No. of Recommendations: 5
Obviously, there is a somewhat sanitized mythos around the Founding Fathers. Worse when I was in school compared to 1poorkid's education about 35 years later. They were the product of the times they lived, and those times included slavery. I'm not going to say it was "OK" because I have the benefit of hindsight. It was horrific and inhuman. However, that doesn't negate the fact that they were visionaries who built the first secular democracy the world had ever seen. Far from perfect (e.g. women and black people couldn't vote), but a huge step forward.
Fast forward to WWII. The "greatest generation". I would never propose removing that title from them, even though they had Jim Crow in that era. And the internment of Japanese-Americans. Again, they were the product of their times. From the 21st century perspective, that still doesn't make it right. But it does add some context.
And when we look back, I think it is important to provide that context. Don't just show the painting of Washington standing regally in a boat on a river (which he never would have done...small boat like that would have tipped). Include the fact that they owned slaves. Include the fact that Jefferson fathered children with slaves. Include the fact of the Japanese internment in the 1940s, segregation (Tuskegee airmen, 442nd Regiment, etc). It's all part of a more complex history, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I totally agree we need to rid ourselves of the mythos, while not neglecting some of the amazing things that were done by those people.
