Date of Award
8-2023
Document Type
Open Access Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
First Advisor
Tim Hacsi
Second Advisor
Nick Juravich
Third Advisor
Jane Becker
Abstract
This paper examines the persistence of Dunning School narratives of the Reconstruction Era in high school US History textbooks, despite the thorough rejection of those narratives among academic historians at the college level and above. In examining the reasons for the persistence of these narratives, this paper acknowledges some structural elements of the textbook industry before focusing on the role of white women’s parent activism in shaping textbook content and adoption, stretching backwards to the 1890s and the Daughters of Confederate Veterans, and forward to the present day and organizations such as Moms for Liberty. This paper also points out that Dunning School narratives were never hegemonic when the work of Black historians is given full weight in the academic discourse.
Recommended Citation
Katari, Eleanor, "Deconstructing Reconstruction: The Portrayal of The Reconstruction Era in High School History Textbooks" (2023). Graduate Masters Theses. 794.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/masters_theses/794