That Used to be True (part 1)

I retired from teaching US History almost 10 years ago. When I taught US/VA history to 11th graders in Prince William County, VA, the state-prescribed standards of learning (SOL) defined certain key themes, such as the genius of Madison’s constitutional construct (bicameral legislature, separation of powers, checks and balances, etc.); the struggle to make the lofty principles of the Declaration of Independence apply to more and more people; the democratic struggle against totalitarianism and the triumph of the western alliance; the Supreme Court’s role in expanding the rights of the disadvantaged; and the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century, among many other things.

 The SOL didn’t ignore the unpleasant parts of US history but on the whole it was a positive story and a story of continuing progress. I didn’t have any trouble teaching that material because in my experience it was a valid framework to tell our national story.

 Now, less than 10 years after I retired, it’s as if that curriculum describes a different country. When I page through the photo history books I prepared for my students, it amazes me how much of what I wrote about starting only 17 years ago is now obsolete and how quickly it happened. In hindsight, there were already worrying signs by 2008, when I started the book, but most of this happened recently.

 Let’s be clear; this isn’t “Lies My teacher told Me;” I’m not saying we were teaching a false understanding and now we know better. Nor is this about Critical Race Theory or  DEI or any other movement to restrict what teachers can teach.

 No, what I’m saying is far worse. I’m saying there are things we used to be able to say truthfully about US History that aren’t true any longer. Wait, you’re probably saying; this is the past, you can’t change the past. Well, I’d have said that too. Actually, the list is so long that this will probably be a four-part series.

 Declaration of Independence. One of the finest political documents ever written, the Declaration asserts that “all Men are created equal,’ and that they have “certain unalienable rights” including “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” At the time it was written, these lofty ideals applied only to a tiny percentage of the population: white men over 21 who owned property. One central theme of US history as taught in a Virginia classroom 10-20 years ago was the gradual expansion of these and other constitutional rights to ever more categories of people. However, the past 10-15 years have seen rollbacks of civil rights protection, re-segregation of the nation’s public schools, the near-repeal of the Voting Rights Act, and major erosions of the right to privacy and the rights of the accused.

 One of the most absurd erosions of civil rights came in the Supreme Court’s Shelby County decision. In response to a suit from several southern jurisdictions, the Supreme Court agreed that, since there is no more racial discrimination, basically, the Voting Rights Act is unnecessary. Then the southern states set about enacting a blizzard of voter restrictions that were prohibited under the VRA.

 Gerrymandering is increasingly sophisticated and results in situations where the candidates of one party can collectively win a statewide majority but wind up with only a third of the seats. Voter suppression measures (changing or reducing polling places, requirements for an ID that must be acquired at a hard to reach place, creation of long lines to vote in black precincts) have made it harder for blacks to vote.

 Other erosions of civil rights include the Trump administration abandonment of police department consent decrees, Court decisions to approve gerrymandered districts, and recent court decisions that water down privacy protections.

 The 2022 session of the Supreme Court saw the elimination of a woman’s right to an abortion, a major restriction on the rights of prisoners provided by the “Miranda” decision, and a broad hint that other rights based on the right to privacy (including gay marriage) are in jeopardy. This marked the first time the Court took away a longstanding Constitutional right that was relied on by millions of people.

 The court has conducted a longterm assault on affirmative action and eventually eliminated it entirely. Mass incarceration has also hit black communities especially hard. Even after they are released, ex-convicts have a more difficult time finding a job and frequently are denied the right to vote.

 Now, the President pardons thousands of violent protestors who assaulted the Capitol but threatens peaceful protestors with arrest or military assault.

 George Washington, Father of his Country. Our first president justly earned the title “Father of his Country,” in part for his leadership during the Revolution and during the Constitutional Convention, but also in part for his actions during his presidency. He set the tradition of the two-term limit and peaceful transition of power, created the democratic trappings of office (“Mr. President” rather than “Your Highness,” for example) and created a standard of dignified presidential behavior. Forty-three later presidents carried on and expanded this dignified view of the president and even developed a presidential rhetoric. Such expressions of presidential rhetoric as “By the eternal, the Union must and shall be preserved;” “of the people, by the people, for the people;” “with malice toward none, with charity for all;” “we have nothing to fear ….. but fear itself;” “Yesterday, a day which will live in infamy …” are instantly recognizable even from a fragment: “Ask not what your country can do for you …” “… not because it is easy …” “Mr. Gorbachev …” Presidential remarks are serious and provide a dignified tone.

 Such notions seem quaint after living through four years of a president who calls the opposition political party “traitors” and “scum;” calls the governor of a state currently suffering a major disaster “a snake;” openly feuds with our allies during international meetings; attacks the press on a regular basis; and attacks politicians of both parties, federal judges, civil servants, military officers, his own cabinet officers, athletes, and celebrities who criticize him or ail to carry out his demands. Who meets his “consoler in chief” obligations after a national tragedy by blaming his predecessors and “DEI.”

 “Peaceful Transfer of Power.” This wasn’t really in the curriculum, but I thought it was important for my students to know. I said that the third presidential inauguration (1796, when John Adams replaced George Washington) was important because George Washington voluntarily stepped down. But the truly important one, I said, was the next one, in 1800, when Thomas Jefferson replaced Adams, because this was the first time a man who still wanted to be president gave up the job to a political opponent. The peaceful transfer of power was one of the adornments of American democracy. Then I described some of the rituals, the visit of the incoming presidential couple to the White House on inauguration morning; the charming custom, started by George HW Bush, of the outgoing president leaving a handwritten note for his successor; the outgoing president standing near the president during his inauguration, etc.

 Well, all that is a nice artifact of the past. The tradition was broken in 2020, when Donald Trump refused to concede the election, refused to allow the transition to proceed, sued to disenfranchise millions of voters, and unleashed a violent mob to try to upset the certification of election results. And it was very clear that the Republicans would have done exactly the same thing if they had lost the 2024 election. If one party only accepts election results if they win, there is no democracy.

Canada. The U.S. and Canada got off to a rocky start, with constant warfare until 1812 and serious border confrontations until the mid-1840s. As recently as the 1844 election, the Presidential candidate who was about to start a war with Mexico placed equal emphasis on a border dispute with Canada. But then came nearly 200 years of extraordinary friendship, with Canada being arm in arm with us in every war, the world’s longest undefended border, fully integrated defense and automotive industries, and the world’s largest and most mutually advantageous trade arrangements. Trump has proceeded with a broadscale attack on Canada’s sovereignty and independence, threatening to make Canada the 51st state, insultingly referring to Canada’s prime minister as “governor,” and inventing a trade war that has invited massive retaliation from Canada. These actions have shaken our good relations and will harm not only trade between the two countries but tourism as well.

Summary. Some of the traditions and expectations and practices most essential to the definition of our democracy have been attenuated or thrown away entirely in the past decade. Some of these practices have been integral to our definition of who we are as far back as colonial times.