Where Did American History Go?

In his first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln spoke to a nation darkened by the breaking storm of the Civil War. He closed, "The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." In those days, long before the advent of mass education, Lincoln had no doubt that Americans maintained a communal memory of their history.

A century later, Martin Luther King called upon Lincoln's memory, saying, "Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation." King too relied upon America's shared memory, using Americans' knowledge of their nation's ideals to shame them into action. What happens to a nation, though, when neglect and apathy have severed those "mystic chords"?

A cursory glance at the Core curriculum reveals Harvard's priorities--priorities that reflect the modern academic environment. Harvard requires its students to take courses in foreign language and foreign cultures--both worthy requirements-but fails to require any study of the United States. It is entirely possible to acquire a Harvard degree without giving a moment's study to America. This sort of purposeful exclusion of American studies is duplicated at universities across the country.

A lack of American emphasis in the curriculum would be serious in any university, but it is particularly dangerous at Harvard and similar institutions that serve as training grounds for the American elite. A disaffected elite, unaware of its nation's history or, even worse, aware of only those parts of its history that cast their homeland in an unfavorable light, will be incapable of engaging in any sacrificial efforts on its nation's behalf. Someone who doesn't believe in their country is incapable of acting for that country, for why act for a nation that seems to stand for nothing and is worth nothing?

This is not a suggestion that historians brainwash students and engage in a frenzy of flag-waving jingoism. America, however, would be well served if students in its universities made a general study of its history.

There are certainly flaws in American politics and culture. Racism, sexism and homophobia are all characteristics of American society that can and should be changed. It should never be forgotten, though, that the debate and criticism necessary to effect those changes are possible only because of American ideals and traditions, and products of an American culture that is uniquely open and willing to change and improve itself.

The flaws in American culture are not miniscule, but they must not dominate our view of our country. The American ideals of equality, liberty and opportunity for all are, in a way, Platonic ideals that can never be attained in this imperfect world. American history, though, is replete with achievements that can inspire us in our attempts to bring the real world closer to the utopia we desire. The desperate courage of rangers on Omaha Beach, the steadfast faith of the Freedom Riders and the unshakable integrity of Washington are collective memories that we, as a nation, can draw upon for strength.

David Harlan wrote that American historians used to write "morally instructive histories-histories that taught us to speak in the first-person plural." As George Will noted in a column last year, these histories were usually about "the greatness of great men and the nobility of American ideals." He continued, "Those were the sort of writings that moved Martin Luther King Jr. to say that reading history made him feel 'eternally in the red,' that is, with an un-payable debt to those whose lives are imperishable examples of worthy aspirations." The current academic climate, though, of showing the United States as a nation incapable of justice and unworthy of devotion, means that the Kings of the future will know only their nation's sins, not its transcendent triumphs.

In the end, a nation can only be great if it believes in its own potential for greatness. The United States is in no way perfect, but it is notable for its constant pursuit of perfection, and by its belief in its own perfectibility. America is fortunate, for its people still believe in their nation and it has a deep reserve of memory upon which to draw. It is vital to all of us that the memory and knowledge of the past not be lost. The faith American people have in their country and the exertions and sacrifice they are willing to undergo will determine the future greatness of the republic.

Americans, unlike any other people in the world, proudly proclaim themselves inhabitants of the world's greatest nation. This belief is part of the core of what makes America and Americans truly exceptional. Knowledge of those people and actions that truly make America great and genuinely separate her from other nations is a vital and fast-vanishing component of that belief. All Americans and American institutions have a duty to do their part to maintain and enhance this vital part of our nation's heritage.

Gautam Makunda '01 is a government concentrator in Leverett House.