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Summary Of Chapter 4 By James Loewen

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In the book written by James W. Loewen, Loewen studies the biases of an ordinary history class, beginning each chapter with quotes from various historical figures. Loewen indicates that the root of the problems Loewen discusses comes from the history textbook itself. This being said the textbook gives a dull, culturally biased description of the past, often alienating readers such as Latinos, Native Americans, and African Americans. Throughout Loewen’s chapter four, there are many ways in which Loewen discusses the Native Americans to be talked about more highly than the Natives should be. The Native Americans were talked about in many negative ways, and the Natives are said to have been “lied about” more often than any other portion of the …show more content…

One big mistake that textbooks point out about Native American history is the topic of the War of 1812. “All but two textbooks miss the key result of the war. Some authors actually cite the “Star-Spangled Banner” as the main outcome! Others claim that the war left a “feeling of pride as a nation” or helped Americans to win European respect”. (Loewen 123) The War of 1812 might be one of the least understood wars in most American history classes due to history textbooks leaving out the real impact and outcome of the fight, according to Loewen. The War of 1812 granted Native Americans most of their land, and also made the Native Americans look like “savages” to most European …show more content…

Native Americans had their own way of having a sophisticated civilization, which was marked different by the Europeans. The Native Americans argued the way that textbook authors portrayed Europeans, by seeing them as a “civilized” culture. A group of Native leaders ordered a meeting with the Grand Council Fire of American Indians in 1927 to ask questions based on the Europeans being talked about as a civilized culture. “They went on to ask, “What is civilization? Its marks are a noble religion and philosophy, original arts, stirring music, rich story, and legend. We had these. Then we were not savages, but a civilized race”. (Loewen 100) The Native Americans argued with this organization to fend for themselves and thought the Native Americans should get the same amount of recognition for having the same characteristics of those of the

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