Saturday, October 15, 2005

De-Disneyfying History

Warning: Pocahontas did not marry Captain John Smith.

George Washington did not chop down a cherry tree with his little axe.

Richard Nixon was not impeached.

Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson WERE impeached.

Impeachment does NOT mean conviction.

Christopher Columbus was not Spanish, and John Cabot was not English.

The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on Breed's Hill.

The 3/5 Compromise was based upon the idea of the amount of work a coerced worker would produce in comparison to the amount of work a free worker would generate working for himself.

The Battle of New Orleans accomplished nothing -- or did it?

5 Comments:

At 4:27 PM, Blogger Amerloc said...

I didn't realize you had this one going too. I like this post.

And yeah, my blog is rapidly turning its back on education and politics both in favor of lighter fare. I need to work on twisting analogies into tighter knots to maintain the tenuous connection between a pound-pup and a serious edu-political blogger, and that's hard to do when every leaf that blows through the yard distracts me.

Bless you for your committment and your energy. And, always, for your words. They remind me that I left the field of education in the hands of capable, caring people.

 
At 2:15 PM, Blogger Professor Zero said...

This is a great post. Battle of New Orleans, I will have to think about it: did it accomplish anything?

 
At 11:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Battle of New Orleans succeeded in one major event in American history: it bolstered Andrew Jackson's reputation as a hero and propelled him into the presidency, and his presidency was one of the watersheds of American history. (oh, and a fella named Sam Houston also fought at New Orleans, though all it did was keep him in pain most of his life from his wounds... ) To be fair to those who fought at New Orleans, it was, as I am sure you know and have intimated, after the treaty ending the war was signed but before word could make it to the States... how different history might have been had the treaty been signed a couple of months earlier.

Oh, and weird thing about Pocahontas, the animated version. When it came out, I was mad at the portrayals and the general overly PC message that softened history (and Mel's bad singing) and I expressed my displeasure at a friend of mine who was a mother of younger children. She simply told me 'So what? The message in the movie is better than history. I would rather have my kids learn that than what actually happened'. I was so floored I couldn't say anything for a couple of minutes and finally responded 'But it's wrong... you don't have a problem with that?' She simply shook her head and refused to continue the conversation.

It's bad enough when historians make mistakes, or the victors write the history books, but I don't need Disney to make it worse, or Hollywood for that matter... (Braveheart being one of the worst offenders) I like a good movie, but sometimes they do occlude the heart of the matter.

Um... sorry for rambling a little, but as one who do loves history, I rather dislike seeing it corrupted by those who know they can get away with it.

 
At 5:42 PM, Blogger Larry Blumen said...

And it made a lot of money for Johnny Horton and Mr. Jimmy Driftwood.

 
At 8:52 AM, Blogger Amanda said...

Hi, I love all your blogs they are very interesting. I work for Church Hill Classics and we are offering a scholarship that involves creativity. Maybe you would like to let your students know more. Email me and I would love to tell you more: amandam@diplomaframe.com

 

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