When History Lies: Part One

The Institute for Personality and Ability Testing has certified Robert Fettgather as a Stress Management Trainer, and Medical Hypnosis Seminars of the Los Gatos Institute has certified him in Clinical Hypnotherapy.  At Santa Clara University, Graduate Department of Education and Counseling Psychology, Robert Fettgather's studies included Health Education and Behavioral Medicine. He has completed Hospice Training with Hospice of the Valley. Robert Fettgather has also  received Santa Clara University's Certificate of Recognition for Published Work. 

James W. Loewen's book, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, exposes the distortions, omissions, and biases prevalent in American history education. Loewen meticulously deconstructs several historical myths perpetuated by textbooks and teaching, revealing a more complex and often troubling truth. Here we will explore a couple of examples-see what you think.

One of the most pervasive myths in American history education is the glorification of Christopher Columbus. Textbooks often present Columbus as a heroic explorer who discovered America and opened the way for Western civilization. However, Loewen reveals a more disturbing reality: Columbus was responsible for initiating the transatlantic slave trade and perpetrating acts of extreme violence against Indigenous peoples. Upon arriving in the Caribbean, Columbus and his men enslaved the native Taíno people, subjected them to brutal treatment, and exploited them for labor and resources. The resulting depopulation and suffering of Indigenous populations are starkly omitted or downplayed in many history textbooks.

The story of the first Thanksgiving is another example of historical distortion. Textbooks typically depict a harmonious feast between Pilgrims and Native Americans, symbolizing friendship and mutual respect.

While there was a harvest celebration in 1621 involving the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people, this event was not a prelude to lasting peace and cooperation. Subsequent interactions between European settlers and Native Americans were marked by conflict, dispossession, and violence. The Pilgrims' survival was aided significantly by the Wampanoag, yet this assistance was met with betrayal and aggression in later years.The romanticized narrative of Thanksgiving obscures the subsequent decades of struggle, displacement, and suffering experienced by Native American communities due to European colonization.

Recognizing the complexities and ethical dimensions of historical narratives encourages critical thinking and a commitment to truth. After all, written history is sometimes a fact finding mission and sometimes a mission of falsification and propaganda.