Do British schools teach the American Revolution?

cptJACK · Jul 20, 2006

I know we have a couple people from the UK here, and several Europeans at that.. Just wondering if other countries teach about the American Civil War, specifically in British Class Rooms.

Do they talk about the bravery of men like Washington and Jefferson like American schools do, or is it more of a "damn Yankees" kind of thing, where they are rebels fighting agaisnt the mother country?

dienekes · Jul 20, 2006

Good question, i would like to know that too....

jameson189 · Jul 25, 2006

I heard they do but they teach it in a way to make the U.S. look bad...again that is what I heard comming form a bunch of Brits... tea anyone? lol

old_abe · Jul 25, 2006

I bet their version of the Boston Massacre is a little different than ours..

Belisarius · Jul 25, 2006

old_abe said:
I bet their version of the Boston Massacre is a little different than ours..

Was there a massacre in Boston?

Ritocal · Jul 25, 2006

I would think they do, but not as great an emphasis on it then in America. Much like how Americans don't learn a whole lot about British History and royal lines.

It's possible that the British version of events is more accurate the ours. Our history books do tend to glorify things... or at least leave out the details.

MafiaMaster · Jul 25, 2006

Ritocal said:
I would think they do, but not as great an emphasis on it then in America. Much like how Americans don't learn a whole lot about British History and royal lines.

It's possible that the British version of events is more accurate the ours. Our history books do tend to glorify things... or at least leave out the details.

Unfortunately, that's how history always is. Caesar's commentaries of the Gallic Wars is believe to be a lot more glorifying than it actually is. Then there's the 300 Spartans vs. One Million Persians. It is just history to glorify ones self. I'm willing to bet that the Brits do the same thing for different things. And I am willing to bet they make themselves look like the innocent one for the American Revolution.

Professor Phantom · Jul 25, 2006

I attended a British school for 2 years and here is the thing about British history. Its specialized because we have been around for many many many more years than America. There have been so many wars in our country that its hard to keep track of them all. So classes are specialized like I took wars from 1776-1865. And yes it isn't a great emphasis as America poses here in the United states

Belisarius · Jul 25, 2006

MafiaMaster said:
Ritocal said:

I would think they do, but not as great an emphasis on it then in America. Much like how Americans don't learn a whole lot about British History and royal lines.

It's possible that the British version of events is more accurate the ours. Our history books do tend to glorify things... or at least leave out the details.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, that's how history always is. Caesar's commentaries of the Gallic Wars is believe to be a lot more glorifying than it actually is. Then there's the 300 Spartans vs. One Million Persians. It is just history to glorify ones self. I'm willing to bet that the Brits do the same thing for different things. And I am willing to bet they make themselves look like the innocent one for the American Revolution.

The problem for America is that as a "young" nation, it needs to nutrure its own mythology to arrive at a sense of national identity. The winners almost always get to wrie the "definitive" version of events and the truth is often, if not always, ignored or suppressed. The American Revolution, as the birth pains of the new country, is a prime candidate for such mythology. A myth repeated for 200 years takes on the mantle of truth.

Kampfpanzer · Nov 13, 2006

I was raised in England (my family gets around) and they taught it. Not as much as the Americans do (who teach it every freakin' year ugh). They do portray the Americans as bad but the Americans portray them as bad. Just like Germans portray the allies of WWI as bad and vice versa. Every war is portrayed differently in different countries. I personally would have rathered the Brits win.

Breth · Nov 13, 2006

Is um Benedict Arnold favored by the British?

Kampfpanzer · Nov 13, 2006

I don't remember but very likely because he would have been viewed as a loyal British subject and a clever commander.

gashead · Nov 15, 2006

being english and 17 i can tell you about british schools

the history they teach in secondary school (high school to yanks) is basically:
Victorian Britain ie industrial revolution
Very brief world war 1,2
Stock Market Crash 1929
Medieval Britain ie Black death, peasents revolt
Slave trade
Nothing about american civil war

At A Level (college) they focus on foreign history which is
Russian and Italian 20th century history

Theres also a subject called classical civilisation which teaches about ancient greece and ancient rome

Nick · Nov 15, 2006

To us the war of independence was just another small colonial affair (like the Boer War, only this time we lost).

Fromage · Dec 14, 2006

I'm 17 and from America, and I have been in advanced placement for years. They always taught us that the Industrial Revolution started in the US, so I was fairly outraged to find that that isn't the least bit true: in actuality the Americans basically stole the technology from England and brought it back with them. There are tons of other things that I have been taught in addition to this that pretty much are meant only to make Americans look better, not to educate about actual history. It's kind of sad the way history is taught (apparently everywhere).

Dr Realism · Dec 14, 2006

You were taught that the Industrial Revolution began in America? I don't remember ever being taught that. What other things did they teach you that you thought were inaccurate?

Fromage · Dec 17, 2006

Dr Realism said:
You were taught that the Industrial Revolution began in America? I don't remember ever being taught that. What other things did they teach you that you thought were inaccurate?

The first settlement in the new world was made by the English... at Plymouth. (what about jamestown, and furthermore, St. Augustine?)

Christopher Columbus reached North America, met the natives, and called them indians. (I don't think he ever set foot in North America, actually)

When entering the civil war, it was Lincoln's initial intention to free the slaves eventually. (He didn't plan on it when the war started...that came later.)

America is and always has been the "best" country in the world, in terms of civil liberties, social equality, and government services available to citizens. (I definitely don't agree... And European countries such as Sweden, Ireland, and Norway consistently rank higher in terms of quality of life, health care, etc. Guess it's just nationalism, though...)

...And the list goes on. Recently, my friend's aunt (with whom she lives) told me that the third president of the US was George Washington, and then proceeded to call me stupid because I named all of the presidents in order (she was very angry and accused me of cheating). I just feel like the general American public is a lot more uneducated than they even realize, especially about their own country. I mean... I've had highschool graduates tell me that Bill Gates was a president.

MrStoff1989 · Jan 4, 2007

Kampfpanzer said:
I was raised in England (my family gets around) and they taught it. Not as much as the Americans do (who teach it every freakin' year ugh). They do portray the Americans as bad but the Americans portray them as bad. Just like Germans portray the allies of WWI as bad and vice versa. Every war is portrayed differently in different countries. I personally would have rathered the Brits win.

History is written by the victors.

Gustav II Adolph · Jan 4, 2007

I was surfing around looking at some of my favorite British regiments such as the Ox and Buffs, Durham Light Infantry, The Green Howards etc (I dig the 50th division) and I found their involvement in the War of American Independance very underplayed even though they were involved in some major Colonial defeats. The same was not the case with other colonial involvments, or major wars. It read like yea I know you and I busted one anothers lip in that little spat kindergarden, but we beat the .... out of that Nazi bully in highschool!

tjadams · Mar 27, 2009

This was a great question. Sure wish I could think of such gems.

I'm sure the older nations do have layers upon layers of history to cover & would have to departmentalize it all in order to make it fit. I know from US history books that the older our nation becomes & new history is made yearly, I wonder at what cost will some of the older history be shoved off the plateau from books to make room for the new?

It seems as if myths will become the accepted norm & grow harder to displace as the years pile up.

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Do British schools teach the American Revolution?

cptJACK

dienekes

jameson189

old_abe

Belisarius

Ritocal

MafiaMaster

Professor Phantom

Belisarius

Kampfpanzer

Breth

Kampfpanzer

gashead

Nick

Fromage

Dr Realism

Fromage

MrStoff1989

Gustav II Adolph

tjadams

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