Colo Ed Bd Member: Give U.S. Credit For Voluntarily Ending Slavery

[Stuart G]

Source: Talking Points Memo:

Updated 3:02 p.m.

A member of Colorado's state Board of Education argued that the fact that the United States voluntarily ended slavery proved "American execptionalism" and this perspective should be taught to students in a recent Facebook post about the AP U.S. History curriculum.


Businesswoman Pam Mazanec, who was elected to represent Colorado's 4th Congressional district on the board, jumped into a discussion about the AP History course framework Saturday on a Facebook page that describes itself as "a place where teachers and parents are encouraged to speak freely about their issues, questions, and concerns in the Douglas County School District." The Colorado Independent flagged her comment on Thursday.

Mazanec's first posts in the thread raised the possibility that the AP History course framework may have been conceived by people with an "agenda," prompting an AP English teacher to respond by explaining that experienced AP teachers compile the courses' exams.

She then wrote that her concern for the course "is an overly negative view of our history and many of our historical figures (if mentioned)" and cited history professors with "impressive credentials" who told her that the AP History curriculum is designed to "downplay our noble history."


Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/pam-mazanac-us-ended-slavery-voluntarily

---

This............ "Idiot # One"..........does not belong on the State Board of Ed..She doesn't belong out of high school..

She would have flunked regular U.S.History...let alone got into honors, or AP U.S. History...She and her ilk, thankfully, are now, or will become, the laughing stock of educated people. For a moment, let us remember who really ended "slavery" ..Now let us look back, as the Northern Army advanced across the defeated South..the ..Army of the Victorious North... actually feed slaves as they moved from plantation to plantation...Southerners lost the worst, and said to be the most ugly, war we have fought in..It was the war "Idiot # One, that freed the slaves...The South Lost.....It was not voluntary, it was a .............WAR............

...She is now..."Idiot #One"...take a bow..
.....Michelle Bachmann has a competitor..

[TheVisitor]

1. Voluntarily??? WHAT

she needs to be FIRED

[christx30]

3. Sure. Voluntarily.

If you just ignore that whole ugly Civil War.
And did we prove exceptionalism again with Jim Crow?

[TheVisitor]

7. Now the whole anti-common core movement just made Perfect sense to me...

These fucks are trying to rewrite history

[freshwest]

19. Nailed it...

Koch brothers group to keep pressure on Common Core

Joey Garrison and Maria Giordano - August 13, 2014

NASHVILLE — Convinced of wins during last week's elections in Tennessee, a group led by the billionaire Koch brothers has vowed to continue to spend aggressively in the state in pursuit of derailing Common Core academic standards here.

The Tennessee branch of Americans for Prosperity, a political and lobbying arm founded by conservatives Charles and David Koch, claims it spent $500,000 over the last six weeks targeted at "bringing the issues with Common Core to light" in Tennessee — "and this is just the beginning," the group's state director Andrew Ogles said in a statement Wednesday.

The organization, which set up shop in Nashville last year, pointed specifically to results in Williamson County's school board and state legislative races as evidence the public is "opposed to this one-size-fits-all takeover of the education system."

There, six new candidates were elected to the 12-member board, including four who ran on anti-Common Core platforms that countered the pro-Common Core position of superintendent Mike Looney. Victories came even though Williamson County Schools again boasted some of the highest test scores in the state.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/08/13/koch-brothers-anti-common-core-spending/14018753/

Denounced by liberals, Kochs defend corporate brand

Fredreka Schouten - August 7, 2014

"It's disappointing that those who have never lifted a finger in support of our schools now feel entitled to dictate how the highest-performing school system in the state is run," said Welch.

Tori Venable, communications director for Americans for Prosperity Tennessee, said she could not say how much of the $500,000 spent on anti-Common Core efforts statewide went directly to Williamson County. In a news release, the organization made clear that efforts are now geared toward January when state lawmakers reconvene in Nashville.

Americans for Prosperity currently has a statewide radio ad running in Tennessee aimed at Common Core. She suggested more mail pieces could be on the way.

"The goal is to get it repealed," Venable said.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/08/13/koch-brothers-anti-common-core-spending/14018753/

Gotta give 'em credit for consistency. On the same page (and the lay out is confusing me there) it says they are still pushing for school vouchers - that is to defund the public schools, and go private with education. Gotta keep those uppity history buffs out of the children's your minds.

It's part of their overall strategy, and used by CT pundits and Libertarians:

“We advocate the complete separation of education and State. Government schools lead to the indoctrination of children and interfere with the free choice of individuals. Government ownership, operation, regulation, and subsidy of schools and colleges should be ended.”

“We condemn compulsory education laws … and we call for the immediate repeal of such laws.”

“We support the repeal of all taxes on the income or property of private schools, whether profit or non-profit.”

Rest of their plans here:

http://metamorphosis.democraticunderground.com/1014833821#post10

Some say they're against CC and their scapegoats are Obama and Arne Duncan, but they say it's for other reasons:

http://www.publicschoolshakedown.org/common-core-versus-the-koch-brother-agenda-for-education-an-untenable-choice-keep-the-billionaire-corporate-interest-out-of-our-opposition

People can decide for themselves what is going on here, long term and take a nuanced stance, but as this piece says, it's about solutions. We know the Koch solution is like Ann Romney and Glenn Beck, who say education should be done at churches. Make sure those kids are taught religion and all other aspects of reality must bow down to that, first.

[Stuart G]

4. Perhaps she will quickly admit she made a "mistake" and quit her position..

Resign and say .....she has been the center of, "unfair criticism" for a mistake anyone could make...

and I would like to see the professors and high quality people that support her "point of view" ...

[Iliyah]

2. So what was the Civil War about?

[Stuart G]

5. Something "Idiot # 1"...does not know....no text..

[jwirr]

15. Forget it - it did not happen. Our ancestors did not go to fight in it and Abraham Lincoln was never

elected. In fact that era does not exist.

[Shrike47]

26. Tariffs or something. Who knows, or cares? Just not about slavery.

[eppur_se_muova]

39. The Confederate States were volunteering to resolve the issue, once and for all.

They deserve great credit for that. After all, it takes two.

[The Magistrate]

6. As I Recall, Sir, England Voluntarily Ended Slavery In Its Possessions

It had long been held illegal in the British Isles under Common Law before the Parliament abolished it in the West Indies in the 1830s.

Russia freed its serfs in 1861, by voluntary act of the Czar.

Most states in South America, in Europe, had ended slavery or serfdom before the second half of the nineteenth century.

It would hardly be proof of 'American exceptionalism' if we had ended slavery voluntarily.

If one were looking for proof the United States is exceptional, that we ended slavery only after a war was fought in which the slave-holding Confederacy was defeated, would seem to fit the bill....

[freshwest]

20. 'The war of Northern aggression' just made them go underground. It wasnn't voluntarily.

[The Magistrate]

21. Surely, My Friend, You Mean The War Of Southern Treason....

"I will fight the secesh till Hell freezes over, then fight on the ice."

[Leontius]

45. There was no southern treason

[msanthrope]

46. There absolutely was. Every single officer....including General Lee, who

went to a military academy or served in the Armed Forces, rebelled against the oaths they rook.

They should have been executed.

[freshwest]

47. Truly it was Treason of the worst kind, against the best ideals that the Constitution promised.

I've ranted on this but most of the collection is in this subthread:

http://sync.democraticunderground.com/11877483#post1

It's 4 posts, but not just my opinion, it has a lot of information.

[rurallib]

8. Once again I wonder how the Onion can possibly stay in business

when real world tea baggers say and do the craziest things that the Onion could never possibly dream of.

Got to wonder when she will state that Hitler was Muslim?

[Stuart G]

10. Do You suppose that this wonderful bit of information...about "voluntary end of slavery"

should be part of the new ...AP U.S. History Class ..being proposed in suburban Denver?...Yes, let the idiot teach the class..when someone asks, "What was the civil war about?"...and she can answer, "well, it had nothing at all to do with slavery or anything that the South did in reaction to a President who favored stopping the expansion of slavery."...Actually she can say.."The civil war was a figment of the imagination of those left wing liberals.." that is what she will say... ..

she is kinda dumb ain't she...

[jwirr]

16. Oh she will not go that far. She will just want the extermination of 10 million people wiped off the

books. This is sad.

[WhiteTara]

9. You mean there was no bloody civil war? One

that demanded the end of slavery?

Okay, all those years of school wasted on facts.

[rurallib]

11. Facts? Perhaps they are incidents

that were not properly explained?

[geretogo]

12. What absolute bullshit . It's just more rewriting history to fit their ideology and attacking the

truth that they hate with a passion . Canada and England abolished slavery long before we did .
It took the shame of it and the Civil War before we abolished it . The extreme right I'm sure would like to
reestablish it because it works best in our form of Capitalism in America . I can see why the students are
protesting . To the right protesting is un American .

[Lifelong Protester]

13. Tell that to the 600,00+ that died

in the US Civil war (actually now the number is though to be higher than 625,000)

[Stuart G]

34. The total deaths and suffering were unbelieveable ..

Lack of sanitation and medical help killed tens of thousands. (or more).It was in a sense, the first modern war with huge losses. Far more than anyone expected. The first photography in war showed the carnage. Perhaps the "Idiot" needs to see those pictures.

[Historic NY]

14. The breath of her stupidity is showing through......

any person elected or selected to represent government especially in the realm of US History better know it. I just can't believe she would say something like that......clearly shows she is a know nothing.

[jwirr]

18. I don't think it is not knowing. It is the same idea we have seen with the textbook controversy down

in Texas. They do not want our history books to show anything that can show that we are not perfect. The USA never did anything wrong attitude. Remember they are always saying that us liberals all think that the US is wrong all the time.

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. "Materials should not encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law ...

... Instructional materials should present positive aspects of the United States and its heritage."

That's a quote from their proposal. So, you see, the problem is that they have to deny the very existence of the Civil War. They couldn't possibly admit that it ended slavery, because that could be seen as condoning civil disorder or social strife. To these historical geniuses, there has to be a hole in US history so that they can be positive about the US.

[Dawson Leery]

25. The far right, the tea party, etc....

want to keep everyone (the "lessers&quot in line.

[IDemo]

40. That sounds as if it could have been lifted from the pages of a Maoist China instruction manual

They really do want to wash away those "interesting" periods of history with a fire hose. Appalling.

[muriel_volestrangler]

41. Oh, the whole thing sounds even more Maoist

if you swap 'free enterprise' for 'Marxist-Leninist-Maoist', and 'United States' for 'People's Republic':

Review criteria shall include the following: instructional materials should present the most current factual information accurately and objectively. Theories should be distinguished from fact. Materials should promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free enterprise system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights. Materials should not encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law. Instructional materials should present positive aspects of the United States and its heritage. Content pertaining to political and social movements in history should present balanced and factual treatment of the positions.

www.boarddocs.com/co/jeffco/Board.nsf/files/9NYRPF6DED70/$file/JW%20PROPOSAL%20Board%20Committee%20for%20Curriculum%20Review.pdf

[One_Life_To_Give]

22. Give the US Credit for spilling alot of Blood over the issue

The real story is so much more interesting as we spent the better part of a century wrestling with the issue.

Though technically Slavery in the US ended with the passing/ratification of the 13th amendment in Dec. 1865, half a year after the war had ended.

[24601]

33. You are correct - it was the 13th Amendment that ended slavery. The Civil War stopped the

south from leaving the United States. But it was the amendment process, passage by 2/3 of each house of Congress and ratification by 3/4 of the states that removed it from the Constitution.

When the Constitution was adopted, the only people who voted were white, male landowners over 21. Every time the US voting base was expanded, it was accomplished by those already enfranchised. In each case, this sharing of political power was implemented by those who were diluting their own concentration of power.

[marble falls]

23. Voluntarily. Why do we elect these twits and history deniers? She has to be stupid on purpose.

[niyad]

24. if you want to contact this clueless cretin:

Contact
Office of the Colorado State Board of Education
201 East Colfax Avenue
Denver, CO 80203

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail] - See more at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeboard/pam_mazanec#sthash.WWlodkOA.dpuf

[valerief]

27. Per Howard Zinn...

Behind the secession of the South from the Union, after Lincoln was elected President in the fall of 1860 as candidate of the new Republican party, was a long series of policy clashes between South and North. The clash was not over slavery as a moral institution-most northerners did not care enough about slavery to make sacrifices for it, certainly not the sacrifice of war. It was not a clash of peoples (most northern whites were not economically favored, not politically powerful; most southern whites were poor farmers, not decisionmakers) but of elites. The northern elite wanted economic expansion-free land, free labor, a free market, a high protective tariff for manufacturers, a bank of the United States. The slave interests opposed all that; they saw Lincoln and the Republicans as making continuation of their pleasant and prosperous way of life impossible in the future.

http://libcom.org/history/lincoln-emancipation-howard-zinn

[tabasco]

31. That is some truly revisonist history from Zinn

Northern abolitionists were a very important factor in the lead-up to war.

Might not quite fit Zinn's narrative, though.

[mountain grammy]

28. She likes our forefathers, most of them rich, male, white slave owners

who wanted their freedom.. for themselves. Yeah, they said a lot of nice stuff, but it took years of blood, sweat and tears before that freedom trickled down. That's the part she wants to leave out.

[blackspade]

29. Get this person off the school board. Now.

[The Last Dem.]

30. And I would say!

Without history, a society shares no common memory of where it has been, of what its core values are, or what decisions in the past account for the present circumstances.


Author Unknown.

[wolfie001]

32. Sherman's March alone proves this politician is a jackass. A well-deserved march I might add.

[Amethyst Ring]

35. Paul Revere ringing those bells, freeing the slaves...

stopping off to make a teapot between rides...

The stupid burns strong with this one. I think she's been taking classes from Palin, Beck and O'Reilly.

[tclambert]

36. If you watched "Gettysburg" you would know the South wasn't fighting to preserve slavery,

rather they were fighting for their rats.

[demwing]

37. Sure we did, and Abraham Lincoln voluntarily resigned the Presidency

which, on a whimsical note, has remarkable similarities to the voluntary resignation of John F Kennedy 100 years later!

[packman]

38. You guys missed what she said about WWII

and voluntary surrenders

[malthaussen]

42. Hey, look at the bright side.

To really pursue the representation that America is always right, she'd have to deny that slavery ever existed, or dredge up ancient apologetics that "prove" slavery was a positive benefit to the enslaved, e.g. that the slaves were forcibly converted to Christianity.

-- Mal

[DesertDiamond]

43. The Southern slave owners said, "Your right! Slavery is wrong! We'll free them! No need for a war!"

Oops, wrong parallel universe.

[kwassa]

44. I think she attended Michelle Bachman University.