• Skullgrid@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Here’s what we were taught about the US REVOLUTION!!!11! 🎉🎉🎉 in history classes in school in the UK :

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      That makes sense. To us it’s the foundational story of our country. To you it’s one of many losses of imperial holdings. And you were going through a thing with a mentally unwell king at the time.

    • PugJesus@lemmy.worldOPM
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      7 days ago

      Damn, we don’t even get a mention like “When the STROPPY, UNGRATEFUL COLONIALS got too unruly, we decided it wasn’t worth the effort to keep them”

      • Skullgrid@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        the closest one is “We stole the black people from Africa and sold them to brazil , carribean and this weird thingy next to the carribean.”

        Oh, you do get a shoutout during the WW1/WW2 sections, but not that much.

        • frog@feddit.uk
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          7 days ago

          I find this so interesting. In the US history books in the 90s, it basically says the US was main reason why the Allies won.

          The books basically ignore when we joined in the war, how many people died, and made it seem like we were the only ones able to take down the Nazis. And Blowing up not 1 but 2 cities in Japan was justified because less Allies soldiers died.

            • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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              7 days ago

              Some do. My schooling made clear we were the good guys [relative] in that conflict. Sure we didn’t talk about the “premature antifascist” designation, but we did get told of the inhumanity of the Japanese internment camps and how some Americans of Japanese decent (and even some Japanese immigrants) still wanted to fight Japan for our country. We also had acknowledgements that the Navajo code talkers were vital and had every reason not to want to aid us.

              Other things we learned about that people assume we didn’t include: the fact that our founding fathers were largely slave owners, that some of them were abolitionists and the fact that slavery was known to be evil at the time, the trail of tears, the fact that Nat Turner’s rebellion inspired John Brown (though there was discussion on the ethics of their killing of children), the fact that we’ve broken nearly every treaty we’ve made with native Americans, and the fact that we overthrew multiple republics for cheap bananas.

            • frog@feddit.uk
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              7 days ago

              The 90s history books made it seem like the Japanese concentration camps were a temporary vacation. Once everything was cleared up, they would be able to go home.

              What they didn’t mention was the conditions on the camps were horrible. They didn’t include the propaganda against Japanese Americans. When the Japanese Americans went home, their homes and business were often destroyed. Trying to live like normal Americans was basically impossible by the amount of racism they received. Land of the free I guess.

      • Maalus@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        The US isn’t as important to people as Americans like to think it is.

        • sad_detective_man@leminal.space
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          7 days ago

          hate to feed into american narcissism but aren’t we like bankrolling most intentional federations we belong to like NATO and the UN. I know that the only other country paying a proportion equivalent to their representation in NATO is Greece of all places and they do not have the spare scratch to be doing that instead of, say, the UK, France, or Germany

            • sad_detective_man@leminal.space
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              7 days ago

              Well I don’t blame you for not thinking so. I can’t find our contribution listed on the actual UN website. It’s shown in other places but really weird that it’s not of the official UN website. Also, all this is subject to change under our current fucktard-in-chief so I probably shouldn’t plan on dying on this hill.

              Definitely, look at the NATO contributions for last year though. Not specifically to lionize the US but literally Greece who is suffering financially but still like “nah dog, let’s be the only place to pay half more of our expected contribution” and then Poland who quietly started doubling it last year for impending blyat reasons.

        • PugJesus@lemmy.worldOPM
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          7 days ago

          I mean, I would think “A major country on the global stage was literally founded as one of our colonies” might be a bit relevant.

          • ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝@sopuli.xyz
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            7 days ago

            Most major countries on the world stage were British colonies at one point.

            Half the world had a revolution from the British. And for world history, the US is globally relevant mostly since WWII.

          • OfCourseNot@fedia.io
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            7 days ago

            In Spain we study the American Revolution, as the first of the liberal democratic revolutions, in as much detail as our own civil war. Or we did 20+ years ago. So I guess the Brits do too and the other commenter is just teasing or something.

            • OhNoMoreLemmy@lemmy.ml
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              7 days ago

              Nah, we spend as much time on the American revolution as on our own civil war. Which is basically nothing.

              I think I heard about cavilers and Roundheads in primary school, and that’s it. No reason for the civil war, no discussion about what Cromwell did in Ireland.

            • MartianSands@sh.itjust.works
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              7 days ago

              We really don’t. Our history curriculum is much more concerned with ancient history. As far as I can remember, we spent a little time on the colonisation of the Americas then didn’t mention them again until the world wars.

          • MartianSands@sh.itjust.works
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            7 days ago

            The empire covered something like 20% of the entire worlds landmass. If they spent time in school for every part of it which went on to become something noteworthy, they’d run out of time for any other history at all.

            The foundation of the US really isn’t as important to the rest of the world as the US thinks it is

          • Maalus@lemmy.world
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            7 days ago

            Nope. Same reasons why Americans don’t learn the exact history of countries in Africa.

          • Skullgrid@lemmy.world
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            7 days ago

            you’re thinking after the invention and spread of radio, bolstered by the Marshall plan and Rock’n’roll

    • chuckleslord@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      Kids in the UK aren’t taught about most of the awful things their country did. Just like most places. Gotta go to university for that knowledge. Want the rabble to be loyal.

      • Skullgrid@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        We were shown the below map and specifically told that they took africans as slaves and got sugar etc in exchange.

        But you are right that there’s a shitload more to be taught that isn’t shown in schools