Shaping the U.S. History Curriculum in a Contentious Time

            In this article in Time, James Kloppenberg (Harvard University) pushes back on the recent assertion that the U.S. history curriculum has been rewritten in a way that replaces “objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.” That’s not correct, he says, but it is true that since the 1960s, the curriculum has moved beyond the previous emphasis on America’s heroic achievements on the world stage to a more nuanced and balanced narrative. 

            “Historians have been asking different questions and probing other dimensions of our past,” says Kloppenberg. “Combining old and new methods, including the discovery of previously unknown sources and the use of statistical analysis, historians digging in the archives have uncovered solid evidence concerning the expansion of freedom for many Americans and the denial of freedom for many others. The experiences of enslaved Africans, women, Indigenous people, ordinary soldiers, owners of small businesses, and countless other Americans have emerged from a generation’s painstaking research into a new light.” 

            The revised curriculum is entirely compatible with telling the story of the nation’s myriad accomplishments and being “a flag-waving patriot with an abiding love of the U.S.,” as Kloppenberg describes himself. “But to see American history as simply a narrative of heroism would be a lie unbecoming of a great nation,” he says. “Telling Americans only those parts of our complicated history consistent with preconceived notions of American grandeur is unacceptable to everyone who cherishes our nation and its history.”

            But aren’t historical facts just facts? It’s not that simple, says Koppenberg. “From the almost infinite array of information historical actors leave behind them, historians put together interpretations consistent with recognized rules of evidence and reasoning.” There are heated debates about those interpretations in peer-reviewed journals, and what emerges needs to be backed up by facts and documentation. “Although entitled to their opinions,” he says, “historians are never entitled to their own facts.”

“The Truth and Sanity of American History” by James Kloppenberg in Time, July 7, 2025 (Vol. 206, #1-2, pp. 22-23); Kloppenberg can be reached at jkloppen@fas.harvard.edu.

Please Note: This summary is reprinted with permission from issue #1094 of The Marshall Memo, an excellent resource for educators.