Forsyth: The History of a County on the March Book

Sometimes it's omissions that are the textbook issue. Loewen mentions that high school history textbooks didn't include the fact that in the 18th century Wall Street was where slave owners went to sell the labor of their slaves, and others hired their labor. Since I lived in New York when I was in high school, learning this aspect of the history of Wall Street would have been a way for me to understand how slavery was integrated into urban New York society. Like most high school students, I thought at the time that slavery was something that happened on Southern plantations. I didn't know about slavery in New York.

Even if textbooks aren't localized, I think there should be a local element in the teaching of history. As a high school and college student I found it easy to relate to local history.

After reading this book, I'm willing to declare myself a fan of James W. Loewen. It may be difficult to uncover historical truth in some cases, but I applaud Loewen for prioritizing it and showing the importance of historical truth for all of us.

For the blog version of this review see