Americans

[firth4eva]

What do you actually do in history class? When we do history we go back thousands of years but you only have a couple of hundred. So I'm just wondering what you actually study. I know you must do the Civil War and WW1 and 2 but what else? Please reveal your secrets.

[Anarkistsdream]

Rape and pillage of the Native Americans...

History of Slavery...

History of Religion...

The Revolutionary War...

French-Indian War

War of 1812

War with Mexico

Civil War

WWI

WWII

Korean War

Civil Rights Movement

Vietnam War

All the Presidents

I think that was about it... But that was high school US History...

[Neoteny]

Well, our dating system starts at what you call "1776," which we call 1 AA (after awesomeness) and then we actually study math when we run out of history. That's why we're so amazing at it...

Seriously though, general history is taught up through high school (I think I remember taking a state history once) and then in high school I had world, American, and Euro in that order. World was essentially from the dawn of writing to present with a little focus on the larger cultures (European, Middle Eastern, Oriental, and New World. We may have touched briefly on Africa.). Euro and American are pretty straightforward as far as what we studied, I believe.

[darvlay]

You think American History is limited, try Canadian.

Snooze city.

Louis Riel? f*ck off!

[Minister Masket]

So they only learn about their History!? How selfish!
I had to learn about ruddy Russia for my GCSE thank you.
Damn 5-Year plans and Collectivisation....

[firth4eva]

I think most states are required to teach a US history course I some point in high school. We had to and it was the worst class in the curriculum. Seriously, 1776-1914 can be summed up by America being a racist, sexist, bigoted nation who liked itself way too much.

I'm glad we have changed so considerably.

Were you trying to be sarcastic with that last comment?

[Fieryo]

I think most states are required to teach a US history course at some point in high school. We had to take it our junior year and it was the worst class in the curriculum. Seriously, 1776-1914 can be summed up by America being a racist, sexist, bigoted nation who liked itself way too much.

I'm glad we have changed so considerably.

[suggs]

In all fairness, i remember at school (collective dying of boredom from all unfortunate to be reading this drivel) that we pretty much just did English history.
Fair enough as well-i reckon you need to know a bit about your own country before learning about other countiries.
Up the Normans.

[muy_thaiguy]

In truth, it varies from state to state. And district to district. At my High School, we got a choice of which history classes we wanted to take after American History, which is what I assume you mean. For American History, we study the Colonial Age/Discovery Age, where the Conquistadores (spelling?) first came here, along with Erik the Red, etc. Along with history of the Native peoples, though it's a bit sketchy at times because they didn't have a writing system for the most part. We start from there and move on up to the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, the First Election in the US (George Washington is the only president to become so without any opposition), to Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase, to the War of 1812 (in reality, the US proved we could defend ourselves in a land battle, other then that, no side really won or lost) which came about because the British still thought they could force Americans into doing duty for them, the years building up to the American Civil War (500,000 dead, most casualties in any war America has been in), the Reconstruction Years (basically another Civil War, in a sense), the economic boom of the early 20th century, America's reluctance to enter WWI, WWI, the post WWI years, which involved a hige economic boom, even with Prohibition, the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, WWII, the Cold War, and up to the present. For such a young country, alot sure has happened here.

[firth4eva]

And please excuse my ignorance but who is Abraham Lincoln? Where does he fit in this jigsaw?

[Neoteny]

And please excuse my ignorance but who is Abraham Lincoln? Where does he fit in this jigsaw?

President during the Civil War. Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln is generally remembered as a ladies' man and for being a pretty cool guy.

[darvlay]

And please excuse my ignorance but who is Abraham Lincoln? Where does he fit in this jigsaw?

President during the Civil War. Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln is generally remembered as a ladies' man and for being a pretty cool guy.

He also "freed the slaves"... kinda.

[suggs]

he freed the slaves as well, which always helps in the "Blimey, what a dude" calculations.

[muy_thaiguy]

And please excuse my ignorance but who is Abraham Lincoln? Where does he fit in this jigsaw?

President during the Civil War. Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln is generally remembered as a ladies' man and for being a pretty cool guy.

He also "freed the slaves"... kinda.

Killed about a week after the Civil War ended. Also remembered for re-uniting the Union.

[Neoteny]

And please excuse my ignorance but who is Abraham Lincoln? Where does he fit in this jigsaw?

President during the Civil War. Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln is generally remembered as a ladies' man and for being a pretty cool guy.

He also "freed the slaves"... kinda.

I lumped that in there. I'd reckon he did the most out of any politicians, which says quite a bit, but I'm not really a student of the era. "Freeing the slaves" is of course what he is predominantly known for. Also tall hats and a groovy beard.

[Harijan]

And please excuse my ignorance but who is Abraham Lincoln? Where does he fit in this jigsaw?

President during the Civil War. Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln is generally remembered as a ladies' man and for being a pretty cool guy.

and he was gay.

[suggs]

yeah, but what has Abraham Lincoln ever done for us

[firth4eva]

Oh and another question. What is it with your currency? Your 5cent is bigger than your 10cents and they don't say what the value of they are on them.

[Neoteny]

Oh and another question. What is it with your currency? Your 5cent is bigger than your 10cents and they don't say what the value of they are on them.

That's our amazing math skills, remember? I have no idea, but here's a quick google search reason...

http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/nickel ... dimes.html

[Fieryo]

The nickel says "five cents" and the dime says "one dime", obviously dime is a misspelling of "time" which in turn refers to how the base 6 system we use for time (60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour etc.) is stupid and we should find a way to do a base 10 system.

duh.

[darvlay]

I lumped that in there. I'd reckon he did the most out of any politicians, which says quite a bit, but I'm not really a student of the era. "Freeing the slaves" is of course what he is predominantly known for. Also tall hats and a groovy beard.

He also said this in 1858:

"I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races .... I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will for ever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race."

Out of context, but interesting nonetheless.

[Harijan]

What do you actually do in history class? When we do history we go back thousands of years but you only have a couple of hundred. So I'm just wondering what you actually study. I know you must do the Civil War and WW1 and 2 but what else? Please reveal your secrets.

If it is not American history, does it really matter? Its only a matter of time before our culture war overcomes every other culture in the world. England, Canada, Australlia are all pretty much the next three United States.

We have culturally dominated every first world Asian country.

Our biggest threat in the cultural war is Central America and soccer.

Whether or not anyone agrees, at the rate we are going in 100 years, history classes will start with the discovery of America by europeans. Everything else will be considered part of the dark ages.

I know it will piss all the foreigners off, but your anger is just further proof. You can hate our politics, you can hate our policies, but you gobble up american culture faster than anything.

Not even I agree with the culture war that America is waging, but I won't deny that it is happening or that America is winning.

[Neoteny]

I lumped that in there. I'd reckon he did the most out of any politicians, which says quite a bit, but I'm not really a student of the era. "Freeing the slaves" is of course what he is predominantly known for. Also tall hats and a groovy beard.

He also said this in 1858:

"I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races .... I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will for ever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race."

Out of context, but interesting nonetheless.

Yeah, not his shiniest moment. Some would say you can't hold it against him as he was still a child of the times. I dunno. The main idea is that we learned a valuable lesson... some of us...

[darvlay]

What do you actually do in history class? When we do history we go back thousands of years but you only have a couple of hundred. So I'm just wondering what you actually study. I know you must do the Civil War and WW1 and 2 but what else? Please reveal your secrets.

If it is not American history, does it really matter? Its only a matter of time before our culture war overcomes every other culture in the world. England, Canada, Australlia are all pretty much the next three United States.

We have culturally dominated every first world Asian country.

Our biggest threat in the cultural war is Central America and soccer.

Whether or not anyone agrees, at the rate we are going in 100 years, history classes will start with the discovery of America by europeans. Everything else will be considered part of the dark ages.

I know it will piss all the foreigners off, but your anger is just further proof. You can hate our politics, you can hate our policies, but you gobble up american culture faster than anything.

Not even I agree with the culture war that America is waging, but I won't deny that it is happening or that America is winning.

What you're speaking of isn't "American" culture, it's corporate culture aka consumerism. Thank Coca-Cola, not your forefathers.

[ritz627]

And please excuse my ignorance but who is Abraham Lincoln? Where does he fit in this jigsaw?

He is also widely considered by political historians. to be the best American president of all time, #2 being George Washington, and #3 being FDR. Oh yea, and in reference to your first question, pretty much everything that AD said, except he forgot about all of the events leading up to the Rev. War (Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, First Continental Congress, The Stamp Act, The Intolerable Acts, Taxation w/o representation, The Battle of Lex. and Concord, etc.) and we also study some of the different immigration waves in America too.