The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History (The Politically Incorrect Guides)

The colonial origins of American liberty -- America's conservative revolution -- The Constitution -- American government and the "principles of '98" -- The North-South division -- The War Against the States -- Reconstruction -- How big business made Americans better off -- World War I -- The misunderstood Twenties -- The Great Depression and the New Deal -- Yes, Communist sympathizers really existed -- The approach of World War II -- World War II : consequences and aftermath -- Civil rights -- JFK and LBJ -- The decade of greed? -- Clinton -- Appendix : what really makes wages rise?;Claiming that most textbooks and popular history books were written by biased left? wing writers and scholars, historian Thomas Woods offers this guide as an alternative to the stale and predictable platitudes of mainstream texts. Covering the colonial era through the Clinton administration, Woods seeks to debunk some persistent myths about American history. For instance, he writes, the Puritans were not racists intent on stealing the Indians' lands, the Founding Fathers were not revolutionaries but conservatives in the true sense of the word, the American War Between the States (to even call it a civil war is inaccurate, Woods says) was not principally about slavery, Abraham Lincoln was no friend to the slaves, and FDR's New Deal policies actually made the Depression worse. He also covers a wide range of constitutional interpretations over the years, particularly regarding the First, Second, Ninth, and Tenth amendments, and continually makes the point that states' rights have been unlawfully trampled upon by the federal government since the early days of the republic. Though its title is more deliberately provocative than accurate, Woods' attack on what he sees as rampant liberal revisionism over the past 25 years proves to be an interesting platform for a book. He's as biased as those he rails against, of course, but he does provoke thought in an entertaining way even if he sometimes tries to pass off opinion as hard facts. This quick and enjoyable read is packed with unfamiliar quotes, informative sidebars, iconoclastic viewpoints, and a list of books you're not supposed to read. It is not a comprehensive or detailed study, but that is not its aim; instead, it offers ideas for further research and a challenge to readers to dig deeper and analyze some basic assumptions about American history? a worthy goal that Woods manages to reach. "The problem in America isn't so much what people don't know; the problem is what people think they know that just ain't so." —Thomas E. Woods Most Americans trust that their history professors and high school teachers will give students honest and accurate information. The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History makes it quite clear that liberal professors have misinformed our children for generations. Professor Thomas E. Woods, Jr. takes on the most controversial moments of American history and exposes how history books are merely a series of clichés drafted by academics who are heavily biased against God, democracy, patriotism, capitalism and most American family values. Woods reveals the truth behind many of today's prominent myths.... MYTH: The First Amendment prohibits school prayer MYTH: The New Deal created great prosperity MYTH: What the Supreme Court says, goes From the real American "revolutionaries" to the reality of labor unions, The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History is all you need for the truth about America—objective and unvarnished.

Almost everything you know about American history is wrong, because most textbooks and popular history books are written by left-wing academic historians who treat their biases as fact. But fear not, Professor Thomas Woods has written the perfect antidote. This delightful book--funny and inviting, but factually sound--shatters the myths about American history and separates fact from fiction.

The bestselling Politically Incorrect Guide to American History reveals facts that you won't be--or never were -- taught in school, tells you about the "Books You're Not Supposed to Read," and gives you all the information you need to battle and confound left-wing professors, neighbors, and friends Looks at American history with an irreverant and hard-hitting look at the nation's important people and events, concluding that the American Revolution was fought by conservatives and the First Amendment accepted state-sponsored churches.