Important to remember that our ancestors, our founders as human beings although striving for a more perfect union, are in fact human after all. Not quite perfect but at least moving in the right direction.
We revere our ancestors though they were not perfect. Nor are we.
Most prominent of his quotes, just under the dome:
”I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility
against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."
James Loewen spent two years at the Smithsonian surveying twelve leading high school textbooks of American history and discovered what our American History textbooks got wrong.
On my list is a visit to the Jefferson Memorial. When I do I will contemplate the rotunda quote above with ...
"By 1862 Jefferson owned 267 slaves.
During his long life, of hundreds of slaves he owned,
he freed only three, and five more at his death--all blood relatives of his.”
--James Loewen, historian, sociologist, author.
Better to know the existence of these contradictions than to not understand. --tnm
The book reflects Loewen's belief that history should not be taught as straightforward facts and dates to memorize, but rather as analysis of the context and root causes of events.[10] Loewen recommends that teachers use two or more textbooks, so that students may realize the contradictions and ask questions, such as, "Why do the authors present the material like this?"
