Last year when the College Board decided that AP World History would only cover material from 1450 to the rise of Europe, teachers were furious. This new change would cut off years of history from other continents. This year, similarly, President Donald Trump has proposed the 1776 Commission, a patriotic view on America’s history.
Trump’s plan to implement the 1776 Commission is not the correct way to learn the past, and it takes away a students’ right to learn our history. We, The Journal, believe the 1776 Commission will erase history to make America look like a perfect country, which is far from the truth.
This plan will erase African-Americans’ history, but Black Americans in this country have contributed to this country as much as white people have. When African-Americans were enslaved, they helped the South’s economy thrive, and they’ve contributed with inventions and have profoundly added to popular culture.
Moreover, Native American’s history will be eradicated too. Their history in America is painful and long. The Trail of Tears is just one example of that history. Trump’s 1776 Commission plan will not highlight this topic and will put it on the backburner even more. Instead of obliterating their past from history books, we should be learning about the depths of it.
Additionally, this plan comes from people that exude hypocrisy. The President and some Republicans were not in favor of taking down onfederate statues, claiming it erases history. While it is important to learn about what Confederates stood for, it’s not appropriate to have statues of their leaders showcased because they represent hatred and racism.
The hypocrisy of their stance on history favors the slave-owning, racist South while they work to diminish the parts of the country’s history that made minorities experience a life of excruciating misery.
As students who have taken history classes, we are thankful to have learned about the history of our country, despite it being far from pretty. By learning, we are able to be more empathetic and understand modern problems in our country and in our school, since Perry Township is one of the most diverse districts in the state.
Future generations of this country need to learn the history that is there, not the history that is altered. If anything, future generations should learn more than we did.
We, The Journal, are not saying teachers shouldn’t teach about the good parts of American history, we should teach that as well. However, if teachers only teach the better parts, we are doing a disservice to ourselves, history, minorities that suffered and future generations.
Even if we try to expunge parts of history, the consequences still exist. So let’s not ignore history, only ignorance and hurt will come out of it. We don’t want to repeat the same mistakes for the future of our country.