Drama of American History - A Caution

[FlockOfSillies]

Yes, I would love to find these as well, for exactly the reasons you mentioned. I managed to get The Middle Road for fifty cents at the library bookstore, so I can preview that one.

[Lovedtodeath]

 

:iagree: Yup, yup. I think this was what the OP was trying to point out. From the segments I've read in this thread I wouldn't be able to use this series for modern times without lots and lots of discussion. I already own Hakim's series (heavy sigh), so this series wouldn't add anything to our home library.

You are not happy with Hakim?

[Spy Car]

I want a well written history book that reflects my values to some extent especially with regard to the topics that are covered. Omissions are very important and telling as well as unsupported conclusions. If, for example a history book that purports to be a record of the 20th century paints McCarthyism as a cultural blip or fails to even mention the communist purges of the time it is not acceptable for use in my house.

 

Sure. I would want a full portrayal of Joe McCarthy and the spirit of the times. but i would also welcome inclusion of the facts that the Rosenbergs (especially Julius) really were spys for the Soviet Union who passed on nuclear secrets. And that Whittier Chamber's charges against Alger Hiss (which were decried at the time by the "left" as being part of a witch-hunt) were also true.

 

So there is complexity to the "red scare."

 

I would never want a history textbook that is bland and more importantly , so unwilling to take a position and provide evidence of some sort for that position. That is the fundamental task of critical thinking , to be able to entertain an idea, follow it to its conclusion and then decide whether the evidence for the position taken is logical, moral, immoral, illogical or logical and still completely unethical ,lacking in any sound reason and so on .

 

I don't want "bland" books either. The DoAH is not "bland" for being fair-minded. I very much respected the late Howard Zinn and enjoyed reading his adult level Peoples History, but he would not be my go-to guy for an American History spine for the in-between years.

 

Bill

Edited June 18, 2010 by Spy Car

[Spy Car]

The companies that I plan to use have Hakim for High School. This text would be a sub for Hakim, therefore it would be used in High School. I think that the majority of TWTM followers (and TWTM book itself) tend towards high school level work in middle school.

 

The drama of American History, while a wonderful "middle" years series (and one that could either refresh or inform a parent's understanding of American History) does not go into the depth (and side-bars) one would expect of a High School (especially an AP level) text. It was the authors' intention to write a "middle years" level text, and they succeed brilliantly in my estimation.

 

Bill

Edited June 18, 2010 by Spy Car

[lovemyboys]

I don't see it myself.

 

There is a difference between stating that something happened during a particular time period in history versus saying it is the result of a president's policies. Once you venture into cause/effect you are giving your opinion. And even deficits...no president operates in a vacuum. The President can't make the deficit soar without the cooperation of the Senate and House. I'm really not trying to argue politics. It's just that when a history book artfully connects events that happened during a particular president's term in an effort to pin all the bad things that happened on him....well, this is where we can find bias. And bias is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Have you ever heard the comparison....

 

Herbert Hoover was responsible for the depression, FDR's New Deal saved the country, the US entered WWII....JFK had a vision of going to the moon, the US landed on the moon in 1969.

 

The US dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasake, the US was at war with Vietnam, the US "won" the Cold War in the late 80s, GW Bush invaded Iraq, the US increased troops in Afghanistan.

 

I heard a commentator run through a long series of details from the past century and I can't really do it justice .... except for the point:

 

In the media and history books, Democratic presidents get credit by name for what are viewed as triumphs/positives, but "the US" is used when it's negative or controversial. Do we hear that Truman dropped the bombs on Japan or that "the US" did?

 

The converse is true when dealing with Republican administrations. We don't even equate Nixon with landing on the moon.

 

An interesting observation of the tendencies. Of course, it bears remembering that any president is part of the flow of history and has great influence and power, but not often as singly responsible for any one thing good or bad that is laid at his feet.

 

:001_smile:

[Lovedtodeath]

Ah, okay, well, I was in honors classes in other subjects throughout high school, but we didn't have that offering for history. According to the samples it goes much deeper than the typical high school text that I used, and I am pretty happy with that.

[Spy Car]

Ah, okay, well, I was in honors classes in other subjects throughout high school, but we didn't have that offering for history. According to the samples it goes much deeper than the typical high school text that I used, and I am pretty happy with that.

 

DoAH is very "deep" for a series that aims to keep to a main core. And I'd be unsurprised that a student reading this series would come away a lot better informed than they would reading your average public High School American History text. I'm with you there.

 

Bill

[lovemyboys]

I want a well written history book that reflects my values to some extent especially with regard to the topics that are covered. Omissions are very important and telling as well as unsupported conclusions. If, for example a history book that purports to be a record of the 20th century paints McCarthyism as a cultural blip or fails to even mention the communist purges of the time it is not acceptable for use in my house. Anything written by Howard Zinn is fine for my family as we discuss each and every position promulgated by the editorial power of the author. We also read a number of other texts for American history by N. Philbrick, Ken Burns, Shelby Foote, Arthur Schlesinger etc.We also use many autobiographical texts particularly about civil rights including the rights of all humans to be treated equally before the law whether they are hetero or homosexual/transgendered. I would never want a history textbook that is bland and more importantly , so unwilling to take a position and provide evidence of some sort for that position. That is the fundamental task of critical thinking , to be able to entertain an idea, follow it to its conclusion and then decide whether the evidence for the position taken is logical, moral, immoral, illogical or logical and still completely unethical ,lacking in any sound reason and so on . If you are not doing these things in some fashion it seems pointless to me, regardless of your political persuasion , to bother with educating your dc . If your discussions are only to reiterate the points made by the author in the book then you are teaching your dc to respond to what they think you want to hear rather than engaging them in discussion and debate about issues.

 

I know it's natural for those of us here in the US to cover our own country's history in greater depth than world history....

 

just wondering, do you do world history to this depth? (honest question) If so, how do you gather information, source materials, etc.?

 

tia

[Lovedtodeath]

The drama of American History, while a wonderful "middle" years series (and one that could either refresh or inform a parent's understanding of American History) does not go into the depth (and side-bars) one would expect of a High School (especially an AP level) text. It was the authors' intention to write a "middle years" level text, and they succeed brilliantly in my estimation.

 

Bill

Honest question, though off topic... if Hakim (or Drama) is a middle school text then what is used for high school?

[Spy Car]

Honest question, though off topic... if Hakim (or Drama) is a middle school text then what is used for high school?

 

Don't stress me out.

 

My son finishes Kindergarten....

 

TODAY!!!

 

Bill

[nmoira]

I know this is a tangential question, but it's one I can answer. :)

 

Which issues? Not sure I even want a middle school history book dealing with gay marriage.

DoAH does not discuss the gay marriage issue, or even gay rights. For me not mentioning gay rights is a notable omission, but it's already something I've talked about with my kids, and I feel comfortable putting together a unit on my own.

 

The Changing Face of American Society: 1945-2000 deals with race issues, multiculturalism (from multiple POV's), the aging populace, and technology.

[nmoira]

The converse is true when dealing with Republican administrations. We don't even equate Nixon with landing on the moon.

With good reason. :001_smile: He was sworn in in January of 1969 and the moon landing took place about five months later.

 

I'll check how the series treats some of your other general examples (I realize you weren't talking about the series in particular, but I'm curious) tonight.

[Spy Car]

I know this is a tangential question, but it's one I can answer. :)

 

DoAH does not discuss the gay marriage issue, or even gay rights. For me not mentioning gay rights is a notable omission, but it's already something I've talked about with my kids, and I feel comfortable putting together a unit on my own.

 

The Changing Face of American Society: 1945-2000 deals with race issues, multiculturalism (from multiple POV's), the aging populace, and technology.

 

I strongly support gay rights as human rights. Including strongly supporting the rights of homosexuals to wed.

 

That said, I would rather not have the issue of gay marriage hashed out in a middle school history text. I would expect a series that reached into contemporary time to at least acknowledge things like "Stonewall" and the Gay Rights movement as a social phenomenon, but I would not want the issue to be part of anyones "culture wars."

 

I can teach my values myself.

 

Bill

[Mom-ninja.]

I stopped reading on page 8 of this thread. Maybe this has been mentioned.

 

Not only is it hard for an author to leave out his bias when writing, but it is hard for the reader to not let his own bias influence how he interprets a book.

[elizabeth]

I know it's natural for those of us here in the US to cover our own country's history in greater depth than world history....

 

just wondering, do you do world history to this depth? (honest question) If so, how do you gather information, source materials, etc.?

 

tia

 

Yes I prepare world history the same way and in this depth . I use the AP suggestions found in this amazing resource book that I have suggested for years to secular or parents who want non providential history.There is nothing better for diverse,scholarly resources for those families . Be careful you can request catalogs and you will spend hours reading these ...

http://www.socialstudies.com/c/featuredproduct.html?subject@World_20History+s@9NuqILCS.H7ro The posters are also really great .

[Shelly in the Country]

You are not happy with Hakim?

 

No, I am not...and she is more problematic in her coverage of more recent history. I bought a set of Hakim's books years ago when they went on sale. I got a great deal :001_smile:. I will find a way to use most of them, but I may have to skip the later volumes.

[usetoschool]

Facts about Che Guevara would include events, dates, places, his own writings, etc. Saying that he (or anyone else) is "an evil man" is an opinion, not a fact. Once an author starts deciding for the reader who is "evil" and who is "good," it can quickly devolve into stronger judgements (e.g. Mormons are shifty, idle, liars; Native Americans were blood-thirty savages, etc.)

 

The books don't even mention Guevara, those were just my opinions about the situation, where I am coming from, and why I would notice how they treated the whole Castro issue and have a problem with it. Coming from *that* perspective (mine) I have a problem with the information about Castro.

 

The Drama of American History was suggested as a well-written, secular American History series, so by definition it's not going to be written from a conservative Christian POV. There are many, many texts to choose from for those who want US history explicitly written from that perspective. For secular homeschoolers, this series sounds like an excellent alternative to Hakim.

 

I am not generally interested in books written from a conservative christian point of view, for the most part. The conversation was more about political conservatism I think, or that was what I was discussing anyway. I actually prefer my books secular, just the facts ma'm.

 

Jackie

 

And that appears to be the point of all of these threads - where to find a history text that provides information without spin. Harder than it looks I guess and maybe not even possible.

[Shelly in the Country]

And that appears to be the point of all of these threads - where to find a history text that provides information without spin. Harder than it looks I guess and maybe not even possible.

 

One of my dearest friends has her master's degree in history. Over the years, I have occasionally used her as a sounding board in my history decisions and even run a few resources by her for her opinion. She told me that every historian has their "heroes and villains", to use her words. You can't get away from spin.

[2cents]

I stopped reading on page 8 of this thread. Maybe this has been mentioned.

 

Not only is it hard for an author to leave out his bias when writing, but it is hard for the reader to not let his own bias influence how he interprets a book.

 

My thoughts exactly. That is why I avoid these types of threads.

[FlockOfSillies]

Thanks Moira, although my point was a more general one about the comparative usefulness of cryptic cautions vs. specific ones. Aubrey was saying that she assumed the problems the OP had with the book had to do with divisive issues like gay marriage and health care. My point is that I don't want to assume -- I want specifics, not vague warnings to "read it for yourself." I'm not opposed to reading it for myself -- bought one of the offending copies -- but reading all of them is something I just don't have time for.

[MtnTeaching]

I just read all 12 pages of this thread and have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it! Other than learning quite a bit about a history text I had not previously heard much about (The Drama of American History), I also came away from this with three other realizations:

• Having the ability to experience a wide spectrum of viewpoints and to debate those viewpoints in a respectful, civil, yet lively forum without it getting out of hand, is thrilling.
  
• Being thankful that I live in a country where we have the right to express our individual thoughts.:patriot: This is where knowledge and true insight is gained as to the validity and truth of our own beliefs and biases.
  
• Not a new insight, but one I've known for quite a while...this forum is unique and I love all of your different personalities.
  

My thanks to the OP :grouphug: for encouraging me to take a closer look, not only at the history texts my children are exposed to, but at my own biases. When I started homeschooling, one of the things I wanted to do was to combat the ps, one-sided view of almost everything. My goal was to "try and show all sides of discussion so my children will be able to make their own decisions." I tend to forget that quite often and need to be reminded.

[Mrs Mungo]

I think that anything after about 1900 or so is going to be difficult to present in a way that all sides would consider "unbiased." Frankly, if this were 1870, we'd be arguing about whether or not the Civil War and the events leading up to it were covered in an unbiased fashion. Now it's universal in history texts to come at that whole era with the understanding that slavery was wrong.

 

I'd suggest a search for slavery on these boards. Not all historians are universal in such beliefs.

[lovemyboys]

With good reason. :001_smile: He was sworn in in January of 1969 and the moon landing took place about five months later.

 

I'll check how the series treats some of your other general examples (I realize you weren't talking about the series in particular, but I'm curious) tonight.

 

Not to start a whole firestorm because I'm headed out the door, but many presidents are given credit or blame for things that occur during their watch. When they've had a hand in policy, legislation, etc., that effects something directly, then that's pretty valid. But some things just occur. Wrt the moon landing, no Nixon was just peripheral. But had Humphrey won, would his name be more associated with it?

 

The larger point of my post was that the accreditation is often variable depending on +/- of the issue and where on the political spectrum that leader is. It was an observation I'd heard not long ago. And yes, you're right, it wasn't really speaking to this series at all, more in the way that biases affect perceptions in recent history.

 

Worth keeping in mind off to the side somewhere as one hears history reported.....

[Luckymama]

Yes I prepare world history the same way and in this depth . I use the AP suggestions found in this amazing resource book that I have suggested for years to secular or parents who want non providential history.There is nothing better for diverse,scholarly resources for those families . Be careful you can request catalogs and you will spend hours reading these ...

http://www.socialstudies.com/c/featuredproduct.html?subject@World_20History+s@9NuqILCS.H7ro The posters are also really great .

 

 

Thank you, I think ;) I just order a bunch of catalogs to suit my high schoolers and my younger one!

[Capt_Uhura]

Yes I prepare world history the same way and in this depth . I use the AP suggestions found in this amazing resource book that I have suggested for years to secular or parents who want non providential history.There is nothing better for diverse,scholarly resources for those families . Be careful you can request catalogs and you will spend hours reading these ...

http://www.socialstudies.com/c/featuredproduct.html?subject@World_20History+s@9NuqILCS.H7ro The posters are also really great .

 

 

Which book is the "amazing resource book" to which you referred above?

thanks!

 

Capt_Uhura

[katilac]

From the segments I've read in this thread I wouldn't be able to use this series for modern times without lots and lots of discussion.

 

But isn't "lots and lots of discussion" requisite for any study of history, no matter what book is used?

[Shelly in the Country]

But isn't "lots and lots of discussion" requisite for any study of history, no matter what book is used?

 

Of course, but I already own a set of logic-stage history books with a liberal slant. I don't need two. If I were going to invest in another history series for this stage I'd want something more middle of the road or conservative to balance out Hakim.

[elizabeth]

Which book is the "amazing resource book" to which you referred above?

thanks!

 

Capt_Uhura

 

I am sorry I meant the whole catalogue. Amazing for the diversity and range of materials none of which are religious. Sorry for the confusion.

[swimmermom3]

I saw these as an alternative to Joy Hakim. Despite many tries, I never have been able to get far in her series, because the patronizing tone and inefficentcy of her verbiage (I find myself re-writing her as I read) cause me too much frustration to continue. The little that I did get through did seem to suffer from some of that PC/public school flavor that I don't like anymore than your average homeschooler.

 

A person who was looking for a "providential" history text would not find it in DoAH. But nor is it Howard Zinn.

 

I believe DoAH will be useful (and highly valued) by a broad cross-section of home educators across the political mainstream (from conservative to liberal). As long as they are seeting "balanced" and academic materials. If they are looking for partisan texts to build up their side (right or left) without presenting the other side of the coin, this series is not what they are looking for.

 

For myself, they have been as close to perfect as I could reasonably hope to come. And I hope many others reach the same conclusion.

 

Bill

 

After all this buying, I have this nagging thought. Swimmer Dude will be 13 and in 8th grade when we wrap up US History. I don't know if the Dude will be home for high school; it may prove to be more than I can manage. I had thought to give him Howard Zinn in high school with some additional readings from Voices. Could it work for 8th grade? I think he will prefer the writing in the Drama series to Hakim but it still lacks a certain something to it. Remember, this is the kids who likes Daniel Boorstin and wanted to get Terry Gross' autograph when we were in Washington D.C.

[EKS]

After all this buying, I have this nagging thought. Swimmer Dude will be 13 and in 8th grade when we wrap up US History. I don't know if the Dude will be home for high school; it may prove to be more than I can manage. I had thought to give him Howard Zinn in high school with some additional readings from Voices. Could it work for 8th grade? I think he will prefer the writing in the Drama series to Hakim but it still lacks a certain something to it. Remember, this is the kids who likes Daniel Boorstin and wanted to get Terry Gross' autograph when we were in Washington D.C.

 

I personally don't think it is enough for 8th grade. I have only read one volume though. I would take a look at The American Odyssey from K12 (I had to tell them I wanted to preview it before enrolling my son in a course to get it) if you like their Human Odyssey series.

[swimmermom3]

I want a well written history book that reflects my values to some extent especially with regard to the topics that are covered. Omissions are very important and telling as well as unsupported conclusions. If, for example a history book that purports to be a record of the 20th century paints McCarthyism as a cultural blip or fails to even mention the communist purges of the time it is not acceptable for use in my house. Anything written by Howard Zinn is fine for my family as we discuss each and every position promulgated by the editorial power of the author. We also read a number of other texts for American history by N. Philbrick, Ken Burns, Shelby Foote, Arthur Schlesinger etc.We also use many autobiographical texts particularly about civil rights including the rights of all humans to be treated equally before the law whether they are hetero or homosexual/transgendered. I would never want a history textbook that is bland and more importantly , so unwilling to take a position and provide evidence of some sort for that position. That is the fundamental task of critical thinking , to be able to entertain an idea, follow it to its conclusion and then decide whether the evidence for the position taken is logical, moral, immoral, illogical or logical and still completely unethical ,lacking in any sound reason and so on . If you are not doing these things in some fashion it seems pointless to me, regardless of your political persuasion , to bother with educating your dc . If your discussions are only to reiterate the points made by the author in the book then you are teaching your dc to respond to what they think you want to hear rather than engaging them in discussion and debate about issues.

 

Elizabeth, yes, yes, yes. I've been at a swim meet all day and am still trying to work my way through the whole thread. Bill mentioned Zinn and the lightbulb went on. It 's the spark that my ds needs that is missing from the Drama series. And then I found this post. 8th grade history may have just been reworked. My older ds loved the Ken Burns series on the Civil War which is what we replaced one of Hakim's books with. Senior Airman was fascinated by Shelby Foote (character that he is) and picked up his book on Gettysburg -well one of the battles anyway.

 

I should never have opened this thread.:tongue_smilie:

[Matryoshka]

I personally don't think it is enough for 8th grade. I have only read one volume though. I would take a look at The American Odyssey from K12 (I had to tell them I wanted to preview it before enrolling my son in a course to get it) if you like their Human Odyssey series.

 

What??? There's an American Odyssey by the same people who wrote Human Odyssey??!! What grades is it intended for? :bigear:

[Matryoshka]

Elizabeth, yes, yes, yes. I've been at a swim meet all day and am still trying to work my way through the whole thread. Bill mentioned Zinn and the lightbulb went on. It 's the spark that my ds needs that is missing from the Drama series. And then I found this post. 8th grade history may have just been reworked.

 

I've had this extremely tentative long-term plan, if we're still doing this for high school, to use Zinn's book alongside Paul Johnson's A History of the American People, and throw in the Critical Thinking in US History books from CTP for high school US history. Got that idea from someone on the high school boards a while back - seemed a good place to start, anyway. Still plenty of time to throw that in the air and start again if needed! :D

[Capt_Uhura]

I personally don't think it is enough for 8th grade. I have only read one volume though. I would take a look at The American Odyssey from K12 (I had to tell them I wanted to preview it before enrolling my son in a course to get it) if you like their Human Odyssey series.

 

Can you tell me more about the American Odyssey book? Is that one that is only available if you sign up for a course? I assume this is high school level?

 

Thanks,

Capt_Uhura

[dragons in the flower bed]

I thought it was as an alternative to A History of US.

 

Oh, oops. Guess I didn't recall correctly, ha?

[silliness7]

I checked out the one on Pilgrims/Puritans from the library a few weeks ago and found some inaccuracies. Of course, Puritans tend to be a misunderstood lot but...I think I'll pass.

[coffeefreak]

Don't be scared. Just go ahead and elaborate and then use the ignore button and/or unsubscribe from the thread. :D Oh, or you could elaborate in a PM and send everyone asking a copy.

 

I plan to use something planned for American History, so I don't really have any real interest in these.

 

Oh yeah, why am I posting?:001_huh:

 

The same reason I'm reading it, curiosity killed the cat!

:lol:

[EKS]

What??? There's an American Odyssey by the same people who wrote Human Odyssey??!! What grades is it intended for? :bigear:

 

High school American history. I'm planning to use it with my 9th grader next year. If we like it I will use it with my younger son when he's in 8th grade (as a high school credit).

Edited June 19, 2010 by EKS

[EJCMom]

I checked out the one on Pilgrims/Puritans from the library a few weeks ago and found some inaccuracies. Of course, Puritans tend to be a misunderstood lot but...I think I'll pass.

 

 

Would you elaborate? Inaccuracies concern me much more than bias.

[EKS]

Can you tell me more about the American Odyssey book? Is that one that is only available if you sign up for a course? I assume this is high school level?

 

Thanks,

Capt_Uhura

 

I is high school level but I was able to get it by telling them I needed to preview it before signing up for the course.

[swimmermom3]

I personally don't think it is enough for 8th grade. I have only read one volume though. I would take a look at The American Odyssey from K12 (I had to tell them I wanted to preview it before enrolling my son in a course to get it) if you like their Human Odyssey series.

 

Kai, I have a bit of time before we need the bulk of it. I would like to hear your opinion of it when you get further into the book. K12 is a great resource and I wish we could make life easy and use all of their volumes for middle school. However, I think I messed that up by having ds do the work online and he thought much of the history was busy work. Then he discovered the Suzanne Strauss Art books and that's what we are going with through the Renaissance. The literature portion was a hit. Thanks for that. It's made such a difference.

 

I am trying hard not to look at your signature. You obviously put a lot of thought into your choices.

[Capt_Uhura]

OH Darn! Report back once you start using it!

 

Capt_Uhura

[coffeefreak]

I checked out several of the Drama of American History books last month. I just thought they were boring.

:leaving:

[nmoira]

 

That said, I would rather not have the issue of gay marriage hashed out in a middle school history text.

I'm not talking about that kind of depth; it's not even mentioned in passing as an issue.

[nmoira]

I checked out the one on Pilgrims/Puritans from the library a few weeks ago and found some inaccuracies. Of course, Puritans tend to be a misunderstood lot but...I think I'll pass.

 

Would you elaborate? Inaccuracies concern me much more than bias.

:iagree:

[coffeefreak]

Right. But one could (in the future) write about this episode as a partisan (or even hyper-partisan) and depending on whose side one took start accusing one side of being indifferent to the poor and working class, or the other as socialists who wanted to undermine the spirit of American freedom and unfettered Capitalism (or worse).

 

Or

 

One could present the problem as best they could. With an aging population, increased life expectancy, advances in medicine that often come with higher costs, global competition putting pressure on businesses to cap costs (threatening the employer based insurance model, insurance industry practices (such as "pre-existing conditions") that lead to people not being insured, and the soaring percentage of our GDP that is taken up by health care, motivating a "general consensus" that something had to be done.

 

Then you could lay out the solutions favored by the two major parties. Mention that many Democrats would have preferred a single-payer option (that was not included due to Republican and some conservative Democratic opposition. And that Republicans would have preferred more solutions like capping Malpractice and leglislating Tort reform, and allowing things such as national competition between insurance companies which can only operate in a single state under the current rules. Things like that.

 

One would need to "expand", but it is possible to present the perspective and principles of both sides in a fashion both would feel represents what they hold true as political values.

 

Then one describes a fairly as possible the impact the legislation had on the nation retrospectively.

 

It can done.

 

Bill

 

:iagree:

 

I actually had some EXCELLENT Political Science and History teachers in college. They never disclosed their beliefs, but played devil's advocate very well. That's what we try to do with our children, hence why we use so many different history books:D Then again, dh and I belong to different political parties and have very different views of how the country should be run. Makes life interesting;)

[swimmermom3]

:iagree:

 

I actually had some EXCELLENT Political Science and History teachers in college. They never disclosed their beliefs, but played devil's advocate very well. That's what we try to do with our children, hence why we use so many different history books:D Then again, dh and I belong to different political parties and have very different views of how the country should be run. Makes life interesting;)

 

Ah, this would explain why you found the Drama series boring!:D History at your house must be fun. Seriously.

[nmoira]

And Carter.

 

The first part is from a previous post. Only three pages in The Middle Road are devoted to Carter. Here is a summary:

 

Carter

 

• very brief biography

• campaigned as Washington outsider, free of taint of Vietnam War

• part of "born again Christian" movement which was sweeping America

• problems from the time of Ford Presidency still present: oil prices & OPEC, inflation

• "In general, Carter was at heart a conservative, very much in favor of smaller government," and set in motion deregulation; the process of deregulation would continue for the next 25 years (book published in 2002)

• "Carter, then, reflects a reaction against the governmental activism of the 1960s."; brief summary of controls in place from 1930's; business resented them; Carter initiates deregulations of airline, trucking, and oil industries; however, New Deal programs not rolled back

• the country's continuing economic problems overwhelmed Carter and his presidency

• then Tehran Hostage Crisis and failed attempts to resolve it (some listed)

• low popularity plummets further

• Carter got party nomination for 1980 election in spite of the discontent of some in the party

• would have no chance against Reagan

 

 

 

 

"Now the problem that had defeated Ford began to defeat President Carter. He could not contain inflation, nor do anything about oil prices, to which OPEC gave another boost in 1979, again creating long lines at the gas pumps."

 

 

 

 

"But the country's economic problems overwhelmed Carter. By 1980 interest rates and inflation were at record highs. Making matters worse... [Tehran hostage crisis]."

 

 

 

There is a single mention of Carter in The United States in the Cold War, mentioning the 1979 signing of SALT II. His name is not mentioned in The Changing Face of American Society.

[coffeefreak]

Ah, this would explain why you found the Drama series boring!:D History at your house must be fun. Seriously.

 

:lol:

We do enjoy it, but I think my oldest would prefer a straight text book approach sometimes.

[KarenNC]

I is high school level but I was able to get it by telling them I needed to preview it before signing up for the course.

 

Do you have the info for the American Odyssey---author, ISBN, etc so that I know I'm looking for the correct thing? It's like pulling teeth to find out about the materials on the k12 site at times.