Educational Research Analysts
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2006 California 8th grade US History textbook reviews

California approved these 8th grade U.S. History books for local adoption.

Fair
 The American Journey to WWII  (Glencoe, 2006)
  • Contradicts itself on the meaning of the Constitution's supremacy clause
  • Defines strict and loose construction correctly
  • Confuses constitutional states' rights with unconstitutional state sovereignty in most instances
  • Enumerates 10 of 13 free-market factors in the Commercial / Industrial Revolutions
  • Omits pro-free enterprise answers to critics of late-1800s big busi­ness behaviors
  • Mentions only 2 of 11 rights of Englishmen violated by Acts of Parlia­ment (1763-75)
  • Discusses 6 of 11 ways that colonial religion encouraged the Ameri­can Revolution
Poor
 United States History – Independence to 1914  (Holt, 2006)
  • Advocates federal supremacy instead of federalism
  • Marginalizes strict construction by wrongly defining it
  • Fails to distinguish constitutional states' rights from unconstitutional state sovereignty
  • Describes 8 of 13 free-market principles that fostered the Industrial Revolution
  • Criticizes late-19th century big businessmen in 31 student text lines, defends them in 3
  • Covers 3 of 11 rights of Englishmen abridged by Acts of Parliament (1763-75)
  • Mentions 4 of 11 influences of colonial religion on the American Revolution
Very Poor
 Creating America: A History of the U.S. – Beginnings through WWII  (McDougal, 2006)
  • Misconstrues the Constitution's supremacy clause
  • Misrepresents strict and loose construction
  • Confounds constitutional states' rights with unconstitutional state sovereignty
  • Acknowledges 4 of 13 free-market causes of the U.S. Industrial Revolution
  • Bans counterargument to its calling Rockefeller a "robber baron"
  • Names 4 of 11 rights of Englishmen infringed on by Acts of Parliament (1763-75)
  • Notes 5 of 11 characteristics of colonial religion favoring the American Revolution
Worse
 America: History of Our Nation – Independence through 1914   (Prentice, 2006)
  • Mistakes constitutional supremacy for federal supremacy
  • Errs in defining strict and loose construction
  • Discredits constitutional states' rights by equating them with uncon­sti­tution­al state sovereignty
  • Addresses 5 of 13 free-market elements in the Commercial / Industrial Revolutions
  • Censors exculpatory info on capitalist activity in the 1800s
  • Identifies just 2 of 11 rights of Englishmen denied by Acts of Parlia­ment (1763-75)
  • Cites a mere 2 of 11 contributions of colonial religion to the American Revolution
Worst
 A History of US   vols. 3-8  (Oxford, 2005)   >> see partial review
  • Unthinkable - At least 50% more factual errors than any other book here: Scholarship is suspect.
  • Unsuitable - Standard U.S. History topics shortchanged: Biographical approach fails as a survey.
  • Unfixable - 19 separate bindings: Competitors' Teacher Edition wrap­arounds are better.
We can e-mail full, fast doc­umenta­tion for this rank­ing, plus our list of these books' 427 FAC­TUAL ERRORS missed by edit­ors and Cali­for­nia's ap­proval pro­cess (see sample errors: I, II). Pub­lish­ers tout teaching aides. We stress sub­ject matter content. Pub­lish­ers tell you their strengths. We in­clude their weak­nesses. No publisher funds us in any way. We have no finan­cial stake in the textbook industry. Unlike publisher sales reps, we have no monetary interest in any adop­tion outcome. Our support comes from in­di­vid­uals and a few small foun­dations, which to our know­ledge have no ties to any textbook company.