I agree, they dont teach enough of the things the children will need to USE to worry about teaching them about selected individuals in 'history'

LOL
We also teach World History and Geography.
American History is about the history of America.
Everything from when it belonged to the Europeans and they fought each other and the Indians for control of it.
How they starved, froze, and persevered through to carve civilization and a new nation from a wilderness.
To the founding fathers and the Independence of a country which made possible the opportunity for people of all backgrounds and religions to pursue happiness.
All of it!
And BB is right. It instills appreciation for what you have and the sacrifices required for this country to be born. It is really important not to forget so that we may survive as a Strong Independent America.

"Black" People are actually from all over too.......not just one country

the point I have made is that IF AND WHEN children learn about history, it is not and should not be about just the FOUNDING FATHERS (that would be most appropriate in a government history class), it also includes a whole lot of RANDOMLY SELECTED contributions from INDIVIDUALS. Being that there are individuals of all types in this country which made it what it was, AMERICAN HISTORY books do not cover ENOUGH of the random contributions of those who did not look european. I am only suggesting that AMerican history not be limited to majority status or learning only about the dominant cultures contributions which leads children to associate contributions with that ONE culture instead of truly APPRECIATING how much was contributed from ALL cultures. AMerican history is too LIMITED a study and other history . relating to the development of america, should also be included as options.

well, technically, BLACKS come from the continent of africa where as WHITES are considered to come from EUROPE, The MIDDLE EAST, OR AFRICA


but, I do get your point, and it may have been a more concise point if I had used the term 'African Americans'(but even that could include those 'white' people from Africa)

fair enough..

American history is about America and it's people.
It's not limited at all.
You can't study America history without studying why the European's came here.
You can't study the founding of our country without studying what English rulers did to cause the people to rebel.
You can't study America without the Civil War and reconstruction.
Or the Chinese who built our railroads,
or Unions.
You can not study American History during WWI and WWII without studying what the Europeans did to each other to cause the war,
or the unselfish sacrifices of Americans so far from home.
You have to study it all,
Vietnam,
MLK,
Bay of Pigs,
Iraq,
Afghanistan,
etc.,
etc,
etc..

Aren't Jamaican and Hatians black and aren't there other countries besides Africa the have the color of black skin??

as a race(by western definitions),, yes and no

blacks are not determined by skin but by ANCESTRAL origins, and those origins must all point back to AFRICA in some way to be considered 'black'


jamaicans would qualify because their ancestry still ties back to Africa, as do Haitians

If you believe in the out of africa theory I could argue we are all africans.

American History: Some folks in England got tired of the King and his dictatorship.
They decided to go to America. They sailed until they hit Plymouth rock.
Got off the boat and made some small colonies.
Found out that Native Indians were already there...befriended some of them, and killed others!!

More and more people came from England and other parts of Europe.
They became settlers on the new frontier.
But the King of England did not like these people and sent his armies after them.

They fought off the Brittish army and won their freedom and independence from England.

They set up a new form of govt.
One which allowed freedom of speech, religion, and the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.

They ventured west, discovering a wonderful and rich land with great natural resources.

They began to refine many of the resources and began to industrialize.

The Industrial Revolution became strong and spawned many a man to help build a nation.

Slavery became an issue. Some folks agreed with it, and others did not.

The Civil War was fought over slavery, and slavery was abolished....although many hard and racial feelings would linger on for decades to come.

Through all this, the nation continued to grow and prosper. The strength of the nation was rapidly moving up in the world position.

The late 19th and early 20th century saw the Gold Rush days, and more people migrated to America to share in the freedom they lacked in their home country.

War broke out world wide. The U.S. decided to stay out of it (for the most part).

American currency became quite strong during this period.

Then came the "Roaring Twenties"....the 1920's was both a strong and a weak time for America.
Good economic times ruled most of the decade, until the stock market crash in 1929.

The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl days of the 1930's was a wake up call for America, indicating that it could fail....but thankfully, it did'nt.

Economic recovery began to increase. And then....WWII breaks out.
America is forced into WWII on Dec. 7 1941.

The war lasted until 1945, and America had bravely defeated all opponents.

The 1950's was arguably the time when America was at its peak.
The horrors of WWII were over, the economy bounced back stronger than ever.

America's production and manufacturing was at its all time high point, the "Space Race" was on!!

Pride and Patriotism is America was understandably high...we had become the strongest, most desirable nation on earth (in less than 200 years!!).

The 1960's...things began to change. The Space Race was still on, but our manufacturing was showing signs of regression.

A new war in Vietnam was breaking out, this was the "politicians war" and was largely unpopular with the American public.
Many political and public social figures were assasinated in this time.
A lot of civil unrest had set the stage for years to come.
The Civil Rights Movement, Womans Liberation Movement, drug use, the Summer of Love, Woodstock, and first man on the Moon were all products of this decade.

Although many battles were fought and won (such as the Civil Rights Movement) for the better, the nation as a whole, had begun its steady decline.

The 1970's was somewhat of a "cooling off" period in American society.
The Arab Oil Embargo was a purposeful and direct threat to the USA by the Arab oil countries.

Many Americans began to purchase more and more foreign goods, and less American goods.
Credit Cards had become more in use than ever before.
Disco flashed on the scene brightly, but fizzled out quickly.
The first video games had come into existence, and the kids were hooked!!

The 1980's...the 'electronic' age!!
More video games, ATM machines, personal computers, bar code scanners!!
The end of the Cold War...with America being victorious.
Asian goods taking a huge chunk from the American economy, and becoming a very serious contender.

The 1990's
Grunge, the Dot Com boom, the Internet.

A rapid increase in political scandals, more Americans in debt. Overall, a bigger decline in American history.

2000...a new Millenium!! It starts off at a slow pace, then America is subjected to a terror attack on 9-11-01.

America is suddenly forever plunged into a new era of "Big Brother" and more invasive government.

Americans foolishly give up certain freedoms and conveniences to feel "safe" from further attacks...only to find their own govt. being the new attacker.

Really, it's best to teach oneself about history (most of the time). Schools have a tendency to be biased and sometimes make things up out of whole cloth (like the common myths surrounding WWII).

A rather brief, yet very insightful look at American History.

One of the problems I see in teaching American History is infused into the History of America itself. Being a country of such diverse ethnic background and open immigration for such a long period of time, many of today's youth may not have or see their connection to the history of this country. I was never particularly interested in history in High school. However I became interested in Geneology recently and after discovering that my ancestors on both sides can be traced back to pre-revolutionary America, my interest in History has grown. I realize that a majority of Americans can not trace there lineage that far back. Perhaps introducing Geneology into the classroom in conjunction with History might help students develop more interest into there past.

As I said a large percentage of Americans may only be able to trace there "American history" back for a few generations. They may discover the reasons why their family migrated to America and this may awaken a new sense of pride and patriotism in America. We are after all a melting pot and the history of our country,as such, has less of a personal connection for some as it does for others. Perhaps awakening our youth to their personal histories will instill as much pride in the Country their ancestors chose to call their own as those who's ancestors chose tho make their own.

Well, the history of a country, and Geneology are two different types of history.

Im sure I left out much American history in my breif overview (such as the Trans Continental Railroad, etc.), but its all good!!

They are two different types of history but the relationship between the two can provide a more personal connection to American History. That personal connection can help to provide interest and motivation to students. America is one of the youngest countries in the world and a lot of our citizens do not have or are not aware of their ancestors participation in this countries history, or the reasons their ancestors chose to move here and make this their country.

I agree, you are correct.

I do, and you could, but socially it isnt based in that theory

The 1950's was arguably the time when America was at its peak.
The horrors of WWII were over, the economy bounced back stronger than ever.

There was a war here as well.

During the 60s we fought three wars.
One in Vietnam and two at home.
One against the war in Nam and the sexual revolution.

Of course you can't leave out the civil rights war.