Review:
"One Nation Many People"
Globe-Fearon

"One Nation Many People"
Globe-Fearon


A review by Kevin Killion (kevin@illinoisloop.org)
August 24, 2006

---

Globe-Fearon's "One Nation Many People" is marketed as a textbook for American history at the high school level. It is split into two "volumes", covering the U.S. before and after 1900.

I encountered this disaster of a textbook in my own family, as the assigned text for my son's American history class at New Trier High School. It's utterly unconscionable how any school could claim that this fiasco is suitable as an American history textbook.

"One Nation Many People" would be better described as a history of protected minorities and left-wing movements in the United States. We tried a little exercise here: I asked my wife to close her eyes, open the book at random and drop her finger on any text. In all 5 out of 5 tries -- all 5! -- the text was on some aspect of the "Holy Trinity" of race, class and gender! I also took the thing with to a Rotary meeting, and asked two others to play this "game". The results: one person had "hits" on 3 out of 3 attempts, someone else had 4 out of 4. Aaaarrrrggghhh!

To try to capsulize the problems of "One Nation Many People", I created a page-by-page summary of volume 2, the part that covers post-1900. It's appended below. As a starting example of this loony textbook, let me just look at one topic, World War II.

First of all, in this textbook the chapter on WWII is lamely titled, "The Nation Fights Another War." And the whole drama, tragedy, horror and triumph of the story of World War II is covered in a miserable eight -- count 'em -- eight pages.

Those pathetic 8 pages on the war include substantial coverage of the roles of blacks, Latinos, Indians, Japanese Americans, and women. There is an additional 8-page chapter on "World War II on the home front", of which two full pages are devoted to the Japanese internment (with another full page in a later chapter), one full page on blacks and Latinos, and a full page about women.

Here is the textbook's ENTIRE CONTENT concerning Italy in WWII:

"In 1936, Germany signed a treaty with Italy. Italy also had a fascist government. Together Germany and Italy called themselves the Axis powers."

Here is the textbook's ENTIRE CONTENT concerning the war in the Pacific, between Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima:

"The Japanese also advanced. They invaded the Philippines and conquered parts of Southeast Asia. They also took over many islands in the Pacific Ocean. ... Nothing could stop the Japanese during 1942. However, in the spring the U.S. Navy defeated them twice in the Pacific. In early 1943, the United States began driving the Japanese back."

Here are some of the people, places and events that are NOT MENTIONED AT ALL in the text on World War II:

Eisenhower, MacArthur, Bradley, Marshall, Patton,
Churchill, Chamberlain, Stalin, Mussolini,
Eichmann, Mengele, Himmler, Speer, Goebbels, Goering, Rommel,
Hirohito, Tojo, Brown Shirts, Kristallnacht, Manhattan Project,
Enigma, Dunkirk, Battle of Britain, Wake Island,
Doolittle Raid, Corregidor, Midway, Guadalcanal,
Warsaw Ghetto uprising, Vichy, Anzio, Salerno, Luzon, Battle of the Bulge,
Bataan Death March, Rape of Nanking, Mindanao, Iwo Jima,
Midway, Guam, Okinawa

Now, when even World War II gets only a handful of pages, what *IS* in this textbook?

Well, for comparison, there are 75 pages -- SEVENTY-FIVE PAGES! -- on efforts since then regarding rights of blacks, Latinos, Indians, Asians and women.

All that PC stuff squeezes out other material that any reasonable person would expect to see in a U.S. history textbook:

• Many U.S. presidents are never mentioned at all (in this textbook of American history!)
• There isn't room to mention all ten of the Bill of Rights.
• Thomas Edison is given only half a sentence, merely as "the inventor of the light bulb".
• The Wright Brothers are never mentioned at all.
• The 1969 moon landing gets only a couple of sentences, and nothing at all is said about the space program that led up to it or followed it.

But,

• A third of page is devoted to Dorie Miller, "one of 1,000,000 African Americans who served" in World War II.
• "African American Culture Thrives in the Jazz Age" is given a full chapter.

But that's not even the worst of it. First, there's the alarming problem of the text itself. It's almost impossible to keep focused on this text, given that it's written in a belligerently simple-minded style, with terse declarative sentences and no challenging words. This stuff is as deadly dull as a Dick and Jane primer!

Finally, the book is also simple minded in its almost nonstop flat statements of purported facts about many issues that are in fact highly debatable. It hardly needs stating, but the consistent and overwhelming bias is leftward:

• The book offers not a hint of suggestion of any criticism of Roosevelt's New Deal or Johnson's Great Society, for example.
• Tax cuts under Reagan are slammed, huge tax cuts under Kennedy are never mentioned.
• The Bay of Pigs fiasco just simply "happened" while Kennedy was in office.
• Gorbachev is given sole credit for the demise of the Soviet Union.
• An astonishing two-thirds of a page is spent defending Hillarycare.

The final chapter, "American People Face the 21st Century" starts off with a section on what we must conclude the authors think is the most important thing to say about our country. It is titled: "United States Has More Diversity Than Any Other Nation".

"One Nation Many People"
Volume 2: The US since 1900

Page-by-Page Summary

"FP" denotes full page, "1/2P" is a half-page, and so on.

6	Into the Twentieth Century - title page
7	Sweatshop: Crowded room in which dozens of workers make clothing or other products
8	1/4P: African American inventor Elijah J. McCoy created a device that oiled machines while they were running
9	John D. Rockefeller ... "used bribery and spying against other oil companies"
10	Full page: "Greed and cruelty", "Miserable Conditions", "Child Labor"
11	Full page: Unfair treatment and sweatshops
12	"Improvements did not extend to the slums and tenements where the poor lived"
13	Life in the tenements 1/4P
14	Review
15	New Immigrants Contribute to the Nation
16	New Immigrants Contribute to the Nation
17	New Immigrants Contribute to the Nation
18	New Immigrants Contribute to the Nation
19	New Immigrants Contribute to the Nation
20	New Immigrants Contribute to the Nation
21	New Immigrants Contribute to the Nation
22	New Immigrants Contribute to the Nation
23	African Americans Move North
24	African Americans Move North
25	African Americans Move North
26	African Americans Move North
27	African Americans Move North
28	African Americans Move North
29	African Americans Move North
30	African Americans Move North
31	Latinos Build New Communities
32	Latinos Build New Communities
33	Latinos Build New Communities
34	Latinos Build New Communities
35	Latinos Build New Communities
36	Latinos Build New Communities
37	Latinos Build New Communities
38	Latinos Build New Communities
39	Workers Fight For Improved Conditions
40	Workers Fight For Improved Conditions
41	Workers Fight For Improved Conditions
42	Workers Fight For Improved Conditions
43	Workers Fight For Improved Conditions
44	Workers Fight For Improved Conditions
45	Workers Fight For Improved Conditions
46	Workers Fight For Improved Conditions
47	Reformers Work to Improve American Life
48	Reformers Work to Improve American Life: (1/3p) tenements 1/4P: Progressives
49	Reformers Work to Improve American Life: 1/2P:  Progressives
50	Reformers Work to Improve American Life
51	Reformers Work to Improve American Life:
         (1/3p) African American women are learning clerical skills;
         1/2P:  Women's Movement Works for Change
52	Reformers Work to Improve American Life:  Full page: Women's Movement Works for Change
53	Reformers Work to Improve American Life:  Full page: Women's Movement Works for Change
54	Reformers Work to Improve American Life
55	Unit title
56	Unites States is a Power in the Pacific
57	Unites States is a Power in the Pacific: Full page: Phillippines Resist
58	Unites States is a Power in the Pacific: Full page: Phillippines Resist
59	Unites States is a Power in the Pacific
60	Unites States is a Power in the Pacific
61	Unites States is a Power in the Pacific
62	Unites States is a Power in the Pacific: (Anti-Asian) Racism Grows in US
63	Unites States is a Power in the Pacific
64	Unites States Controls Cuba and Puerto Rico
65	Unites States Controls Cuba and Puerto Rico
66	Unites States Controls Cuba and Puerto Rico
67	Unites States Controls Cuba and Puerto Rico
68	Unites States Controls Cuba and Puerto Rico
69	Unites States Controls Cuba and Puerto Rico
70	Unites States Controls Cuba and Puerto Rico: Cultural Imperialism
71	Unites States Controls Cuba and Puerto Rico
72	United States Is Involved in Latin America
73	United States Is Involved in Latin America
74	United States Is Involved in Latin America
75	United States Is Involved in Latin America: "Big Stick" ... "Why would Latin Americans be upset over this policy?"
76	United States Is Involved in Latin America: The United States Invades Mexico
77	United States Is Involved in Latin America: "Mexicans Find Homes in the US"
78	United States Is Involved in Latin America: "Mexicans Find Homes in the US"
79	United States Is Involved in Latin America: "Mexicans Find Homes in the US"
80	United States Is Involved in Latin America
81	US Fights World War I 
		Photo: "The 369th regiment, a segregated [black] unit, won the highest
		French military medal in World War I. Not until the 1950s did
		the U.S. military become desegregated."
82	US Fights World War I. 1/4P: vt Marcelino Serna, a Mexican American
83	US Fights World War I:
		Paragraph on Jeannette Rankin, the first woman in Congress,
		who voted against both WWI and WWII.
84	US Fights World War I. 1/4P: African Americans in the service; 1/4P: Latinos and Natice Americans in WWI
85	US Fights World War I.  Home front: women, African Americans, Mexicans
86	US Fights World War I.
87	US Fights World War I.
88	US Fights World War I.
89	US Fights World War I.
90	Unit title. 1/2P:  Photo of suffragettes
91	1920s Are a Time of Change
92	1920s Are a Time of Change: Slump After the War Creates Fears; "red scare"
93	1920s Are a Time of Change: Limiting Immigration
94	1920s Are a Time of Change: (3/4P) Ku Klux Klan
95	1920s Are a Time of Change
96	1920s Are a Time of Change: 
            1/4P: Jazz Age, photo of Besse Smith; 
            1/4P: "Unequal Wealth"
97	1920s Are a Time of Change 1/4P: Jazz Age
98	1920s Are a Time of Change 1/2P:  Changes for Women
99	1920s Are a Time of Change
100	African American Culture Thrives in the Jazz Age
101	African American Culture Thrives in the Jazz Age
102	African American Culture Thrives in the Jazz Age
103	African American Culture Thrives in the Jazz Age
104	African American Culture Thrives in the Jazz Age
105	African American Culture Thrives in the Jazz Age
106	African American Culture Thrives in the Jazz Age
107	African American Culture Thrives in the Jazz Age
108	Great Depression
109	Great Depression
110	Great Depression. 1/2P:  Unemployed and Homeless
111	Great Depression. Full page: Unemployed and Homeless
112	Great Depression. Full page: African Americans suffered even more ...
113	Great Depression. (3/4P) Mexican migrant workers
114	Great Depression
115	Great Depression:
           "President [Hoover] did not understand how serious the situation was."
116	Great Depression
117	New Deal Brings Hope: "Roosevelt['s] fireside chats ... cheered millions"
118	New Deal Brings Hope [nonstop praise for New Deal programs]
119	New Deal Brings Hope [nonstop praise for New Deal programs]
120	New Deal Brings Hope [nonstop praise for New Deal programs]
121	New Deal Brings Hope [nonstop praise for New Deal programs]
122	New Deal Brings Hope [nonstop praise for New Deal programs]
123	New Deal Brings Hope. Full page: African Americans and the New Deal
124	New Deal Brings Hope. 1/2P: Latinos and the New Deal
125	New Deal Brings Hope
126	The Nation Fights Another War 
	    (The book means World War II!)
127	The Nation Fights Another War
128	The Nation Fights Another War
129	The Nation Fights Another War
130	The Nation Fights Another War
131	The Nation Fights Another War:
           1/3P: Dorie Miller was one of 1,000,000 African Americans who served
132	The Nation Fights Another War:
           1/4P: African Americans in the military;
           1/4P: Latinos, Native Americans, Japanese Americans, and women
133	The Nation Fights Another War
134	WWII On the Home Front
135	WWII On the Home Front
136	WWII On the Home Front. Full page: War Effort Enlists Women
137	WWII On the Home Front
            1/2P: African Americans and Latinos Contribute to War Effort
138	WWII On the Home Front
            1/2P: African Americans and Latinos Contribute to War Effort;
            1/2P: Japanese Americans are Interned
139	WWII On the Home Front. Full page: Japanese Americans are Interned
140	WWII On the Home Front. Full page: Japanese Americans are Interned
141	WWII On the Home Front
142	Unit title
143	United States and Soviet Union Fight a Cold War
144	United States and Soviet Union Fight a Cold War:
         "The Soviet army stayed in much of Eastern Europe" 
	    (no mention of Yalta)
145	United States and Soviet Union Fight a Cold War
146	United States and Soviet Union Fight a Cold War
147	United States and Soviet Union Fight a Cold War. 1/2P:  Korean War
148	United States and Soviet Union Fight a Cold War. 1/2P: Korean War; 1/2P: Cuba
149	United States and Soviet Union Fight a Cold War
150	United States and Soviet Union Fight a Cold War
151	Prosperity and Problems 1946-1956. 1/2P: Rosa Parks on bus, 1955
152	Prosperity and Problems.
153	Prosperity and Problems.
154	Prosperity and Problems. 
           Full page: Joseph McCarthy
155	Prosperity and Problems. 
           Another 1/2P: McCarthy;
           1/2P: Civil Rights Movement Gets Underway
156	Prosperity and Problems. Full page: Civil Rights Movement Gets Underway
157	Prosperity and Problems. Full page: Civil Rights Movement Gets Underway
158	Prosperity and Problems.
159	Five Presidents Shake Up the Nation. 1/2P: Kennedy met with leaders of the March on Washington
160	Five Presidents Shake Up the Nation.
161	Five Presidents Shake Up the Nation.
162	Five Presidents Shake Up the Nation. Great Society (all positive)
163	Five Presidents Shake Up the Nation.
164	Five Presidents Shake Up the Nation.
165	Five Presidents Shake Up the Nation.
166	Five Presidents Shake Up the Nation.
167	Five Presidents Shake Up the Nation.
168	War in Vietnam
169	War in Vietnam
170	War in Vietnam
171	War in Vietnam
172	War in Vietnam
173	War in Vietnam
174	War in Vietnam
175	War in Vietnam
176	Changes in American Way of Life 1945-1980
177	Changes in American Way of Life. 1/2P: African American and Latino migration to north
178	Changes in American Way of Life.
179	Changes in American Way of Life.
180	Changes in American Way of Life.
181	Changes in American Way of Life.
182	Changes in American Way of Life.
183	Changes in American Way of Life.
184	Unit title
185	African Americans Struggle for Rights and Equality
186	African Americans Struggle for Rights and Equality
187	African Americans Struggle for Rights and Equality
188	African Americans Struggle for Rights and Equality
189	African Americans Struggle for Rights and Equality
190	African Americans Struggle for Rights and Equality
191	African Americans Struggle for Rights and Equality
192	African Americans Struggle for Rights and Equality
193	African Americans Struggle for Rights and Equality
194	African Americans Score Successes in Many Fields
195	African Americans Score Successes in Many Fields
196	African Americans Score Successes in Many Fields
197	African Americans Score Successes in Many Fields
198	African Americans Score Successes in Many Fields
199	African Americans Score Successes in Many Fields
200	African Americans Score Successes in Many Fields
201	African Americans Score Successes in Many Fields
202	Women Fight for Their Rights 1950-1990s
203	Women Fight for Their Rights.
204	Women Fight for Their Rights.
205	Women Fight for Their Rights.
206	Women Fight for Their Rights.
207	Women Fight for Their Rights.
208	Women Fight for Their Rights.
209	Women Fight for Their Rights.
210	Women Fight for Their Rights.
211	Mexican Americans Struggle for Equal Rights
212	Mexican Americans Struggle for Equal Rights
213	Mexican Americans Struggle for Equal Rights
214	Mexican Americans Struggle for Equal Rights
215	Mexican Americans Struggle for Equal Rights
216	Mexican Americans Struggle for Equal Rights
217	Mexican Americans Struggle for Equal Rights
218	Mexican Americans Struggle for Equal Rights
219	A Cuban Presence Grows in the United States
220	A Cuban Presence Grows in the United States:
	"Castro took land from the wealthy. But he
	also took land from people who were middle class" 
		(I would suggest this student exercise:
		analyze what the textbook author is implying
		with this usage of the word "but".)
221	A Cuban Presence Grows in the United States
222	A Cuban Presence Grows in the United States
223	A Cuban Presence Grows in the United States
224	A Cuban Presence Grows in the United States
225	A Cuban Presence Grows in the United States
226	A Cuban Presence Grows in the United States
227	Puerto Ricans and Dominicans Strive to Succeed
228	Puerto Ricans and Dominicans Strive to Succeed
229	Puerto Ricans and Dominicans Strive to Succeed
230	Puerto Ricans and Dominicans Strive to Succeed
231	Puerto Ricans and Dominicans Strive to Succeed
232	Puerto Ricans and Dominicans Strive to Succeed
233	Puerto Ricans and Dominicans Strive to Succeed
234	Puerto Ricans and Dominicans Strive to Succeed
235	Native Americans Fight for Their Rights
236	Native Americans Fight for Their Rights
237	Native Americans Fight for Their Rights
238	Native Americans Fight for Their Rights
239	Native Americans Fight for Their Rights
240	Native Americans Fight for Their Rights
241	Native Americans Fight for Their Rights
242	Native Americans Fight for Their Rights
243	Americans from Asia Are a Fast-Growing Part of the Population
244	Americans from Asia Are a Fast-Growing Part of the Population
245	Americans from Asia Are a Fast-Growing Part of the Population
246	Americans from Asia Are a Fast-Growing Part of the Population
247	Americans from Asia Are a Fast-Growing Part of the Population:
              Full page: aftermath of Japanese internment
248	Americans from Asia Are a Fast-Growing Part of the Population
249	Americans from Asia Are a Fast-Growing Part of the Population
250	Americans from Asia Are a Fast-Growing Part of the Population
251	Americans from Asia Are a Fast-Growing Part of the Population
252	Immigrants from Europe and Middle East
253	Immigrants from Europe and Middle East
254	Immigrants from Europe and Middle East
255	Immigrants from Europe and Middle East
256	Immigrants from Europe and Middle East: FP - Arab Americans
257	Immigrants from Europe and Middle East: FP - Arab Americans
258	Immigrants from Europe and Middle East: FP - Arab Americans
259	Immigrants from Europe and Middle East
260	Unit title
261	New Leaders Search for New Solutions - Reagan, GBush, Clinton
262	New Leaders Search for New Solutions
263	New Leaders Search for New Solutions
264	New Leaders Search for New Solutions
265	New Leaders Search for New Solutions
266	New Leaders Search for New Solutions. 2/3P on Hillary's health care pgm
267	New Leaders Search for New Solutions
268	New Leaders Search for New Solutions
269	United States Is Challenged by World Problems 1980-present
270	United States Is Challenged by World Problems 
	    (Gorbachev given sole credit for end of USSR)
271	United States Is Challenged by World Problems.
272	United States Is Challenged by World Problems:
         1/2P: Kuwait and Desert Storm
273	United States Is Challenged by World Problems.
274	United States Is Challenged by World Problems:
         Full page: Latin America Challenges the United States
275	United States Is Challenged by World Problems.
276	United States Is Challenged by World Problems.
277	New Immigrants Make the United States More Diverse
278	New Immigrants Make the United States More Diverse
279	New Immigrants Make the United States More Diverse
280	New Immigrants Make the United States More Diverse
281	New Immigrants Make the United States More Diverse
282	New Immigrants Make the United States More Diverse
283	New Immigrants Make the United States More Diverse
284	New Immigrants Make the United States More Diverse
285	New Immigrants Make the United States More Diverse
286	United States Faces Challenges
287	United States Faces Challenges. Full page: Environmentalism
288	United States Faces Challenges. Full page: Environmentalism
289	United States Faces Challenges. Full page: Homelessness and Poverty
290	United States Faces Challenges
291	United States Faces Challenges
292	United States Faces Challenges
293	United States Faces Challenges
294	Science Changes the Way Americans Live
295	Science Changes the Way Americans Live. 1/4P: virtual reality; 3/4P: Computers
296	Science Changes the Way Americans Live. Full page: Computers and automation
297	Science Changes the Way Americans Live: 1/2P: "Information Superhighway"
298	Science Changes the Way Americans Live
299	Science Changes the Way Americans Live 
	    (Single paragraph on 1969 moon landing,
	    the book's only mention of pre-shuttle space program)
300	Science Changes the Way Americans Live
301	Science Changes the Way Americans Live
302	American People Face the 21st Century
303	American People Face the 21st Century: 
         "United States Has More Diversity Than Any Other Nation"
304	American People Face the 21st Century: 1/2P: Elderly; 1/2P: Disabled
305	American People Face the 21st Century. Full page: Disabled
306	American People Face the 21st Century
307	American People Face the 21st Century. Melting Pot or Mosaic? 
	    (Book decides we're a mosaic)
308	American People Face the 21st Century
309	American People Face the 21st Century