Document Type
Article
Abstract
This essay considers our contemporary moment in the context of the long history of the so-called "history wars" in the United States. It identifies four historical moments with ties to the present, and makes use of primary documents to discuss each time period. It also considers the ways in which historical activists such as Frederick Douglass and W. E. B. Du Bois advocated for honest history in the past, and the ways in which we might argue for nuanced historical thinking in the present. Teachers may find the documents of use for their own classrooms, and a brief appendix at the conclusion of the essay offers notes about making use of them.
Recommended Citation
Laughlin-Schultz, Bonnie
(2026)
"Using the Past to Better Understand the Present: Contextualizing Today’s History Wars, for Ourselves and for Our Students,"
The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies: Vol. 89:
No.
2, Article 1.
Available at:
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/the_councilor/vol89/iss2/1
AI Statement
I made no use of AI in the research or writing of this essay.
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