Review of From the Republic of the Rio Grande: A Personal History of the Place and the People, by Beatriz de la Garza. Austin: University of Texas Press. 2013.
Reviewed by Thomas Hansen. Ph.D.
This interesting account of a small republic that existed only briefly between Mexico and the USA shows some very interesting histories and traditions that can teach us a lot. From 1839 to 1840, there was a nation between Mexico and the Republic of Texas called the Republic of the Rio Grande, with its capital in Laredo. Some do not know of this temporary republic, jostled between two mega-powers but firmly connected to both by trade, tradition, and blood.
Families from this region had connections to both other republics, often, and there are many documents still in existence showing sale and purchase of land, marriages, and bills becoming laws—all relating to the inhabitants of the area that was called briefly the Republic of the Rio Grande. The author does a very good job of painting a full picture that not involves commerce, history, culture, and politics, but also connects the story of this republic to the author’s own family.
De la Garza mixes the history of the republic with the family history she is able to ascertain through personal records, archives, and the story of the region as found on legal and financial documents. The story is very important to the author, and it can tell us very much about human nature—and about different political forces brought into conflict by a variety of factors: war, environment, need, tradition, and hope.
The author uses vivid language to tell us of the days of the republic, explaining details down to how the dwellings were constructed and including notes on dating, courting, and marriage traditions. The author also shows us the connections among families and the ironic way in which things can change over time, enemies becoming connected in ways their ancestors would have never imagined. There are also stories of love, of loss, and of hope.
The author provides a very valuable service indeed, reminding us of the republic and explaining so much about its short life. We owe her a lot, and we need to teach young people about this important chapter in history lest it be forgotten.
I will not give away the content of the book, something I always avoid doing in my reviews, but will urge teachers of history, of social studies, and of geography to consider reading the book. Both cultural and physical geography are involved in the story, as the people in the region had come from different lands to reach the site and the environment plays a huge role in the commerce and the very existence of the republic. The damming of rivers and the role of agriculture are two central issues in the story of this region.
I would recommend this story be read by all educators near where the republic once existed. It is important history and it is also an important way to enrich one’s perspective of the region. In addition, teachers of the subjects mentioned above can use the book as background reading, to build lessons and units on the history and geography of the area, and to enrich the curriculum on Texas, Mexico, and immigration.
Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future
By Jason Stanley
Reviewed by Hank Bitten, NJCSS Executive Director
“Wars are won by teachers.” Vladimir Putin
This quote published in the Washington Post on May 7, 2024 is the opening statement in Chapter 1 of Erasing History. It is a powerful statement and thesis for this book and a compelling reason for teachers to read the arguments presented by Jason Stanley, Yale University Professor of Philosophy. There are numerous examples in this book explaining the biased perspective of American history regarding Black Americans, Latinx, Native Americans, women, children, etc. and there are examples of how history has been erased in Kenya, Palestine, India, China, and Ukraine.
Every teacher of U.S. history teaches the different views of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois to assimilate into American society at the turn of the 20th century. However, the perspective presented by Jason Stanley offers students in our classes the opportunity for a critical debate regarding two different paths towards assimilation.
“In his public writings, Washington urged Black Americans to prioritize industrial education over political education, and thus to place greater emphasis on their productive potential as workers than on their identity as democratic citizens. As Du Bois saw it, this approach served white supremacy. He counseled Black American citizens instead to seek a liberal education, whose purpose was not only to elevate the soul but also to give them skills to democratically advance their own interests.” (page 39)
Some societies and governments favor a part of their population as the dominant or protected class and discount or “erase” the contributions of other people in their state. The technological advances of artificial intelligence present new challenges for teachers as history can easily be revised from quoting textbooks, historical papers, and extremist views from the past and make them appear as valid scholarship. The increasing popularity of PraegerU is an example of how school districts, Departments of Education, and individual teachers are accepting the information and lessons provided by non-academic institutions. Teachers have a unique responsibility and position because they are trusted by students and what they say is transformed from sight and sound to memory.
Teachers will find the historiography and analysis of the concepts of nationalism, American exceptionalism, and colonialism to be helpful for the development of lesson plans in both U.S. history and world history. It is less about ‘erasing’ history than changing history or emphasizing certain historical themes while ignoring others. Curriculum designers and teachers have both power and responsibility in how lessons are structured, implemented, and assessed. One example from the book is including the “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and ignoring his many contributions in the civil rights movement.
This is an important debate regarding assimilation in a society with a dominant class. A current example is the debate of how the working class earning an hourly wage without benefits can assimilate into the middle class. Is the best way to address this through subsidized education, new tax policies, or paying a living wage?
Teachers must have a strong content background in the westward movement, labor, Reconstruction, civil rights, Ukraine, Palestine, etc. to be aware of what is missing in the sources and resources they are using with students. The example below provides different points of view on the 1932-33 engineered famine that killed millions of people in Ukraine.
“The most significant of these omissions pertains to Holodomor a genocide of the Ukrainian people, in which millions of Ukrainian peasants starved to death after Stalin demanded draconian requisitions of grain from them, knowing full well that this would have devastating consequences. In Ukrainian and Russian, the term “Holodomor” consists of two parts: “famine” and “to kill” or “make someone suffer” – the closest translation is essentially “someone making others starve intentionally.” Importantly, although the word “Holodomor” and the tragedy it represents are well known throughout both countries, Russian textbooks describe the event using the generic term for “famine,” implying that Holodomor was merely a bureaucratic accident, and one that affected all of the USSR equally. In Ukrainian textbooks, it is represented as a famine that Stalin inflicted specifically upon the Ukrainians, which is considerably closer to the truth.”(pages 67-68)
Fascism is not taught is most high schools and college courses may not have provided this instruction for teachers. Fascism, socialism, Marxism, communism, and Naziism are critical movements in world history and they are complicated to teach because the are not monolithic. Professor Stanley provides five major themes that are part of a fascist education: (page 78)
National greatness
National purity
National innocence
Strict gender roles
Vilification of the left
The strategy that wins the support of people is often fear and patriotism. In the United States, the theme of national greatness is most visible with “Make America Great Again” and defining the United States as the greatest nation or what is defined as American exceptionalism. However, associating crime, poverty, homelessness, unemployment, etc. with a specific demographic group is part of the fascist goal of national purity. In Germany, it was the Aryan population. In the United States it is critical race theory, structural racism, and making white Americans feel guilty. We see the theme of strict gender roles in the directives to teach traditional roles of women and banning references to the contributions of the LGBTQ persons. The placing of blame for everything on a past president or a specific political party is another effective strategy. Teachers should be aware of these five signs and why populations embrace it.
President Trump delivered a speech in September 2020 when he introduced the White House Conference on American History. Particularly, in the 250th anniversary year of the signing of the declaration of Independence, teachers need to be aware of how President Trump understands the teaching of patriotic history.
“Our mission is to defend the legacy of America’s founding, the virtue of America’s heroes, and the nobility of the American character. We must clear away the twisted web of lies in our schools and classrooms, and teach our children the magnificent truth about our country. We want our sons and daughters to know that they are citizen of the most exceptional nation in the history of the world.” (page 81)
Erasing History dedicates three chapters to the importance of education in both preventing and promoting authoritarian rulers or advocating against democracy and for authoritarianism. Teachers of social studies, history, and literature have a responsibility to recognize bias and ignorance and to select the sources and perspectives that lead to an understanding of the American values of equality, liberty, and the rule of law.
“The dismantling of public education is backed by oligarchs and business elites alike, who see in democracy a threat to their power, and in the taxes required for public goods a threat to their wealth. Public schools are the foundational democratic public good. It is therefore perfectly logical that those who are opposed to democracy, including fascist and fascist-leaning movements, would join forces with right-wing libertarians in undermining the institution of public education entirely.” (pages 121,122)
The movement for school vouchers, criticisms of curriculum, the attack on the 1619 Project, and the emphasis on America’s greatness contribute to distrust about public schools and confuses parents.
“The goal of anti-education is not only to render a population ignorant of the nation’s history and problems but also to fracture those citizens into a multitude of different groups with no possibility of mutual understanding, and hence no possibility of mass unified action. As a consequence, anti-education renders a population apathetic – leaving the task of running the country to others, be they autocrats, plutocrats, or theocrats.” (page 133)
I found Professor Stanley’s analysis of classical education to be exceptional. The extreme right and the extreme left (and those in between) support the teaching of Greek and Roman civilizations. What I found interesting is how each side selects the leaders and documents that support their perspective of government. For example, Pericles Funeral Oration describes Athenian democracy:
“Its administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if to social standing, advancement in public life fall to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition….We throw open our city to the world, and never by alien acts exclude foreigners from any opportunity of learning or observing…while in education, where our rivals from their very cradles by a painful discipline seek after manliness, at Athens we live exactly as we please, and yet are just as ready to encounter every legitimate danger.” (page 143)
While the above speech favors democracy, others look to Plato as evidence of a strong ruler with a clear authoritarian philosophy. The Greeks and Romans supported gender and racial superiority, owned slaves, favored landowners and intellectuals, and had colonies. These examples support a fascist ideology. Teachers have the responsibility to teach historical context, provide the reasons for social changes, help students to analyze how freedom is related to continuity and change over time, and an understanding of equality, reason, liberty, and power. Concepts we thought had clear definitions have become complicated.
There are more compelling insights in this book than I can comment on in a book review. Teachers of all subjects should read this book, but in particular history, social studies, and teachers of literature. Pre-service teachers also need to read and discuss this book. Let me conclude with these observations:
Critical thinking is essential.
Understanding a point of view and historical perspective are essential.
The current movement away from democracy has been part of our American history for a long time. We see it in the separate but equal policy on race, segregation laws, imperialism, xenophobia, criticisms of the New Deal, Brown v. Board of Education decision, McCarthyism, civil rights protests, Nixon’s imperial presidency, supply-side economics, and in the reaction to the decline of the United States as a world power.
Democracy ended in Athens, and in the Roman Republic. We need to understand how and why this happened.
As a teacher of history and/or social studies, you are on the front line and can expect to be criticized! Our responsibility as teachers is to include the experiences and contributions of all people – especially women, children, immigrants, people of different faiths, Black and Native Americans, laborers, individuals with disabilities, individuals who are LGBTQ, etc. Teaching history includes compassion, empathy, struggles, contributions, and the untold stories that you will discover. Erasing History is about forgotten and neglected history.
Ring Shout, Wheel About: The Racial Politics of Music and Dance in North American Slavery, by Katrina Dyonne Thompson (University of Illinois Press, 2014)
Reviewed by Dr. Thomas Hansen
Katrina Dyonne Thompson draws on her work over the years as a student and then a faculty member doing research on not only the role of African music and dance in the lives of Black slaves in the US but also on the impressions made upon White observers. The lack of the background music of slaves singing while picking cotton in the fields is an important factor in the scenery. There were 200 years of song and dance among the slaves. Some Whites clung to the stereotype of the “irrepressibly cheerful” Black man singing in the streets despite how “ragged or forlorn” he might actually be (p. 1). However, the days of the happy singing slave who had a natural talent for performing and appearing light-hearted (p. 2) were disappearing.
At the same time Blacks were becoming more successful financially as bondsmen, and as they connected with the entertainment world and more able to access highly successful careers in music and dance, the image of the docile Black who loved to sing and accept their abuse was fading quickly.
Already by the early 20th Century in America, White observers noticed a change in the thrill level of Blacks vis-à-vis their celebrations. Laments one White Georgian on this noticeable change in that they “…don’t sing as they used to… (p. 1) and telling the readers they should have seen the dancing “…of the old darkeys on the plantation.” This change in demeanor and enthusiasm was happening at the same time Blacks were beginning to speak up for themselves as a group.
The “New Negro” was threatening to the established order and some Whites were nervous, indeed. There were a lot of Black persons in the US by the end of the 19th Century, and the notion they were more and more of them unhappy was unsettling to many Whites. Lack of enthusiasm in their dance and movement was a strong and obvious reminder there were many Blacks who were losing their sense of humor.
Actually more a part of an “imagined South” with happy slaves singing in the fields, the music and dance with an African beat often celebrated not only the culture from another continent but also hidden meanings and realities among the slaves here in the US. Many readers have probably heard that the lyrics and melodies had a varity of “hidden meanings” (pp. 108-109). They could be used simply for relating information from farm to farm or in other cases making fun of the White owner being so down on his luck he could not contribute to the holiday celebrations of the slaves.
Still more well-known are the songs of chariots coming to whisk the slaves away to freedom. Ironically, it is some of these songs with the most dramatic lyrics that came to be the most well-loved. With great passion, the slaves sang and danced as they prayed for better lives—usually far from the often rapacious and abusive owners. Slave owners could break up families, selling different members to the highest bidder. Thus, slave auction days came to symbolize frightening events indeed to families with “marketable” workers and healthy children.
Regarding the more technical aspects of the book, Katrina Dyonne Thompson frames the story told here as a performance, dividing into steps the art to be revealed. The author organizes her work into six chapters and an epilogue: 1) The Script: “Africa was but a blank canvas for Europe’s imagination;” 2) Casting: “They sang their home-songs, and danced, each with his free foot slapping the deck;” 3) Onstage: “Dance you damned n’s, dance;” 4. Backstage: “White folks do as they please, and the darkies do as they can: 5) Advertisement: “Dancing through the Streets and act lively;” 6) Same Script, Different Actors: “Eb’ry time I wheel about, I jump Him Crow;” and Epilogue: The Show Must Go On.
Without giving too much of the content away, I will say the book provide a great deal of information in a short space and the author demonstrates the changes of a People as their lives, livelihood, and status change immensely.
The author does a good job of showing how the Blacks transitioned away from giving off images of the happy and irrepressibly cheerful slaves and embracing their roles as performers, becoming successful business people, and welcoming their new voice as they created a distinct sound. They had taken the complex patterns of the West African song and dance (pp. 23-24) of their past, tied to new styles of Native American and other rhythms, and developed a rich urban beat with stylized sequences and a completely new sound.
It is this great change in the origins of the music to something very modern sounding that makes this book a good candidate for use in courses and seminars on the history of the Black sound in the US.
A second use of the book is the connection of music, dance, and historical events.
A third use is the insight the book gives into cultural and linguistic changes of Blacks as they and their art moved away from plantations and into urban centers.
A fourth use of this book is a sort of guide for setting out some basics that could be used in interdisciplinary units and lesson plans in K-12 classrooms.
A fifth use of the book is background reading for educators contemplating making the connections among slavery as a social studies and history topic to other fields (e.g., music, movement, singing).
I recommend the book for these five uses and also for a clear candidate for professional development (PD) sessions. The book would work well in a basic reading course for discussion over 2 to 3 sessions. The book would also work well over 5 to 6 longer sessions during which lesson plans, assignments, and assessment instruments could be developed—whether on site or through a hybrid course structure.
Enrique’s Journey: The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite with His Mother, edition adapted for young people, by Sonia Nazario. (Delacorte Press/Random House. 2006)
Reviewed by Dr. Thomas Hansen
I was very happy to come across this young readers’ version of this book, giving the background of who Enrique is, his family, the mother who works in the United States, and the famous journey to the US to reunite. This story, which covers about five years of time, is an important one for understanding why people leave children in other countries to come to the US to work, what such distances can provoke in the human spirit, and the complex means of trying to legally reunite family members living on opposite sides of a major border.
This story deals with Enrique’s mother leaving him and three other children in Guatemala to come to the US and work. This move will allow her to make a great deal more than the money available in her own country. It is only 12 years later that Maria breaks down and tells the woman she cleans house for about the four children in another land. A single mother with four kids and a husband who has run off with another woman, she must do whatever she can to support them. She tells the story as her employer listens.
Astonished, the employer embraces the story and makes it her mission not just to try to reunite the estranged family but also to get any and all legal charges dropped against the parents. This book provides some explanations on why immigrants face great danger to come here, take on work, and try to move ahead despite missing family members, their home, and their way of life. The children and other family members in the other country are going through their own loss, confusion, and grief as they try to choke down the tears, study hard in school, work, and persevere as well as they can.
The book presents very clearly some of the most common problems felt on both sides of the border. The grief and the daily burden of being so far away from their kin are two sources of psychological stress that can show up in a myriad of ways—including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The separation is dramatic for children, and for their parents.
I discovered hints of PTSD among the 11 students I myself conducted for my dissertation on Generation 1.5 Mexican American students learning English in two different Illinois community colleges (2010).
This book by Nazario is full of great social sciences content, cross cultural issues, federal legal procedures, and other information good for use in units and lessons in the regular classroom, social studies classes, and course time in general for students to do the readings and prepare for class projects and discussions.
I recommend the book as a “first source social studies text” for students old enough to appreciate what is here. Teachers and parents can review the book to look at the usual language issues and other considerations used to evaluate and recommend or not recommend the book for the classroom.
The book can also be used as good professional development source for conversations among educators because of the content found here.
Yet another use is personal reading for educators, parents, and stakeholders who can benefit from getting a better handle on the causes and attractions of immigration to this country. My job is to get people thinking about these kinds of books and the benefits for students.
Civic Capitalism, by Colin Hay andAnthony Payne (Polity Press, 2015)
Reviewed by Dr. Thomas Hansen
Hay and Payne have assembled in this brief book 11 readings about capitalism and the realities of looking at modern economies through the lens of capitalism. The book is a result of a blog created and refreshed on the topic of the global crisis of the last few years.
Hay and Payne discuss and assemble readings here related to what they call “civic capitalism.” This is the “governance of the market, by the state, in the name of the people, to deliver collective public goods, equity, and social justice” (p. 3). They explain that this term has as its core the requirement that citizens must now “…ask what we can do for us and not what capitalism can do for us” (p. 4). Citizens must turn around the notion that they serve capitalism and must respond to its rules
This, in a nutshell, describes what the spirit of this book is and what the readings cover. The book deals further with the implications for all economies since commerce among nations is so complex now.
The book has to do with getting right what was done wrong. The book contains a variety of readings current on the disastrous complications of the recent recession and away from a traditional growth model and toward one that takes into account more cultural differences worldwide, the context in which growth (or on-growth happens) and the social side of capitalism.
Without giving away too much content in this review, I will say that there is very interesting information to read about here related to the workings of civic capitalism, and one does not need to be an expert in Economics to understand the explanations and recommendations coming from these savvy people. This is a readable and essential book for educators to grab onto. We must understand much more about the world economic situation if we are to be able to help struggling families, sway political thought, make changes in society, influence others, and convince elected officials how to vote.
These are all activities in which educators must be involved. I maintain that we must be involved in them at least to some extent. Teachers, administrators, and others who teach other persons at whatever level need to have a good sense of how we got to where we are financially and some ideas on how to move ahead.
Although the contributors are a little idealistic at some points (can one person really change the international flow of dollars for investment? Really?) they nonetheless do explain a great deal of information that is essential for understanding the benefits, drawbacks, workings, and potential of capitalism.
It is up to the educator to read this assembly of authentic texts and see how to incorporate them in their own worldview, use them in their plans to influence others, write lesson plans for more advanced level high school courses, make use of them in courses for college students, and take from the readings information good for use in debates and negotiations with other professionals interested in discussing and working on the work world economy. At least in some smaller fashion.
I recommend the book and especially the introductory chapter on “civic capitalism” because of the clarity and the definitions found there. Hay and Payne are able to explain a great deal of technical information in that chapter so that the reader will be comfortable diving into the discussions of big changes. Those big changes—mainly in perspective—make up the rest of the readings in the book.
Award-winning author Laurie Lawlor’s full-color narrative nonfiction explores how this monumental, 363-mile canal was built across a daunting upstate New York landscape at a time when America had no trained engineers, no idea how to make water-proof concrete, no modern mechanical tools, and no reliable source of workers.
Many Voices takes a deep dive into how canal construction altered the environment and uprooted the Haudenosaunee from their long-standing homeland in New York.
Linking the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, the Erie Canal boosted the global economic status of New York City, expanded Westward settlement deep inside America’s farming heartland, and spiked growth in cities as varied as Chicago, Milwaukee, Toledo, Rochester, Duluth, and Toronto.
Just as today’s Internet has created a “superhighway” of purchasing possibilities and an array of political, social, cultural, and religious ideas from around the globe, the Erie Canal propelled nationwide trade and a network of new ideas — everything from abolition of slavery to promoting women’s right to vote .
Many Voices: Building Erie, the Canal that Changed America includes more than ninety photos, maps, and artwork, detailed timeline, suggestions for visiting today’s canal, complete bibliography, endnotes, and index. The book has been listed as aJunior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.
Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future by Jason Stanley (Simon & Schuster, 2024)
Review by Alan Singer
Although it was published prior to the 2024 Presidential election, Erasing History serves well as Jason Stanley’s response to the patriotic history being promoted by the Trump 2.0 administration. Stanley was a Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, but he recently announced that he accepted an appointment to the University of Toronto in Canada because of the deteriorating political situation in the United States. His previous books include How Propaganda Works (2015) and How Fascism Works (2018).
In the Preface to the book, Stanley argues “One lesson the past century has taught us that authoritarian regimes often find history profoundly threatening. At every opportunity, these regimes find ways of erasing or concealing history in order to consolidate their power.” Democracy, on the other hand, “requires recognition of a shared reality that consists of multiple perspective” so that “citizens learn to regard one another as equal contributors to a national narrative . . . Erasing history helps authoritarians because doing so allows them to misrepresent it as a single story,” their preferred story.
Social studies teachers are crucial players in the battle to protect democracy because we insist that students examine multiple perspectives and reach conclusions based on evidence and discussion (xi-x). Russia Premier Vladimir Putin recognizes the danger teachers pose to authoritarian regimes and has declared “Wars are won by teachers.” Under Putin, and now under Trump, history classes are supposed to stress patriotism and textbooks are rewritten to whitewash the past (Illyushina, 2024).
Stanley acknowledges that every educational system must decide what is important to know and be able to explain why because a school curriculum cannot include all knowledge. What authoritarian regimes do is erase from the curriculum evidence that people can struggle for change and social justice so that people are willing to accept an unsatisfactory status quo as the only possible circumstance. That is why China’s government outlawed teaching about the 1989 pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protests and Florida wants to block discussion of reasons for the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. “By removing the history of uprisings against the current status quo from the curriculum (or never allowing that history to be taught in the first place) authoritarians leave students with the impression that the status quo has never been and cannot be challenged (xx-xxi).”
Chapters include “How to Create an Autocracy”; “Colonizing the Mind”;” “The Nationalist Project”; “From Supremacism to Fascism”; “Anti-education”; and “Reclaiming History.” Throughout the book, Stanley draws comparisons between past nativist and racist movements in the United States, the Nazi ascendency in Germany, and MAGA authoritarianism in the United States today.
Attacks on universities are a key component of the fascist agenda to erase history and undermine democracy. In contemporary Russia, India, Hungary, and Turkey rightwing politicians and autocratic leaders have sought to destroy academic independence by branding faculty as enemies of the state and trying to mandate a preferred curriculum. A Fox New host quota by Stanley bemoaned that “Our universities have become lunatic incubators, which the federal government funds” (21). Stanley argues that there are similar trends in government attacks in these countries on K-12 education. He quotes W.E.B. DuBois that “Education for colonial people must inevitably mean unrest and revolt; education therefore had to be limited and used to inculcate obedience and servility” (25).
Stanly explains how curriculum and textbooks are used in “colonizing the mind.” As a high school teacher in the 1980s I taught an advanced United States history class using Bailey and Kennedy’s The American Pageant: A History of the Republic, 7th edition (Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1983). Stanley includes a quote from the introduction legitimizing colonialism and genocide that I must have completely overlook and did not challenge. It is a statement that well summarizes major components of Trump’s “patriotic history.”
“The American Republic, which is still relatively young when compared with the Old World, was from the outset richly favored. It started from scratch on a vast and virgin continent, which was so sparsely populated by Indians that they could be eliminated or shouldered aside. Such a magnificent opportunity for great democratic experiment may never come again” (2).
However, it did not start from “scratch,” its early institutions and its white people were Europeans, and it definitely was not a “virgin” continent as the sentence acknowledges. What a “magnificent opportunity” to conduct a “great democratic experiment” by exterminating the indigenous population and importing a workforce of enslaved Africans. Hopefully it “may never come again.”
Stanley argues that a movement in the United States to stem the trend towards authoritarianism must reclaim history. That is why social studies teachers, whatever their political views, but because of their commitments to dialogue, evidence, critical thinking, and developing active citizens for a democratic society, are in the crucible of the battle for the hearts and minds of America’s future leaders and defining the kind of country this will become. We are the threat to authoritarianism.
For the book jacket, Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-Md) wrote Stanley that “shows how everything from the antisemitic Great Replacement Theory to the vilification of gay people and feminists to the promotion of myths of national purity and historical innocence all work to demolish democratic agency and freedom.” Stanley “leaves us with the sense that those who fight for the past can save the future.”
This is both a readable and invaluable book for teachers who are concerned about the impact of the Trump administration of the future of education in this country and the survival of democracy in America.
Book Review by Hank Bitten, NJCSS Executive Director
TheLeadership Journey: How Four Kids Became President
Doris Kearns Goodwin
I decided to read this book after listening to Doris Kearns Goodwin speak about this on television following the inauguration of President Donald Trump. After reading the first few pages, I decided to write a review of this book as it should be ‘required’ reading for every social studies teacher, student, parent, and grandparent.
One reason for encouraging teachers, pre-service teachers. students, parents, and grandparents to read this book is in the truisms that are embedded in the stories about each president. For example, in introducing Abraham Lincoln’s decision to enter politics as a Whig candidate, these few sentences should engage young minds in reflective thinking:
“On March 9, 1832, when he declared his intention to run for a seat in the Illinois state legislature just eight months after he arrived in new Salem. ‘Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition,’ Lincoln wrote in a pamphlet announcing his candidacy, as he sought to earn the respect and votes of his neighbors. ‘I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, be rendering myself worthy of their esteem. How far I shall succeed in gratifying this ambition is yet to be developed. I am young and unknown to many of you.’” (Pages 25-26)
As a teacher, I would discuss with my class, why did Lincoln join the new Whig Party and not the popular Democratic Party? Why did he announce his decision to run for the assembly in a pamphlet compared to a letter, newspaper, or verbal announcement? How does Lincoln understand public service?
As a parent or grandparent, I would discuss the political parties we have today and what they stand for. How do candidates in our community or state get elected and announce their decision to run for office? Is it possible for elected representatives to represent the interests and needs of the majority in their community or is it best for them to advance their own beliefs on the issues or vote for the position of their political party?
The reading level of TheLeadership Journey: How Four Kids Became President is for middle school students. Each chapter is just a few pages and should take a middle school student about 20-30 minutes to read and comprehend. This book is a valuable resource for a student research assignment, teaching about the reliability of sources, civics, an afterschool history club such as Rho Kappa or Phi Alpha Theta, a summer reading list activity, or a Saturday Seminar roundtable discussion. The applications of this book are unlimited.
One of the hidden gems in the life of Lincoln is with his learning style, character, persistence, and ability to handle disappointments. These examples are often only a few sentences, but they are prompts to initiate discussion and empathy between students in your class. For example, “The key to Lincoln’s success as a lawyer was his ability to break down the most complex case or issue ‘into its simplest elements.’ He never lost a jury by fumbling or reading from a prepared argument, relying instead ‘on his well-trained memory. (Page 47)
Another example that I found interesting was the evolution of how President Lincoln’s views changed about the emancipation of enslaved persons by listening to others.
“On August 14, 1862, during the period in which he was preparing the proclamation, Lincoln held the first meeting of Black leaders at the White House so he could make his case for a voluntary emigration of Black Americans to a different country….Later that year, Lincoln made another case for colonization during his second annual message to Congress on December 1, 1862, during which he proposed a constitutional amendment to colonize Black Americans and provide for them better lives in ‘their long-lost fatherland,’ where they would have access to homes and schools.’” (Pages 79-80)
“Once the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, he abandoned all efforts at colonization and trained his focus on freedom for the enslaved and keeping the Union whole.” (Page 80)
The second president in Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book is Theodore Roosevelt. There are multiple connections for students in the leadership journey of Teddy Roosevelt. These include living with a disability, coping with personal loss, understanding the issues, the importance of integrity, and the challenges and opportunities of the experiences in one’s life.
Although born into a family with wealth, as a child he faced frightening attacks of bronchial asthma. His childhood and teenage years were limited. By age 10, he had opportunities to be home schooled, enjoy summer vacations on Long Island, and travel to Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. However, participating in activities was limited because of his health.
“’But Teedie’s chronic asthma required more and more days of bed rest. Thee worried that without physical activity Teedie’s weak lungs would continue to worsen and that he would lose all physical ability, but Thee also believed that this outcome was not inevitable. His father said to him, ‘Theodore you have the mind but not the body, and without the help of the body the mind cannot go as far as it should.’” (Page 99)
The lesson of how Teddy Roosevelt voted in the New York State Assembly, especially on the bill to stop the manufacture of cigars in tenement houses is one that will likely engage students in a thoughtful discussion or debate about how elected officials represent constituents today. Roosevelt opposed all government supervision and regulations regarding limiting the hours worked, a minimum wage, or prices. Samuel Gompers invited him to visit the places where the cigars were made.
“Roosevelt was stunned by what he witnessed.: five adults and several children, all immigrants from Bohemia (part of the modern-day Czech Republic) who could barely speak English, living and working in a single room, making cigars sixteen hours a day.” (Page 113)
On February 14, 1884, Valentine’s Day, Teddy Roosevelt place a large X in his diary followed by the words “The light has gone out of my life.” His mother, Mittie, and his wife, Alice Hathaway Lee, died. He was 25 years old and had been married for less than four years.
“His forty-nine-year-old mother, Mittie, still a youthful-looking, beautiful woman, had been suffering from what was considered to be a severe cold, but which turned out to be a deadly case of typhoid fever. Theodore was at his mother’s bedside at three a.m. when she died. Less than 12 hours later, as he held his young wife in his arms, Alice died from what was later diagnosed as acute kidney disease, its symptoms masked by her pregnancy.” (Page 117)
These are stories students relate to. They encourage discussions about loss, grief, empathy, confusion, resilience, and life. The leaders Doris Kearns Goodwin writes about are very human and their experiences in life are similar to those of many young adults. Abraham Lincoln also lost his mother and fiancé and his son, Willie, died at age 11 in the White House.
Three examples from the book that should interest middle and high school students are Teddy Roosevelt’s use of the Executive Order renaming the Executive Mansion to the White House in 1901, his daily schedule, and a bizarre episode running naked in Rock Creek Park. Source
“Roosevelt began each day in the White House by darting ‘into the breakfast room with a cheerful hail to those already there’; then he rushed to his office before the official workday started to tackle his loads of letters, dictating ‘one letter after another’ to his secretary. From ten a.m. to noon, except on cabinet days, the second-floor reception room was crowded with senators with whom Roosevelt met for all manner of official and political business. At noon, the White House doors opened to the public, ‘an overflowing stream’ of people eager to see the most colorful president that ever lived. For an hour, Roosevelt moved speedily around the room, giving each person a dazzling smile and a warm handshake. At one p.m., Roosevelt generally excused himself from the crowd for his midday shave. During the ‘barber’s hour,’ reporters were invited in, permitted to ask questions-or more likely listen-as Roosevelt talked animatedly about any number of subjects while the skillful barber tried not to cut the president’s famous face.” (Pages 151-152)
“Late afternoon was devoted to exercise-a horseback ride or boxing match, a raucous game of tennis or a strenuous hike along the cliffs in nearby Rock Creek Park. Dragging visitors and friends through the wooded sections of the park, Roosevelt had one simple rule: you had to move forward ‘point to point,’ never going around any obstacle. ‘If a creek got in the way, you forded it. If there was a river, you swam it. If there was a rock, you scaled it.’ The Frech ambassador Jean Jules Jusserland provided a celebrated account of his first jaunt with the president. After presenting himself at the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue ‘in afternoon dress and silk hat,’ he soon found himself in the countryside following Roosevelt ‘at breakneck pace’ through fields and over rocks. When they approached a broad stream, Jusserand assumed the contest had finally ended. ‘Judge of my horror when I saw the President unbutton his clothes and heard him say, ‘We had better strip, so as not to wet our things in the Creek.’ Then I too, for the honor of France, removed my apparel, except for my lavender kid gloves.’ To be without my gloves, he insisted, ‘would be embarrassing if we should meet ladies.’ (Pages 152,153)
The information on the Spanish American War in 1898, settling the coal strike in 1902, nine-week train trip around the United States in 1903, are also presented in a descriptive narrative that will interest students with events in the social studies curriculum.
Although most middle school students do not study Franklin Delano Roosevelt as part of U.S. History, this chapter will engage high school students. The importance of reading is to ignite inquiry through questions and thinking about the historical era, the individual, and American government.
Franklin was born into a wealthy family with a large estate about 90 miles north of New York City, where they also had a home on 65th Street near Fifth Avenue and Central Park.
The chapters about Roosevelt are powerful and insightful because they are filled with stories about his character. While most readers will find value and insights into his youth, college years, marriage and positions in the state legislature and federal government, the chapter on his perseverance regarding his paralysis from polio is unusually compelling. Here is an example of how FDR faced the news of his permanent disability as a 39-year-old man with a promising future:
“Told by doctors that his upper body had the greatest likelihood of recovery, Franklin endured punishing exercises to remake his chest, shoulders, neck, arms, and back. Hour after hour he pulled himself up on a set of rings installed in ‘a trapeze-like contraption’ above his bed, slowly and painfully strengthening his muscles until his upper body came to resemble that of a champion boxer or wrestler….Day after day he would ask to be lifted from the wheelchair and set down on the library floor so that he could further exercise his back and arms by crawling around the room like a child would. He then proceeded to tackle stairs, grabbing railings on either side with his hands, hoisting up his body-step-by-step-to the top, sweat pouring from his face.’” (Page 197)
In another chapter Doris Kearns Goodwin portrays FDR’s trait of courage. His courage was both political courage as he risked everything to hide his disability of crippled legs and physical courage. He was fortunate to have the friendship and guidance of Louis Howe, Sam Rosenman, Frances Perkins, and his wife, Eleanor. Here is an example of how Franklin handled every situation with grace, humor, and strength: (This is six years after he was infected by the polio virus, 1928)
“That Franklin was not yet able to walk unassisted, even with braces and crutches, had been made clear months earlier when he’d ventured forth for the first time since the polio attack to meet with business colleagues at a private luncheon on Wall Street in New York City. An elevator would take him upstairs, but first he had to cross a slippery marble lobby floor to reach the elevator bank. With his chauffer’s assistance, FDR had reached the halfway mark when a crutch slid out from under him. He collapsed in a heap, his hat rolling off to the side. Spectators gathered round as he tried to prop himself into a seated position. ‘Nothing to worry about,’ Franklin announced to reassure the concerned onlookers, bursting into a sudden peal of laughter. He then called for help from two young men who eventually pulled him to a standing position. ‘Let’s go,’ he said to his chauffeur. Someone put his hat on his head. Wearing a big smile, he acknowledged the crowd and made his way toward the elevator.” (Page 207)
These two excerpts are only an introduction to what is revealed in his campaign for governor, acceptance speech in Chicago as the Democratic Party candidate for president, his inauguration speech at the Capitol, and his leadership as president. Facts and historical examples are important, but FDR’s personality traits will likely have a lasting impact on students.
Although many students are likely less familiar with the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson than the presidency of Lincoln, T.R. or F.D.R., they will identify with his character, commitment to civic engagement, and experience as a teacher. As a young child, he moved from a small cabin in a rural area to Johnson City. For various reasons, Lyndon’s activities changed, and he became interested in the activities of his father who was a member of the state legislature in Texas.
“The only thing Lyndon loved more than accompanying his father to the statehouse was traveling along with him on the campaign trail. ‘We drove in the Model T Ford from farm to farm, up and down the valley, stopping at every door. …When we got tired or hungry, we’d stop by the side of the road. He sliced the bread, smeared it with jam, and split the slices with me. I’d never seen him happier. Families all along the way opened up their homes to us. If it was hot outside, we were invited in for big servings of homemade ice cream. If it was cold, we were given hot tea…sometimes I wished it could go on forever.’” (Page 259)
Lyndon’s Johnson’s role as a teacher and school principal reveals his work ethic and characteristic as a caring and dedicated public servant.
“My students were poor and they often cane to class without breakfast, hungry. And they knew, even in their youth, the pain of prejudice. Because there was no school funding for extracurricular activities, he used half his first month’s salary to buy sports equipment and then badgered the school board to include track-and-field events, baseball games, and volleyball matches in the school budget.” (Pages 265-66)
He was also the debate coach at Sam Houston High School. He coached the debate team through city, district and state tournaments.
“Johnson appeared to his students ‘a human dynamo,’ a steam engine in pants,’ driven by a work ethic and unlimited enthusiasm that proved contagious.” (Page 269)
I enjoyed reading about how he used his social capital in Washington to advance his goals. Lady Bird and Lyndon moved to Washington where he was the chief of staff to a Texas congressman. He became friends with Sam Rayburn who lived alone and invited him to dinner in his home with his wife, Lady Bird. Through this connection, Lyndon became the director of the National Youth Administration in Texas. When his congressman James Buchanan passed away unexpectedly, Johnson campaigned for his seat. Two days before the election he had emergency surgery to remove his appendix. He won, likely on a promise to bring electricity to the farmers in his area of Texas.
Johnson’s personality traits of empathy, enthusiasm, perseverance, and ‘grit’ are important for students to understand, apply to their own experiences, and engage in discussion with their peers. He lost his bid for re-election by 1,311 votes and a few years later won his election as senator by only 87 votes. As a senator, he was the youngest majority leader in the history of the Senate at age 46 and was considered as a presidential candidate for the 1956 election. Then, suddenly everything changed when he had a devasting heart attack. This event transformed his life and behavior. A lesson about the trait of resiliency.
If a teacher elected to use the resource of this book for just one day, perhaps the most compelling pages are found on pages 317-328. His passion, legislative skill, and personal conviction are important for every student to understand. It is also important for students to understand the long struggle to pass and implement civil rights laws. In our classrooms, the lessons of Freedom Riders, marches, boycotts, and the emotional scars of segregation are too often taught passively through slide presentations and vocabulary terms. Doris Kearns Goodwin captures some of the emotion that led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Everyone should read Chapter 24.
“Like a tailor stitching a custom suit, Johnson took measure of Dirksen. A decade of working together had taught Johnson that Dirksen had no hesitation asking for ‘a laundry list’ of favors in return for his support on legislation. But this time, Johnson offered Dirksen something far more important than perks and favors; he appealed to Dirksen’s hunger to be remembered, honored. ‘I saw your exhibit at the World’s Fair, and it said, ‘The Land of Lincoln,’ Johnson pointed out. And the man from Lincoln is going to pass this bill and I’m going to see that he gets proper credit. With a gift for flattery equal to Dirksen’s vanity, he assured the senator ‘if you come with me on this bill, two hundred years from now there’ll be only two people they’ll remember from the state of Illinois: Abraham Lincoln and Everett Dirksen!” (Page 321)
I found value in the leadership journey of these four presidents. Although my review focuses on students and teachers, adults will also enjoy reading what Doris Kearns Goodwin has written. In the closing pages, Doris Kearns Goodwin describes a dinner meeting with her “guys.’ What an opportunity to discuss the historical context of 100 years of American history, the goals of the Declaration of Independence, how each president mastered the communication platforms of newspapers, stories, radio, and television. Perhaps the most significant question is what makes a good leader and a good president? What a nice segway to understanding empathy!
This book presents an overview of New York history in the form of 20 exciting, engaging stories. These include, for instance, the beginning of New York State with the completion of the first state constitution in 1777; the “Anti-Rent Wars” in the mid-Hudson region in the 19th century when tenant farmers fought for the right to buy and own their own land; the Seneca Falls’ women’s right convention in 1848, which launched the demand for women’s right to vote and legal equality; and Syracuse citizens’ rescue of a fugitive slave from a marshal who sought to return him to slavery in 1851.
The book describes the campaign against child labor in 1903; the work of pioneering New York aviator Glenn Curtiss, the inventor of several modern airplane flight controls and the first to fly down the Hudson River in 1910; Jackie Robinson’s debut as the first Black major league baseball player in 1947; the construction and opening of the State Thruway in 1954; and the debut of the hit musical, Hamilton, in 2015, and the history behind the events it presents. The narrative for each chapter is woven around what led up to a key event, what happened, and what the results were. The book’s stories feature first-hand, eyewitness accounts by history-makers, participants and observers at the time. The author calls this “a scholarly book for a popular audience.” Because of New York’s historical importance, many of the stories have relevance to American as well as New York history. Social studies and history teachers can use the stories in the book as the basis for their classroom presentations and for study, essays, and discussion by students.
Once We Were Brothers: A Novel, by Ronald H. Balson, 2013. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin.
Review by Thomas Hansen, Ph.D.
This is yet another wonderful book with great writing and captivating action—but it is a book about a terrible story. It describes the close friendship between a German/Polish Christian boy who is raised by a Jewish family in a small village in Poland. The time is World War II, and the story is based on–and connects to–historical points of the time.
It is said to be a book that is “hard to put down.” Indeed, it is. Balson’s first novel, this book contains good writing, suitable pacing and forward movement, plus a lot of information about what was happening in rural Poland in that period. There is also some direct teaching involved, with characters explaining what certain terms meant and what various Nazi policies entailed.
The book consists mainly of flashbacks to what was happening in Poland among the families and friends of Ben Solomon, the Jewish boy whose life is at the center of the story. Chicago readers will be interested to know that the modern-day sections include scenes from Winnetka, the Loop, and the lakefront also.
The book is a novel, with a huge amount of factual and historical foundation.
It dovetails into Common Core Standards college-readiness levels and college-use levels also.
I will recommend the book, but I remind readers that many of the scenes described and the action discussed will not be at all pleasurable. Like many stories of the Holocaust, this one is very disturbing yet one which we must read, discuss, and remember.
The book should be required reading for college students–in any major–and good for educators to read also. As always, educators should read the book closely to see if there are passages inappropriate for younger readers.
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