Summary
The third chapter dismantles the common notion in history books that America was settled in 1620. People had, in fact, been here for thousands of years. It also takes issue with how historians paint American history as the history of the British in the Americas, especially considering that the Spanish were in America for much longer, and other nations like the Dutch had important colonial projects here.
Much of the Native American population was decimated by the disease brought by Europeans that spread so quickly due to higher population density. The chapter points out the lack of detail that is given to Squanto, a Native American who helped the Pilgrims and had a tale crazier than Ulysses. His was also a tragic story, for once he returned home, he found that his entire village had died in an epidemic and he was the only one left.
Chapter 4, "Red Eyes," seeks to tell the story of Native Americans from their perspective, not through white eyes (91). Loewen does give some credit to most textbooks for having devoting some space and trying to do justice to the diverse Native cultures that flourished here before.
However, he takes issue with their still-too-present generalizations and depiction of Natives as savage and slow. The chapter details the sophisticated skills and societies that Native Americans developed. The introduction of guns by Europeans to tribes also produced inter-tribal warfare as the superiorly outfitted tribes could now easily overcome their rivals.
Native Americans were also enslaved extensively, by both Spanish and British settlers, and were the precursors to African slaves. Native Americans also grew increasingly more mobile, as they had to be ready to flee European attackers at any moment.
Ironically, this also made them more dependent on trade with Europeans for goods that they could no longer take the time to produce themselves—sometimes even including food. He also points out that a number of white settlers preferred to live with the Native Americans once they were introduced to their way of life, noting that it was significantly more democratic and less hierarchical.
The chapter also notes that the War of 1812 was monumental for Native Americans, as they were the main losers—when their British allies withdrew, it marked the beginning of the end for them. Even terminology changed—previously Americans meant usually Native Americans; afterwards, it was used to refer to European Americans (117).
Analysis
The author begins by challenging the myth of American exceptionalism: that the U.S. is a nation uniquely destined for world-historical greatness (67). He tackles this very sensitive issue from the start, not hedging his bets. This myth of exceptionalism persists to the current day, as can be seen in the election of Trump and his slogan "Make America Great Again." To attack that mythos is very risky indeed, but Loewen already knows that the people who have picked up his provocatively titled book are the ones already predisposed to believe him or be convinced by him.
He uses the pride of Americans against themselves by showing how the values we hold most dear, can be traced to those the U.S. has shunned and killed. He points out that the more democratic principles of American government actually mirror Native customs very closely and may have been adapted from them, thus undermining the pride and exceptionalism of Americans to an even further degree. This crusade is a personal one for him, and Loewen has no qualms about whom he might offend or make uncomfortable.
Loewen realizes that his subject matter could be considered dull—in fact he elaborates and pontificates a great deal about how high school students hate history. Loewen seeks to enliven his subject by bringing in food, a topic that all can relate to and have encountered in their daily lives. He describes how we take for granted the origins of many important American dishes, not realizing the influence Native Americans had in the production of regional cuisines and dishes such as gumbo, hush puppies, cornbread, Texas chili, and grits (105).
He extends this to show how the very names of our homes are derived from Native Americans. The US has retained many of the Native American names for places, such as Mississippi. Loewen attempts to redeem the image of Native Americans that many students have from the images in textbooks that show them raiding the West and invading homes, by reminding the reader that the Natives considered the Europeans more savage, and learned scalping from them.
Loewen seems to revel in revealing the hypocrisy of Europeans, and how each word used in the lexicon of history shrouds the truth; even the word settler is misleading according to him, as it implies a peaceful person building a home, not an invader taking the land of another. He is on a crusade and wastes no flowery language—his only mission is to reeducate.
