My comment is not about this recent thread per se, but textbooks in
general, at all levels. I've written extensively on textbooks, in print and
online, and reviewed a number of college and high school history survey texts.
They are, almost without exception, lousy, and much stronger words that
this list does not allow.
At the college level many are "written" by some of the biggest names in the
profession. Who actually writes them is anybody's guess, because some of
the howlers I've found are not made by the authors named on the title pages
in their own distinguished scholarship. Textbooks are not scholarship,
not even close, and few have scholarly citations, or real bibliographies.
It's a racket, a very lucrative one, like professors of economics flitting
from academia to high ranking positions in government, then off for a stint
on Wall Street, and then back to academia. It's all a charade, a scam. Get
real folks. A problem with a 4th grade text. I'm so surprised.
I truly pity anyone with children. God save the Republic!
Best regards,
Michael B. Chesson
Founding Professor and Dean
The American College of History and Legal Studies
1 Stiles Road, Ste. 104
Salem, NH 03079
Phone: (603) 458-5145 x10
Email: [log in to unmask] (mailto:[log in to unmask])
Web: _http://www.achls.org/_ (http://www.achls.org/)
"Charge, Virginians, Charge!"
--Gen. Turner Ashby, CSA
June 6, 1862
In a message dated 10/20/2010 3:38:22 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
Ladies and gentlemen,
I doubt that we will get much further with the black Confederates
debate. The same can be said about the black slaveholding thread.
Arguing past each others evidence (or lack thereof) and using anecdotal
evidence as normative doesn't do us much good. Accordingly, let's close
these threads before they become more contentious and personal.
I hope that some here will conduct their own archival research and
contribute to the debate through publication. I know that a number of
scholars are working on the role of blacks in the Confederacy, so
hopefully we'll have more real evidence and close readings of existing
literature to work with in the future.
All the best,
Gregg
Gregg D. Kimball
Director, Education and Outreach
Library of Virginia
804-692-3722
[log in to unmask]
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