had anything of the kind in mind.

Seward had simply sought Lincoln's sanction for asking

European envoys in Washington whether their governments

intended to take advantage of the slaveholders' rebellion to

intervene in American affairs, even as the great powers, acting in

concert or in holy alliance, had been prone to do in diverse parts

of the world earlier in the century…. All of Seward's foreign

policy recommendations contained in his April 1 memorandum

were carried out. His demands for explanations from all four

European powers helped to persuade their leaders to exercise

greater caution in dealing with the "American question" than they

had at first exhibited. Seward's agents and envoys in Canada and

Latin America were so successful in seeking support for the

cause of the American Union that no Western Hemispheric

government ever recognized or overtly aided the Southern

insurrection. There was, of course, no need to "convene Congress

and declare war" against Spain and France because the

explanations of those two governments proved to be, if not

entirely reassuring, at least sufficiently "satisfactory."”

Ferris, Norman B. Lincoln and Seward in Civil War Diplomacy:

Their Relationship at the Outset Reexamined. Journal of the

Abraham Lincoln Association. Volume 12, Issue 1, 1991, pp. 21-

42

http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.2629860.0012.105

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jala/2629860.0012.105/--lincoln-and-

seward-in-civil-war-diplomacy-their-

relationship?rgn=main;view=fulltext

Mod 18 L1 Preparing for War.

Helping the Troops. Bio:

Elizabeth Blackwell.

Entire Bio S/B/OF This Reviewer questions the choice to insert this lengthy bio of

Elizabeth Blackwell, rather an unknown, whereas they include no

biographical detail of the very interesting lives of important

political and military figures in the lead up to and in the war, such

as Seward, McClellan, etc.

Mod 18 L4 African Americans

P1S3

Not all white northerners were ready to

accept them, but eventually they had

to.

OF No reason offered. JAYNE: There was no legal recourse. What is

this?

Mod 18 L5 Review Key Terms William Tecumseh Sherman: OF Although the authors include this information in the text of the

20

and People American Union army officer, his

capture of Atlanta, Georgia, and his

March to the Sea marked an important

turning point in the war.

lesson, it is important for the students to remember the brutality

of his tactics that were required to break the spirit of the

Confederacy.

Mod 18 L5 Essential Question.

Timeline: 1871

Congress passes anti-Klan legislation.

Organized by white supremacists in

the South, the Ku Klux Klan intimidate

black freedmen and their white

supporters. The Ku Klux Klan Act

gave the President power to suspend

rights in order to crush Klan activities.

The Act was ruled unconstitutional in

1882.

OF The text omits the fact the Klan was the work of Democrats.

Mod 18 L1 Freedom for African

Americans. Freedmen’s

Bureau.P3S4.

Despite opposition, by 1869 more than

150,000 African American students

were attending more than 3,000

schools.

OF The text gives no context here, what are the overall numbers of

freed slaves, freed slave children, etc.

Mod 19

Opener

Photo caption

The ruins of this southern plantation

stand as a bleak reminder of the

changes brought to the South by the

Civil War.

FE This is clearly a town, not a plantation. There are two church

steeples and other buildings that belong in towns, not plantations.

The ornate Greek columns in the foreground may be the

courthouse or some other official building.

Mod 19 Opener

After 12 years, and in response to

fierce resistance from many white

southerners, the federal government

declared Reconstruction over.

OF The resistance from southerners was only part of the reason.

“Reconstruction ended with the contested Presidential election of

1876, which put Republican Rutherford B. Hayes in office in

exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops from the South.

Republicans and Democrats responded to the economic declines

by shifting attention from Reconstruction to economic recovery.

War weary from nearly a decade of bloody military and political

strife, so-called Stalwart Republicans turned from idealism,

focusing their efforts on economics and party politics. The

closing of Reconstruction saw North and South reunited behind

the imperatives economic growth and territorial expansion, if not

the full rights of its citizens. From the ashes of civil war, a

new nation was born, a nation rich with fresh possibilities but

beset by old problems.”

The End of Reconstruction. Lumen Learning. US History II

(American Yawp) Accessed 3/16/18.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/ushistory2ay/chapter/the-end-

21

of-reconstruction-2/

Mod 19

Lesson 1

Reconstruction Begins

Wade-Davis Bill

Par 2, Sent 1

Two Republicans—Senator Benjamin

Wade and Representative Henry

Davis—had an alternative to Lincoln’s

plan.

OF Just as the roles of the Republicans and Radical Republicans in

the slavery issue are discussed, the role of the Democratic Party

should also be discussed.

For example, all 8 civil rights acts (the Civil Rights Act of 1866,

CRA of 1870. CRA of 1871, CRA of 1875, CRA of 1957, CRA

of 1960, CRA of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965) and 3

civil rights amendments were strongly supported by the

Republican Party and poorly to moderately supported or opposed

by the Democratic Party.

http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-

Publications/BAIC/Historical-Data/Constitutional-Amendments-

and-Legislation/

Mod 19 L1 Freedom for African

Americans. Slavery Ends. 13th

Amendment.

P2

The amendment was ratified and took

effect on December 18, 1865. When

abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison

heard the news, he declared that his

work was now finished. He called for

the American Anti-Slavery Society to

break up. Not all abolitionists agreed

that their work was done, however.

Frederick Douglass insisted that

“slavery is not abolished until the

black man has the ballot [vote].”

OF Omitted that this Frederick Douglas speech was objecting to the

breakup of the Society and called for 2nd

Amendment rights.

“…the South, by unfriendly legislation, could make our liberty,

under that provision, a delusion, a mockery, and a snare. … What

advantage is a provision like this Amendment to the black man, if

the Legislature of any State can tomorrow declare that no black

man’s testimony shall be received in a court of law?... Now, while

the black man can be denied a vote, while the Legislatures of the

South can take from him the right to keep and bear arms, as they

can-they would not allow a Negro to walk with a cane where I

came from, they would not allow five of them to assemble

together the work of the Abolitionists is not finished.

Notwithstanding the provision in the Constitution of the United

States, that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be abridged,

the black man has never had the right either to keep or bear

arms; and the Legislatures of the States will still have the power

to forbid it, under this Amendment. … Where shall the black man

look for support, my friends, if the American AntiSlavery Society

fails him?”

McClarey, Donald R. Frederick Douglass Speech on the

Thirteenth Amendment. The American Catholic. 1/19/15.

Accessed 3/16/18

http://the-american-catholic.com/2015/01/19/frederick-douglass-

22

speech-on-the-thirteenth-amendment/

Mod 19

Lesson 2

14th Amendment

Johnson vs. Congress, Par 3

Fearing that the Civil Rights Act might

be overturned, the Republicans

proposed the Fourteenth

Amendment in the summer of 1866.

OF It might not be clear to a sixth grader that “overturned” means

“overturned by the Supreme Court.” It should be said specifically

and clarify the consequences of overturning.

Mod 19

Lesson 2

14th Amendment

Johnson vs. Congress

Par 3, #1

1 It defined all people born or

naturalized within the United States,

except Native Americans, as citizens

FE The 14th Amendment says nothing about Native Americans (or

Indians, as they would be called in 1868). It says: “All persons

born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the

jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the

state wherein they reside.”

If this is due to a later interpretation of the Supreme Court, that

should be stated.

Reviewer proposes: drop “except Native Americans.”

Mod 19 L2

14th Amendment

Johnson vsCongress

P3, #5

5 It made state laws subject to federal

court review

FE This gives the impression that the federal courts can review and

disallow a state law from going into effect. This is not true.

Reviewer proposes: “No state can make or enforce any law that

deprives people of their constitutional rights.”

Mod 19

Lesson 2

Congress Takes Control

Reconstruction Acts

Par 2, Sent 1

The military would remain in control

of the South until the southern states

rejoined the Union.

HT The military never "controlled" the South. The Democratic Party

political and law-enforcement culture at the local levels remained

much more influential in people’s lives than the widely dispersed

and short-term military occupation. Even during the 2 – 4 years

of Republican control of the state governments, the entrenched

Democratic, slavery establishment continued to control Southern

society and law enforcement.

http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-

Publications/BAIC/Historical-Data/Constitutional-Amendments-

and-Legislation/ (3-14-2018)

Mod 19

Lesson 2

Congress Takes Control

President on Trial

Par 1, Last Sent

This law, called the Tenure of Office

Act, prevented the president from

removing cabinet officials without

Senate approval. Johnson quickly

broke the law by firing Edwin Stanton,

the secretary of war.

It’s important to know that a law that was used to try to impeach

the president was unconstitutional.

The Tenure of Office Act was amended during the Grant

administration and repealed in 1887. The US Supreme Court in

1926 ruled in Myers v. United States that the law was

unconstitutional.

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h170.html (3-10-2018)

Mod 19 However, white southerners used OF The “white southerners” were, more specifically, Democratic

23

Lesson 2

Congress Takes Control

Election of 1868

Par 2, Last Sent

violence to try to keep African

Americans away from the polls.

Party supporters. Democrats created the Black Codes and the

KKK — the two primary tools used to keep African Americans

from exercising their right to vote for Republicans and to run for

office as Republicans. History.com

(https://www.history.com/topics/ku-klux-klan) states that: “… the

organization [KKK] saw its primary goal–the reestablishment of

white supremacy–fulfilled through Democratic victories in state

legislatures across the South in the 1870s.”

For example, their success is shown in Alabama, whose state

legislature was Democrat 1818–1867, Republican 1868–1872,

then Democrat 1873–2010.

http://www.legislature.state.al.us/aliswww/ISD/House/ALHouse

PastSpeakers.aspx

http://www.mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/articles/204/reconstructi

on-in-mississippi-1865-1876 (3-13-18)

Epilogue

The US since 1877

Par 2&3

For example, Americans still debate

questions about civil rights, religion,

taxes, and the role of government in

their lives. They also worry about the

health of the environment, children,

and the poor. Americans do not always

agree on these issues. But they do

believe strongly in their right to debate

and to disagree. The freedom to do

so—in peaceful and productive

ways—is an indication of the

fundamental health of the nation.

JAYNE: Starting out with “in point of

fact” makes it sound very

argumentative—especially when what

follows is an opinion. The Goldberg

quote is also an opinion of one person,

so I don’t know how far that’s going to

get you.

OF/FE In point of fact, Americans can no longer be said to “believe

strongly in their right to debate and to disagree”

If it were ever true, there exist today such chasms between ideas

and strong moves to suppress expression of ideas are afoot, that

the students should know that it is pie in the sky thinking to make

that simple assertion.

Even in an article on free speech, this passes for acceptable

thought:

“Those who care about civil rights are correct to hold the line, to

say that there are certain ideas that deserve broad contempt rather

than a fair hearing.”

Goldberg, Michelle. The Worst Time for the Left to Give Up on

Free Speech. NYT 10/6/17 Accessed 3/16/18

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/opinion/liberals-free-

speech.html

Epilogue

Economic Changes and

Challenges

Par 4

The banking system nearly collapsed,

houses and stocks plummeted in value,

and millions of people lost their jobs.

JAYNE: I have merged your item with

mine on this topic, so I suggest you

OF Omission of the role that oppressive government regulation on

lenders and opening of opportunities for unscrupulous

exploitation

“While the panel, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission,

accuses several financial institutions of greed, ineptitude or both,

24

delete this one. I covered this whole

thing in an Amazon Review of

“Currency Wars.”

https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R

37ROR2HHE2QFO?ref_=glimp_1rv_

cl

some of its gravest conclusions concern government failings,

with embarrassing implications for both parties”

Chan, Sewell. Financial Crisis Was Avoidable, Inquiry Finds.

NYT 1/25/11 Accessed 3/16/18

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/business/economy/26inquir

y.html

Epilogue

The US since 1877

Par 3

But they do believe strongly in their

right to debate and to disagree. The

freedom to do so—in peaceful and

productive ways—is an indication of

the fundamental health of the nation.

FE, OF Most college students no longer believe in open debate according

to a Brookings Institute study. They don’t understand that

offensive speech is protected by First Amendment.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2017/09/18/views-

among-college-students-regarding-the-first-amendment-results-

from-a-new-survey/ (3-16-2018)

Greg Lukianoff said October 2013, at Brown University, when

the New York City police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, was

invited to speak but was shouted down by students over his

support of stop-and-frisk practices was “the symbolic beginning

because that’s when we noticed an uptick in student press for

disinvitations, trigger warnings and microaggression policing.”

University of Michigan – In 2016 Black Lives Matter protestors

shut down debate, which normalized force to prevent free speech

on campus.

University of California, Berkeley – In 2017 Antifa protestors

riot to prevent Milo Yiannopoulos from speaking, which

normalized mass violence to prevent free speech on campus.

Natl Assoc of Scholars, “Charting Academic Freedom,” 1-2018,

https://www.nas.org/images/documents/NAS_freeSpeechChart.p

df (3-16-2018)

Reviewer recommends dropping the word productive from “in

peaceful and productive ways” since neither the First

Amendment nor the rest of the Constitution puts any limitation

on the exercise of our rights that such exercises must be

productive—just as there is no limitation that our freedom of

speech must not be hateful or hurtful. Teaching children that our

unalienable rights are subject to arbitrary limits is not “an

indication of the fundamental health of the nation.”

Epilogue

The US as a Global Power

The Spanish-American War marked

the beginning of a period of American

OF, HT The word expansionism implies colonialism, which this was not.

25

Par 1 expansionism during which U.S.

influence spread throughout Latin

America and the rest of the world.

Such “expansionism” goes way back at least to the Barbary Wars

(1801–1805 and 1815–1816). These and Spanish-American War

were protection of American free foreign trade interests.

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1801-1829/barbary-wars

WWII made US the greatest military and economic power on

earth, but still not a colonial state.

The Bretton Woods Agreement (1944) was one of the biggest

expansionary moves in US history because it made the US dollar

the world reserve currency, which has had vast benefits to

American consumption and has done even greater damage to our

nation’s financial security.

https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/bretton_woods_cre

ated

Epilogue

Economic Changes and

Challenges

Par 3

Many American companies have

moved their factories overseas where

wages are lower, causing hardship for

many American workers.

OF When we import goods from third world countries like China,

Indonesia, and Colombia, we are also importing all their labor

and environmental deficiencies as by products. Wages are lower

because workers’ rights are essentially non-existent, thus workers

can be used up and discarded like any other resource.

In addition, the absence of any substantial environmental

regulation allows for dangerous pollutants to be dumped into our

oceans to keep prices of manufactured products below what the

US must charge for being environmentally responsible.

Epilogue

Economic Changes and

Challenges

Par 4

The banking system nearly collapsed,

houses and stocks plummeted in value,

and millions of people lost their jobs.

FE, OF The banking system came nowhere near collapse. But the two

government agencies regulating home mortgages did nearly

collapse, i.e., FANNIE MAE and FREDDIE MAC, due to

overregulation and politicization of the home mortgage lending

market. Politically motivated government regulation on lenders

and politically motivated expansion of the money supply by the

Federal Reserve opened opportunities for unscrupulous

exploitation by bankers.

Peter J. Wallison, “Dissent from the Majority Report of the

Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission,” American Enterprise

Institute for Public Policy Research, January 14, 2011, page 2.

https://www.aei.org/wp-

content/uploads/2011/01/Wallisondissent.pdf (3-16-2018)

Chan, Sewell. Financial Crisis Was Avoidable, Inquiry Finds.

26

NYT 1/25/11 Accessed 3/16/18

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/business/economy/26inquir

y.html

Epilogue

The US Then and Now

Par 1

The threat of terrorism—made clear by

the terrorist attacks of September 11,

2001—remains an ongoing challenge.

FE, OF To talk about “the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001”

without mentioning that the attackers were Islamic jihadists is

like talking about the Pearl Harbor attack without mentioning that

it was the Japanese Navy attacking.

Epilogue

The US Then and Now

Par 3

… the Declaration of Independence

and the Constitution. These documents

remain relevant and important today.

They express what Americans stand

for and provide a framework on which

the nation can build its future.

FE Reviewer recommends changing the last sentence from: “They

express what Americans stand for and provide…” to “They

express what Americans stood for when they ratified the articles

and amendments and provide…”

27

Evaluation of Social Studies Skills and other important issues

An evaluation of the teaching & learning devices and/or materials provided to the student.

Number Questions Yes No

1 Is the appropriate vocabulary relevant to the subject matter presented to students? For example, on comparative government are terms such as monarchy, oligarchy, democracy, socialism, fascism, and communism presented?

X

2 Are the captions under pictures factual? Yes, and thorough with clickable hotspots yielding

multiple explanatory captions.

3 Are the charts and graphs relevant to the topic being presented? X

4 Are the maps accurate and relevant to the topic? X

5 Are questions thought provoking? Is adequate accurate material provided so that the students can formulate appropriate answers?

Found some of the material needed to answer questions in the supplemental material

mainly in Module 15 dealing with slavery

6 Are primary and secondary sources presented for students to examine (for bias, propaganda, point of view, and frame of reference)? X

7 Does the text present a lesson on how to evaluate the validity of a source based on language, corroboration with other sources, and information about the author?

8 Does the textbook have a Glossary? Are key terms and personalities included and defined? Within the text X

9 Does the textbook have accurate timelines to help the student understand chronological historical developments?

Several included

A glaring omission in Module 11 with no mention of the

Emancipation Proclamation in 1865

10 Does the textbook have an Index which includes all of the key words, historical time periods and individuals? X

11 Does the textbook devote a similar number of pages to each of the world religions, philosophies, political and religious leaders? n/a n/a

28

Commendations:

1. The book is organized well in that each new topic is introduced with sections entitled Big Idea, Essential Question, and If YOU were there. These

sections give a comprehensive view of the information to follow, as well as give students the challenge to give some thought to the concepts as if

they were in the mix.

2. The book does not present the information, specifically noticeable in the section on Reconstruction, as terribly ‘preachy’ not as some other

textbooks have been. 3. The following is from Mod 19, Lesson2, Congress Takes Control of Reconstruction, Election of 1868

“However, white southerners used violence to try to keep African Americans away from the polls.

“Despite such tactics, thousands of African Americans voted for Grant and the ‘party of Lincoln.’ The New Orleans Tribune reported that many former slaves

‘see clearly enough that the Republican Party [is] their political life boat.’ African American votes helped Grant to win a narrow victory.”

Writing this was a major departure from modern history texts and displays your ability to step outside the bounds of PC.

Concerns:

1. No depth to the material. Seems to provide a superficial coverage of the material.

2. The clickable terms within the text are odd in that the dropdown info often provides nothing more to define the term than does the surrounding

text.

3. Information in early sections tended to be shallow and authors offer little background on ideas.

4. Moves so quickly through the material, with quite thin coverage at times, that it seems like a Reader’s Digest version of history.

5. “Epilogue.” This Epilogue section is problematic.

a. The format is quite different than that of the other Modules, it is more long form reading. It covers approximately 140 years in one

module, thus the content is even more superficial than that of the rest of the book.

b. And finally, and importantly for our purposes, the even-handedness of coverage that this reviewer welcomed in the rest of the book is

replaced with the dreary slant and distortions of political correctness. Your description of 21st century America is so pie in the sky that I

get the idea you are writing for the US Chamber of Commerce. Do you think these kids would be damaged if they heard some hard truth

about the country they are about to inherit? Throughout the Epilogue, the publisher speaks more about our country as is should be rather that as it

is. Since the decision has been made for the book to bridge the gap between history and political science, at least make it rational political science.

c. The reviewer suggests that there is actually no place for a Module bringing the history up to the present day in a textbook with 1877 as the

end date for the content, this is outside the very scope of the book.

29

d. It would be an excellent rime to introduce these kids to the concept that a writer is responsible to the reader for the quality of the facts they

are presenting. Yes, this means references. Keep in mind that the first function of references is to challenge every sentence the writer

presents as a fact—that is, it is a way to force discipline on the writer. As it is, there is not much to keep the writer from straying from the

real reality.

Evaluations based on template

Choices Explanations Yes No

1 This text has minor changes that need to be made

2 This text has a moderate number of changes

3 This text has substantial changes that need to be made X most notably in

relation to slavery and removal of the

Epilogue

4 This book is so flawed that it is not recommended for adoption.