Learning American History can be a challenge. Depending on the curriculum or book you choose, events of our past may be skewed or even left out. Politics seems to have taken over. Not the history of politics, but imposing a particular political agenda on the history of our country.
History really is a story told by the people who were there and any person, even without malice of intent, imposes their own slant on any story, and that reveals to some extent the teller’s views. But you, as a parent, are then faced with a dilemma: do you provide your child only with materials written by like-minded authors, or do you allow your child to see differing points of view. And how old should your child be before you open their eyes to alternative views of why our country exists on this earth and why we are so special.
The best story is told by the person who was actually there. It may not be completely accurate, but it will be the closest your child can get to the actual history. Finding primary source documents can be challenging. But thanks to our Library of Congress, it has gotten easier for us to educate our children in the manner we choose, as parents.
The American Memory Project is a great source for documents that help bring American History alive for your child. You and your child will find our governing documents, letters, inventions, and diaries of our past statesmen, and a plethora of primary source artifacts.
You may find that if explore our history with your child and challenge some popularly-held ideas and viewpoints, everyone will be better educated for the undertaking.
