Great History Book

For history we use several history books, but I use this as the introduction to American history. It is a book by Cousins and Hill and it was a public school textbook in 1913. We re-read parts of it every year.

During this Thanksgiving week I would like you to know that we Americans have not always hated ourselves and blamed us for everything.

Here is a sample of the text from the first page.

"Yet the distinctively modern man, the man in whom European ancestry and a New World environment have combined to develop the sense of freedom and of power, is the American. In America more than elsewhere, men take hold of new undertakings with self-confidence, drive to the goal of relentless energy, enjoy victory, scorn defeat, and fill their days with accomplishment."

What more can I say? I am saddened that our public school students are missing out on such an image of our countrymen.

Happy Thanksgiving from one very proud American. Wife of a first generation immigrant, mother of 4 beautifully children, daughter of soldier killed in Vietnam and of one strong mother.
I love this country. I love that my husband and his family are linked to Europe(Spain) and to the Indians of our great land(Mexican Indians), because now my children are truly the American poster child. They are the melding that we claim makes a nation great, although now we do not challenge newcomers to bond, but be separate but equal. What a sad loss. By combining backgrounds and ancestry the children have the best of all the combined cultures.
Jennifer