Now I don’t know about you, but back when I was sittin’ in a plastic chair with gum stuck to the underside and a worn-out copy of America: Land of the Free on my desk, I don’t recall readin’ a single line about labor strikes, child miners, or the bloody business of company towns.
That’s no accident.
In this episode, we fire up the saw and cut into the clean-cut myth of the American history textbook. From Texas school boards to right-wing think tanks, we trace how the stories of struggle, solidarity, and sweat got edited out—replaced with sanitized patriotism and bootstraps baloney. Turns out history ain't just written by the winners… it’s ghostwritten by the folks who don't want you askin' questions.
Further Reading:
Goldstein, Dana. The Teacher Wars: A History of America’s Most Embattled Profession. Anchor Books, 2015.
A wide-reaching look at how teachers have been shaped—and restrained—by politics and policy.
Ravitch, Diane. The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn. Vintage, 2004.
Explores how textbook publishers yield to political pressure, often at the expense of honest content.
Schoenbach, Livia. “The Textbook Adoption Process and Its Influence on Curriculum.” Social Education, 1993.
A breakdown of how Texas and California influence the national narrative.
Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. The New Press, 1995.
A classic in myth-busting that sparked many a quiet awakening.
Zimmerman, Jonathan. Whose America?: Culture Wars in the Public Schools. Harvard University Press, 2002.
Investigates the battleground of American identity and curriculum.
Texas Freedom Network Education Fund
https://tfn.org
Reports and analysis on Texas textbook adoptions and ideological influence.
