American History Is Falling Down

Bernard A. Weisberger is right on the mark. His perceptive essay should be read by everyone involved or interested in history, education, or where this country is going.

In the early seventies my sister took an American history survey course in college. The course did not cover the Civil War. Her teacher did not consider the Civil War an important part of a course in American history.

A few years after that, a young American history professor was quoted as answering a question about his research into life in a Revolutionary War-era village. He stated he did not consider it “relevant” to mention the effects of the war itself on the life of this village. Apparently only the “world” was turned upside down by the results of the war, not the village.

History is an inherently interesting and appealing subject. Weisberger does a first-rate job in documenting how history as an academic subject has become so boring, and so different from history as a field. This change has been an extraordinary process, showing collective tunnel vision on the part of academic historians.