When we read history we often aren’t aware that most of the things we are reading are either misunderstandings or purposefully toned down, especially in school. This may sound weird because school is where we come to learn facts not myths. But the reason behind this is actually quite simple. When reviewing a sensitive topic such as slavery in America teachers downplay the facts so nobody feels uncomfortable or shamed. History professor Hasan Kwame Jeffries refers to it as ” a sanitized version of history”. Meaning that it’s a little less extreme than what actually happened. In result we learn some things that are not true or as some like to call it myths.

The first myth that I read was about The Civil War. The myth was that it began over the states wanting certain rights when in reality it was because the south wanted to preserve slavery and break away from the U.S. I knew that the myth was wrong we were taught in school about The Civil War.

The second is a myth I was not aware of. I was always taught in school that slaves were forced into working for wealthy white men with no pay whereas this myth says that they were paid workers, which obviously is not true.

The next myth is something I also knew was untrue. The myth was more of a misunderstanding than a myth. You see when schools cover the topic of slavery they focus mostly on The Civil War which can lead student to believe there was only slavery in the south but as a matter of fact there was slavery in all of the colonies but the north abolished it much earlier then the south.

The fourth and final myth is completely untrue and I knew that too. This myth states that slavery was “not that bad”. When in reality slavery was brutal on many levels. Slaves were beaten harshly and often separated from their families. They used this myth in the classroom to make sure the kids didn’t think any less of the figures in our history who owned slaves.

If I was able to correct this I would start with abolishing these myths. It’s not only important for kids to know the truth but for grownups too. We need to learn that slavery was not okay and that it cannot be watered down. We cannot change what already happened but we can change the way that we look at it and teach others in the future.