It was, however, a bad way to start. It encouraged the belief that American history-its institutions, its values, its people-was one thing and that racial slavery and oppression were different story. Nothing so embarrassing, however, nothing so fundamentally contradictory to the social ethos, can be kept at a discrete distance for long. It will intrude, and rudely.”

(Nathan I. Huggins in” Deforming Mirror of Truth”)

 When history is written with national point of view, historians focus their attention to those topics which are positive for their nations and ignore those aspects which they regard injurious to national history. American historiography is one of such examples in which history is represented from the white man’s angle and blacks are invisible in its historical process. Especially on the question of slavery either silence is maintained or it is justified on moral and ethical grounds. The attempts are made by the the American historians to marginalize the role of the blacks and exclude them from mainstream history .As long as the history was written by the white historians, the blacks failed to get any place in the American history. However, the situation has changed when the black historians undertook the task to write their own history and challenge the white man’s perspective of their role. Having education, knowledge, and identity consciousness, they are presenting their point of view and asserting their place in history that is not liked by the white historians. In 1968,the president of the organization of American Historians warned that” a newly formed hyphenate group clamor for historical recognition. Pressure group of history of any kind is deplorable, especially when significant white men are bumped out to make room for much less significant black men in the interest of social harmony.”

 The important point of discourse between white and black historians is the institution of slavery. The American historian, George Bancroft, who is regarded as the father of the American historiography, exonerates the American from having the institution of slavery on the ground that they were not the creator of this institution. On the other hand, they inherited it from Greeks and the Romans. To him the American colonists were innocent actors in this drama of cosmic scale. On the question that why slaves are not given their due status in history, the argument is that as slaves they were not independent; they were under the control of their masters; therefore as such they did not produce any culture or perform and commendable role. According to this argument history records only the role of those sections of society that are active. The slaves are out of history because they were passive and did not have their own personality.

 In response, the black historians have rejected these arguments and asserted that their history is not separate but a part of the mainstream American history. As they have contributed in the development of the American culture and civilization, they should be recognized as active participants in historical process. They have also rejected this argument that the slaves were under control of their master and did not have their own personality. They proved with evidence that the slaves not only created a culture but also resisted against the system which created slavery and racialism They have highlighted their contribution to the American history. For example, during the American war of Independence, they fully participated in anti-colonial struggle In the Boston massacre the first man who died for American liberty was a slave whose name was CrispusAttucks. When the war broke out against England, there were 5,000 blacks in the army and navy. In the civil war, 40,000 blacks were killed and 2,000 were crippled. However, in spite of their sacrifices neither they were given equal status in the society nor their services were recognized in the history.

However, the change came after the World War II when, as a resulted decolonization, the African countries became independent. This process of history created a new consciousness among the American blacks. Africa became a symbol of their lost identity. They searched their roots there and analyzed the whole history of slavery, racial discrimination, segregation, and prejudices.  The new discovery gave them a new spirit and realization that in their dancing and singing they are continuing the African traditions. The African leaders who fought against the white supremacy and liberated their countries became their heroes. This changed their identity. They no longer remained Negroes or niggers but acquired a respectable name of Afro-American. This new consciousness led them to launch the movement of civil rights. A new slogan of Black Power emerged which gave them confidence and assurance of their existence and strength.

 However, the Black historians are still grappling with the domination of white men’s history as Huggins writes” Our time seem to call for new myths and a revises master narrative which better inspires and reflects our true condition. Such a new narrative would find inspiration for instance, in an oppressed people who defied social death as slaves and freedmen, insisting on their humanity and creating a new culture despite social consensus that they were a “ brutish sort of people”. Such a new narrative would bring slavery and the persistence oppression of race from the margins to the center, to define the limits and boundaries of the American Dream. Such a new narrative would oblige us to face the deforming mirror of truth.”