Summary of James W. Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Book Preview: #1 Heroification is a process that makes people over into heroes. Through this process, our educational media turn flesh-and-blood individuals into pious, perfect creatures without conflicts, pain, credibility, or human interest.

#2 Helen Keller was a radical socialist who joined the Socialist party in 1909. She had become a social radical even before she graduated from Radcliffe, and not because of any teachings available there. She became a Wobbly, a member of the Industrial Workers of the World, a syndicalist union persecuted by Woodrow Wilson.

#3 Helen Keller was a radical who spent her life fighting for the free speech of others. She was also a socialist, and her conversion to socialism caused a new storm of publicity. She never wavered in her belief that our society needed radical change.

#4 Under Wilson, the United States intervened in Latin America more than at any other time in our history. We landed troops in Mexico in 1914, Haiti in 1915, the Dominican Republic in 1916, and Panama in 1918.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Mar 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669355847

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on James W. Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Heroification is a process that makes people over into heroes. Through this process, our educational media turn flesh-and-blood individuals into pious, perfect creatures without conflicts, pain, credibility, or human interest.

#2

Helen Keller was a radical socialist who joined the Socialist party in 1909. She had become a social radical even before she graduated from Radcliffe, and not because of any teachings available there. She became a Wobbly, a member of the Industrial Workers of the World, a syndicalist union persecuted by Woodrow Wilson.

#3

Helen Keller was a radical who spent her life fighting for the free speech of others. She was also a socialist, and her conversion to socialism caused a new storm of publicity. She never wavered in her belief that our society needed radical change.

#4

Under Wilson, the United States intervened in Latin America more than at any other time in our history. We landed troops in Mexico in 1914, Haiti in 1915, the Dominican Republic in 1916, and Panama in 1918.

#5

Wilson’s invasions of Latin America are better known than his Russian adventure. Textbooks do cover some of them, and it is fascinating to watch textbook authors attempt to justify them.

#6

The United States effectively made colonies of Nicaragua, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and several other countries during the first two decades of this century. Wilson’s reaction to the Russian Revolution solidified the alignment of the United States with Europe’s colonial powers.

#7

Only four of the twelve history textbooks I reviewed accurately described Wilson’s racial policies. They all gave only a sentence or two about his racism.

#8

If Americans had learned from the Wilson era the connection between racist presidential leadership and public response, they might not have put up with a reprise on a smaller scale during the Reagan-Bush years.

#9

Wilson was also anti-black, and he was far and away our most nativist president. He was constantly questioning the loyalty of those he called hyphenated Americans, and the American people responded with a wave of repression of white ethnic groups.

#10

The idea that Americans were tired of Wilson and wanted a return to normalcy in the 1920 election is presented in high school history textbooks as an explanation for Wilson’s defeat. However, historians have been unable to explain the results of that election.

#11

The