Research Paper - Campbell
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Deleting History or Learning From It
AbbySue Campbell
Professor Kinto
Govt-2305; Lone Start College – University Park
November 30, 2020
Campbell 2
Deleting History or Learning From It
We all use our personal history in our daily lives to acclimate and make basic decisions.
This is also true in social groups, communities, regions, States, and our nation. Humans crave
belonging and our traditions hold our nation together. But some of our nation's history is deemed
to be offensive to specific races. The opinions of offended citizens need to be protected.
These
citizens should have an opportunity to reject what has happened in the past. Many groups only
know the negative perspective that the media has shown for a large number of historical events
thus leading them to demand the removal of monuments representing many of the nations’
founders. There has to be a better plan to educate the populous without ignoring the painful past
and not disrespecting a generation of angry citizens. The American voter needs to understand
what has happened in the past, both good and bad, to make appropriate decisions on the direction
they want the country to follow in the future. With an understanding of the history of a region or
race, a stabilizing effect occurs. It teaches the younger generation that struggles happen and the
individual will survive and moves on. The factual and emotional history of America must be
retained and shared. Hiding history will only put more misinformation into divided citizenship.
Americans have two options regarding national monuments and historical sites' existence. The
first is to remove all historical artifacts that offend in any way any American by either destroying
or storing the artifact. The second is a concerted effort to have unbiased full history available at
national monuments and historical sites developed by the Smithsonian Institution is a viable
solution where multiple perspectives are presented and explored. My opinion will be clear
throughout this writing.
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When deciding whom to commemorate communities select individuals who performed
unprecedented accomplishments that, in total, made the world a better place (Natelson). A clear
concise understanding of why Americans should know their history and how it shapes our
citizenry is illuminated by the American Historical Association.
History makes steady, balanced people since it gives them a head toward understanding
the pattern of society. It gives a long-term perspective of what is permanent in a nation’s life
(Chapter 2). Humans have an innate need for history to use when making individual and group
decisions (Chapter 2). How we are impacted, and our emotions move personal interpretations of
the history around us. “Any attempt to treat large groups of Americans as second-class citizens
would destroy the unity of the nation. The “100-per-cent American” who insists on absolute
conformity in belief and behavior is unconsciously trying to destroy at least 50 percent of
American life” (Chapter 2). The choice of the inflamed masses to cast all they don’t agree with
as evil made is a reaction of frustration and raging emotion expect to gain conformity of thought
by deleting the painful past is a short term solution to a problem. The evolution of social
behavior takes time.
“Men who can't recall their very own set of experiences are foolish or troubled; men who
can't gain from their own experience are disappointments” (Chapter 2). Sentimentality is
removed by this bold statement and directly cuts to the need for all humans to learn from their
personal history and grow to learn from the histories of their communities and nations as well as
others.
Other activists' view is that history will remain in “archive, documents and objects
preserved in libraries or museums” that remain so there is no need to bring preservation into the
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Campbell 4
forefront. Teachers teach what they have learned to their students. A student’s challenge of our
preceptions prompts us to return to our sources and re-examine what we know (Cavert). The
cultural view on historical figures should keep an understanding and perspective on the historical
norms and context of the time. Just about everyone follows the current social norms. As society
evolves later generations disapprove of actions from the past. But if we disqualify all notable
people because we now reject their norms. If we eliminated all society’s traditions, there would
be few people left to commemorate and many of our greatest sources of inspiration would be
destroyed and forgotten (Natelson). Text from the American Historical Association explains this
thought clearly. If we focus too closely on one aspect of a historical event and not the full picture
we risk leading the public to believe that our society’s problems can get solved by simple
measures leading to entire chunks of our history being left out of the educational process.
(Chapter 2).
“[Some see] some wisdom in removing some statues but worries about a slippery slope—
foreseeing a future in which even statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are torn
n” (Graham). The notion that it would be accepted or championed to vandalize monuments and
memorials is a further slippery slope. In the summer of 2020 cemeteries and 9/11 memorials had
been vandalized in the name of the Black Lives Matter protests. President Trump signed an
Executive Order to protect monuments and memorials as a result of this uneducated vandalism
(Executive Order).
All American history can be interrelated from its earliest experiences. Our rich history
can be a stabilizer to the chaotic lives we lead. The youth of America have had watered down
historical education and sanitized to not have to deal with uncomfortable subjects leading you to
Campbell 5
believe every disappointment they experience is a novelty. Something is comforting by knowing
that generations before have had the same or similar struggles (Chapter 2). America’s factual and
emotional history needs to be protected and shared with its future generations and the world as
we become more interdependent.
The movement to remove historical statues is supported by some of the public and even
by a small group of historical preservationist such as Michael Diaz-Griffith, the executive
director of Sir John Soane Museum's Foundation in New York who argues that white
southerners, fueled by a "Lost Cause" revisionist history of the Civil War is exhibit one for a
reason to remove monuments (Marcoux). "When interpreted through an anti-racist lens, historic
buildings tell the stories of enslaved people and their descendants," says Diaz-Griffith. He
continues to assess that historic locations are better to tell a full story rather than a monument
(Marcoux).
Since the article quoting Diaz-Griffith was published in June 2020 monuments to
Jefferson, Washington and Columbus have been removed or destroyed. The negating history
culture has moved beyond anti-slavery sentiment. When monuments are removed in other
countries there has been a shift in government structures and leadership in a violent overthrow
such as the iconic images of the removal of the statues of Saddam Hussein in Iraq or the Lenin
and Stalin in Russia. Has the removal of any of these statues done anything to change the lives of
the citizens? Would a reminder of how far society has come be better left in place?
National Geographic writer Steve Helber quoted a BBC interview from Oxford
University regarding evaluating history in its period context, “This university has been around
for 900 years. For 800 of those years, the people who ran the university didn't think women were
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worthy of an education. Should we denounce those people? Personally, no—I think they were
wrong, but they have to be judged by the context of their time," I agree with the statement and
extend it to all historical monuments.
I implore society to take a stand on the side of history, to teach history, and embrace and
celebrate the progress achieved by the American experience. Each American must do a better job
work harder sharing all aspects of historical events and urging that students integrate these views
into their understanding of being an involved citizen.
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Works Cited
Cavert, William M. “OPINION EXCHANGE: Removing Statues Is Not Erasing History.”
Star
Tribune
, Star Tribune, 12 June 2020, www.startribune.com/removing-statues-is-not-
erasing-history/571216862/.
“Chapter 2: Why Should Americans Know Their Own History?: AHA.”
Chapter 2: Why Should
Americans Know Their Own History? | AHA
, www.historians.org/about-aha-and-
membership/aha-history-and-archives/historical-archives/american-history-in-schools-and-
colleges/chapter-2-why-should-americans-know-their-own-history.
“Executive Order on Protecting American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues and Combating
Recent Criminal Violence.”
The White House
, The United States Government,
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-protecting-american-
monuments-memorials-statues-combating-recent-criminal-violence/.
Graham, David A. “Where Will the Removal of Confederate Monuments Stop?”
The Atlantic
,
Atlantic Media Company, 16 Aug. 2017,
www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/where-will-the-removal-of-confederate-
monuments-stop/532125/?gclid=CjwKCAjwps75BRAcEiwAEiACMaabk9rQ2jvWuFpic
Z4G56W0fA6-SJTbUlKOcfBPJXbAlA1cuJxIQhoC81MQAvD_BwE.
Helber, Photograph by Steve, et al. “As Monuments Fall, How Does the World Reckon with a
Racist Past?”
National Geographic
, 29 June 2020,
www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/06/confederate-monuments-fall-question-how-
rewrite-history/.
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Marcoux, Steele. “A Preservationist's Case for a Future Without Confederate Monuments.”
Veranda, Veranda, 12 June 2020, www.veranda.com/travel/a32839881/why-confederate-
monuments-should-be-removed/.
Natelson, Rob.
Why Removing Historical Monuments Is a Bad Idea
. 20 Sept. 2017,
thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/351227-why-removing-national-monuments-is-a-bad-idea.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/06/confederate-monuments-fall-question-how-
rewrite-history/
Rob Natelson, O. (2017, September 20). Why removing historical monuments is a bad idea.
Retrieved November 12, 2020, from https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/351227-why-
removing-national-monuments-is-a-bad-idea