Rebecca Ascher-Walsh - How to Survive Middle School: U.S. History: A Do-It-Yourself Study Guide

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Writers: Rebecca Ascher-Walsh, Annie Scavelli, Elizabeth Fee, Greg Brooking

Curriculum and Equity Consultant: Sonja Cherry-Paul

U.S. History Consultant: Greg Brooking

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REBECCA ASCHER-WALSH,
ANNIE SCAVELLI

HISTORY: A FACT-FINDING MISSION FILLED WITH THRILLING NEW DISCOVERIES!

Its understandable to think that what is happening right now is the most interesting thing in the world, especially if its about us. And its true that history is about the past. But whats amazing is that the more we learn about the past, the more we have a chance to understand whats happening in the present. And that gives us a kind of superpower: by understanding how human beings have acted before, we can change the future!

Thats especially vital when it comes to our relatively new country. In its short time of existence, it has had a history that is thrilling, inspiring, violent, shameful, hopeful, and above all, complicated.

First and foremost, we have to throw away the idea that asking questions about our nations history is somehow disrespectful or unpatriotic. How else will we solve problems and injustices that every country faces? We can look critically at some of the actions our country has taken, while still loving it deeply and believing in its ideals.

Just consider the Declaration of Independence and the Constitutiondocuments written by the Founding Fathers that declared the United States separate from Britain and then set up how our country would run. The Enlightenment movement in Europe inspired the Founding Fathers.

Enlightenment thinkers believed in the power of human reason and the ability to change things. You can see those ideas in the documents. No longer would human beings be the voiceless subjects of a monarch, who was answerable only to God. Now, human beings would be governed by people of their own choosing, and there would be elections from time to time to hold leaders accountable. The leaders would have to follow the same laws as everyone else.

Think about our right to free speech, or to practice whatever religion we want. These documents are filled with ideals that have helped make the United States a beacon for people drawn by the promise to have a say in how they were governed. Americans would keep individual freedoms that would guarantee them the same right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as every other person.

Butthe United States is a complicated place and has always been so. We dont need to look further than the Declaration of Independence as an example. This document truly is extraordinary. But because people wrote and interpreted itand people arent perfectit has its faults.

Take the statement All men are created equal, which was a stunning idea back in 1776. For the Founding Fathers, those men didnt include women, or either gender of Blacks and Native Americans, who certainly werent considered equal by most people. Its been up to activists throughout history to try to make that statement more inclusive, and we are a country still struggling to right those wrongs. Consider racism in courts and businesses, or the way immigrants at the Mexican border have suffered. As you read about U.S. history, you will see ongoing conflicts between people who interpret the Declaration of Independence and Constitution in different ways.

It is all of these people who make our history so fascinating. Theyre people just like you and the people you know. Some made decisions you will agree with, and others made decisions you will think are terrible. But even the people who made huge, wonderful, world-changing decisions were flawed. And those flaws make them even more fascinating once we dig in and study them.

For instance: George Washington was an extraordinary general and our first president. He did so many great things to get the country up and running. He also benefited from the labor of enslaved people who belonged to him and his wife, Martha.

People are filled with contradictions, and history is as well. And that means that if you dig deep enough, history can be as thrilling a story as anything youve read or seen and loved.

One of the reasons U.S. history gets a bad reputation when it comes to the excitement factor is because its boring to read on and on about (supposedly) perfect people who always knew the right thing to do. And why is U.S. history, and Western history in general, so filled with perfect white guys? Well, its not; its just been told that way for a long time. As the Nigerian author Chinua Achebe once said in an interview, Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.