 Quote by Whovian
...Aren't they teaching in Texas that the Civil War was about "states' rights?"
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Yes they are but they also teach that the war was largely about slavery.
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While it technically was, it was primarily about slavery, and I don't think that's referenced once in the books.
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Absolutely false. Where did you get this idea?
The Civil War is taught in 7th (from a Texas History standpoint) and 8th grade (from an American History standpoint).
All textbooks in Texas that teach Texas History (7th Grade) must include the following "Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills" (TEKS):
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(5) History. The student understands how events and issues shaped the history of Texas during the Civil War and Reconstruction. The student is expected to:
(A) explain reasons for the involvement of Texas in the Civil War such as states' rights, slavery, sectionalism, and tariffs;
(B) analyze the political, economic, and social effects of the Civil War and Reconstruction in Texas; and
(C) identify significant individuals and events concerning Texas and the Civil War such as John Bell Hood, John Reagan, Francis Lubbock, Thomas Green, John Magruder and the Battle of Galveston, the Battle of Sabine Pass, and the Battle of Palmito Ranch.
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All textbooks in Texas that teach American History (8th Grade) must include the following TEKS:
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(7) History. The student understands how political, economic, and social factors led to the growth of sectionalism and the Civil War. The student is expected to:
(A) analyze the impact of tariff policies on sections of the United States before the Civil War;
(B) compare the effects of political, economic, and social factors on slaves and free blacks;
(C) analyze the impact of slavery on different sections of the United States; and
(D) identify the provisions and compare the effects of congressional conflicts and compromises prior to the Civil War, including the roles of John Quincy Adams, John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster.
(8) History. The student understands individuals, issues, and events of the Civil War. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the roles played by significant individuals during the Civil War, including Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and Abraham Lincoln, and heroes such as congressional Medal of Honor recipients William Carney and Philip Bazaar;
(B) explain the causes of the Civil War, including sectionalism, states' rights, and slavery, and significant events of the Civil War, including the firing on Fort Sumter; the battles of Antietam, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg; the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation; Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House; and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln; and
(C) analyze Abraham Lincoln's ideas about liberty, equality, union, and government as contained in his first and second inaugural addresses and the Gettysburg Address and contrast them with the ideas contained in Jefferson Davis's inaugural address.
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You can see for yourself one School District's text book list
here. (pg 19-20) I defy you to find even one of those books that doesn't mention slavery as a significant cause of the Civil War.
Number one on the list:
Burchard, Peter. LINCOLN AND SLAVERY. Atheneum, 1999.
ISBN 0-689-81570-0.
Readers are provided with a rich understanding of the preeminence of slavery as a political and moral issue in 19th century America.