History, it is often said, is written by the winners. In a recent vote on a Texas Board of Education proposal on whether to make changes to the history taught within the social studies curriculum, those winners were Republican. Passing with a margin of five votes, the new proposal will focus on restructuring the language and content of textbooks to emphasize America’s history as a nation founded on Christian, neo liberal values. Scheduled for use in the following school year, the textbooks will be used until the curriculum is reviewed again in 10 years.
Some of the changes include eliminating references to America’s government as “Democratic” in favor of labeling it a “constitutional republic.” The term “capitalism” has also been replaced by “free-enterprise system.”
“Let’s face it, capitalism does have a negative connotation,” Terri Leo, a conservative member of the board, said to The New York Times.
Meanwhile, Thomas Jefferson, founding father and coiner of the “separation of church and state” clause of the Constitution, has been replaced, according to the Huffington Post, with radical Protestant reformer John Calvin.
“The foundational principles of our country are very biblical,” said conservative board member Don McLeroy to the Wall Street Journal. “That needs to come out in our textbooks.”
The reason the board states for approving these changes is an effort to offer balanced, unbiased information to schoolchildren.
“History has already been skewed. Academia is skewed too far to the left,” McLeroy said to the New York Times.
Special emphasis will also be placed on the rise of the Moral Majority through the Reagan administration, the Heritage Foundation, and the publication of the Venona Papers.
One board member, Mary Helen Berlanga, agrees that history is biased, but not in the same way as McLeroy. She is one of several Latino board members that tried unsuccessfully to include more Latino historical figures in the new curriculum.
“They are not historians,” Berlanga said to The New York Times. “They are rewriting history, not only of Texas but of the United States and the world.”
Some of these changes may appear outside of Texas, as Texas is one of the largest textbook buyers in the country and publishers often cater to such large clients.
First-year member of the Republican Club Dustin Flanary disagrees with Berlanga.
“What is included inside of our children’s textbooks should be nothing but the facts about how our country has grown,” Flanary said in an e-mail. “Including the fact that our country was founded on Christian beliefs is nothing but an accurate representation of our history.”
Fellow first-year and member of the Republicans Club Andre Arguimbau disagrees with Flanary. He equated these new changes with the 1925 Scopes vs. Tennessee trial that prohibited the teaching of anything other than creationism in schools. The debate over evolution vs. intelligent design is still being fought in Texas.
“I don’t know what they’re going to try to get away with printing in Texas, but I’m pretty sure that no matter where you are in America, no matter how conservative or liberal, the truth will come out,” said Arguimbau.
Once the changes are posted to the state register in May, residents will have 30 days to decide whether any further refinements need to be made to the curriculum. But with a Republican majority throughout the state, it is expected that there will be little opposition to the changes.