I'm on search for a spine for U.S. History. I'm working through various options slowly, comparing the chapters on Columbus. My primary goals are that a text be well written and that it reflects the experience of the oppressed as well as tell the traditional stories. I would also love it if the text isn't anti-Catholic (or anti- any other faith tradition, for that matter).
"
A First Book in American History" by Edward Eggleston had a very positive rendition of Columbus' story. It's probably the most familiar version, really developing Columbus as a hero. I was aware before all this that a lot of the history we tell children is "whitewashed" with the more difficult aspects left out, but I felt like this book went too far. The first sentence of chapter 3 is "Columbus was very kind to the natives" which is hardly the way that I would describe someone who was taking people back to Europe as slaves.
"
A Young People's History of the United States" based on Howard Zinn's history tells the Columbus story from the perspective of the
Native Americans on the islands that Columbus arrived on. It talks about Columbus' need to bring back either gold or slaves to make the excursion financially feasible, and about the terrible things that Columbus did to the
Native Americans which eventually killed the whole of the
Native American population on the islands. While the chapter clearly paints a negative portrait of Columbus, it has a section that talks about a Catholic priest who realized that what they were doing was terrible, and started writing and collecting information about Columbus, and took a stand against the horrible ways that the
Native people were being treated. So while the book pulled Columbus down off his pedestal, in some ways it lifted this priest up as a possible hero. In reading it, I really appreciated the way that this priest was portrayed and after reading the whole chapter felt like the view of Catholicism was unusually balanced. One downside of this book (for me) is that I'm not sure I'm ready to expose my 2nd grader to such terrible events, but I also have the same problem with lots of the stories about martyrs. I also wonder if this book goes too far -- Columbus comes out looking really, really bad in the end.
"
This Country of Ours" by H.E. Marshall has a reputation for being anti-Catholic. I didn't encounter anything blatantly anti-Catholic in the chapter that I read. It tells the Columbus story from the European perspective, but unlike "A First Book In American History" I felt like it addressed the reality of the effects Columbus had on the
Native people. It supports the Columbus-is-a-hero perspective, but it doesn't paint him as being perfect. It doesn't mention slavery, but it did talk about the settlement Columbus founded and how it was destroyed by angry natives. One of the major downsides of this book though, is the language. It's really hard to ignore that she calls the
Native Americans "savages".
"
From Sea to Shining Sea" edited by Amy Cohn is a collection of stories & songs from a wide range of American culture. I suppose it's not really a spine in the traditional sense.
