ourhistory has transformed behind us, rearranging itself as the advance of our founding principlesenables us to see more of our American ancestors as having had a legitimate, recoverableperspective on the events of their own day
The conclusion argues history isn’t fixed; it reorganizes as power expands. As more people become recognized citizens, their perspectives become recognized as historically meaningful too.
We may need, instead, legislation that requires us tostudy divisive concepts, beginning with the most basic one of all: All men are created equal
This flips the political slogan: the author argues the real “divisive concept” is the founding contradiction—universal equality declared alongside slavery—creating the cognitive dissonance that fueled racism.
History is a science, a social science, but it’s also politics,
This line is the essay’s thesis in miniature: what gets taught as “history” shapes citizenship, belonging, and power. The author is telling you to read historiography as a political struggle over national identity.
Bancroft’sambition was to synthesize American history into a grand and glorious epic. He viewed theEuropean colonists who settled the continent as acting out a divine plan
This frames early U.S. history-writing as myth-making: the nation is presented as destined, virtuous, and exceptional. The author is setting up Bancroft as the “origin” of a story that centers elites and justifies national pride.