This could be the problem. Less than 1/3 of the top universities in the U.S. require a course in American history for a history major. Not. One.
- That means, not only do our future leaders from our elite universities not know about the Spanish, French, Dutch and Portuguese explorers and settlers; they don't know that less than 400,000 African slaves came to the former British colonies and that about 18 million went to the islands and South America.
- They don't know about the NW Ordinance of 1787, signed before the Constitution that outlawed slavery in new states and guaranteed religious freedom; they aren't taught about the horrific expense in blood and treasure of the Civil War; they don't know why we have a relationship with Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines, former colonies of Spain.
- They don't know the contribution of churches to the big 3 of the 19th century--abolition, temperance and women's rights; they don't know that whites and blacks marched together in the civil rights movement and it was Republicans that led the way for 100 years before LBJ got in the act.
- They don't know the incredible improvements in public health that our parents and grandparents paid for--they've never seen an iron lung or a person's face destroyed by small pox. Their babies don't die of measles.
- They don't know how the federal government has lied to native Americans still to this day and yet offer them cradle to grave assistance to keep them poor; they don't know why the Great Depression in the U.S. extended for a decade due to government programs instituted by FDR; they don't know how or when the military and schools were racially integrated or about the great bi-partisan efforts.
- They don't know that the U.S. government at the highest levels actually was infiltrated by Communist spies and sympathizers and it wasn't just about who could make movies. They probably don't know which came first Viet Nam or Korea or who we were fighting.
http://www.goacta.org/images/download/no_u.s._history.pdf
"Of the 23 programs that do list a requirement for United States history, 11 allow courses so narrow in scope—such as “History of Sexualities” or “History of the FBI”—that it takes a leap of the imagination to see these as an adequate fulfillment of an undergraduate history requirement."
"Some strange topics can take the place of United States history. Of the schools that do not require a single course in U.S. history, majors have free-range to choose from niche courses such as “Soccer and History in Latin America: Making the Beautiful Game” (Williams College), “Modern Addiction: Cigarette Smoking in the 20th Century” (Swarthmore College), “Lawn Boy Meets Valley Girl” (Bowdoin College), and “Witchcraft and Possession” (University of Pennsylvania)."
And students and their parents go into debt for this drivel?
"Our colleges and universities, whether in the name of “inclusion” or globalism or a debased hope that they will attract more students by eliminating requirements, have created a vicious circle of historical illiteracy and the civic illiteracy that accompanies it."
I didn't major in history--I was a foreign language major, but I did have 2 or 3 courses in American history plus one in political science. This survey is just shocking, and certain explains how we've become so divided in the U.S.
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