Early American History Through Literature
Published with Permission
Written by Rea Berg
www.reaberg.com
“The creation of the United States of America is the greatest of all human adventures. No other national history holds such tremendous lessons, for the American people themselves and for the rest of mankind. It now spans four centuries, and, as we enter the new millennium, we need to retell it, for if we can learn these lessons and build upon them, the whole of humanity will benefit in the new age which is now opening.”1
The words of the renowned British historian, Paul Johnson, remind us as Americans that the story of our country is a good story and one worthy of retelling. Despite our many foibles as a nation and a culture, what occurred on the eastern shores of this rich land in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was remarkable in the annals of human history. The confluence of the streams of spiritual freedom birthed in the Reformation, the revival of Greek and Roman philosophical thought in the Renaissance, and the advance of civil and social notions in the Enlightenment allowed a full flowering of religious and civil liberty to be realized here.
Since many of us are products of an institutionalized educational system where this remarkable story has been blandly presented through the pages of standardized textbooks, it is not surprising that we often approach teaching our country’s history with dread rather than enthusiasm. Fortunately, there is a wonderfully simple remedy for this malady that is guaranteed to inspire even the most reluctant student of history. Here it is: teach history through literature. As Pulitzer prize-winning author David McCullough advises about teaching history: “Tell stories.”2
The story of America’s founding really begins… (more…)
