Questions from “Gone With the Wind”

(from LIES MY TEACHER TOLD ME, by James W. Loewen)

 

 

What does Loewen say is the most pervasive theme in American history?

 

 

How does the author’s version of American settlement differ from the more commonly taught versions?

 

 

According to this, how were the Civil Rights Acts (1866 and 1964) received by politicians?

 

 

What was the “Willie Horton incident” that George Bush was linked with?

 

 

Loewen addresses the use of popular media to influence conceptions of race.  Consider the examples he presented: “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” “Birth of a Nation, ” “The Jazz Singer,” and “Gone with the Wind.”  How did they present race?  What examples in popular media of recent years exist that deal with issues of race?  Were any of them popular or successful? Which ones “made it big”?

 

 

What was the “magnolia myth”?

 

 

Has time changed the way textbooks write about race in American history?

 

 

What were Southern apologetics?

 

 

What role is Wall Street described as having in northern slavery?  Did such places exist elsewhere?

 

 

What does the author describe as slavery’s twin legacies to the present?

 

 

What are the social structure and the superstructure of slavery? Which is more insidious?

 

 

Was Africa always considered the “dark” continent?  Firstly, what did that term signify and secondly, how was it considered before?

 

 

How did this appropriation of American history affect us?  What were the main ideas instilled in us?

 

 

“Anything bad in American history happened anonymously.” American history is full of heroes.  Loewen points out that even our greatest heroes committed acts of great cowardice and cruelty.  How do you react to that?  Is it news to you?  How might these truths affect our world standing today?

 

 

How did slavery affect our actions in terms of foreign policy in the Caribbean and Latin America?

 

 

Slavers had great political influence.  What term might we apply to them today?  Are there any organizations/institutions today that we would term similarly?  What were some incidents that involved fighting for slavers’ interests?

 

 

What do you make about historians’ use of spin to create heroes and to diminish controversy?

 

 

How were Democrats and Republicans characterized and how does that compare to today?

 

 

What was Reconstruction?  What did it stand for?  How do Loewen’s revelations affect its importance?

 

 

Consider the excerpt from Myrdal’s history text: “the Negro problem is predominantly a white…problem.” How might that have been interpreted in 1944 when it was written?  Could the same reasoning be applied to problems of race today?

 

 

What were some of the events that occurred during “the nadir of American race relations”?

 

 

What do you think of the author’s sociological definition of racism:

A system of racial etiquette that keeps the oppressed group separate from the oppressor, when both are doing equal tasks, like learning the multiplication tables, but allows intimate closeness when the tasks are hierarchical, like cooking and cleaning for white employers.

 

 

What purpose does revealing these “truths” about American history now?  How does this affect you and your future educational endeavors?

 

 

Do you encounter institutionalized racism or self-segregation at school or work?  Is this social choice or social programming?