A Patriot's History of the United States
Encyclopedia
A Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus's Great Discovery to the War on Terror is a 2004 book on American history by Larry Schweikart
and Michael Allen
. Written from a conservative standpoint, it is a counterpoint to Howard Zinn
's A People's History of the United States
and asserts that the United States
is an "overwhelmingly positive" force for good in the world.
, the book quickly rose to the top of the New York Times and Amazon.com
bestseller lists.
Given the nature of the book, with its clear point of view, the critical reception has been divided. This echoes the divided reaction in 1980 to Howard Zinn
's A People's History of the United States
, parts of which were deemed "required reading" by Columbia University
historian Eric Foner
, even as Harvard University
historian Oscar Handlin
called Zinn's book a "fairy tale."
In a review of the Schweikart/Allen book in the conservative magazine National Review
, Matthew Spalding of the Heritage Foundation
wrote that "A Patriot's History rejects the economic determinism
of Beard
and Zinn, and others who 'wrongly assume that people were (and are) incapable of acting outside of self-interest.'" Spalding continued:
Reviewing the book in the journal The History Teacher
, David Hoogland Noon was strongly critical of it. According to Noon, the book's peculiar priorities – it "devotes a single paragraph to the Japanese internment
while squandering an entire page with denunciations of liberal historians and their treatments of the subject" – as well as the omission of landmark works from its sources suggest "ignorance of the basic parameters of actual historical scholarship". Moreover, according to Noon, "the authors make claims that are not even remotely endorsed by the footnoted sources". "Written for an audience of the previously converted", Noon concluded, "this book is hardly worth anyone else's time."
Criticizing the book from a conservative perspective, Paul Gottfried
in the The American Conservative
characterized A Patriot's History as an example of neoconservative historiography
:
In his review of the book in the Wall Street Journal, Brendan Miniter called a Patriot's History a "fluent account of America from the discovery of the Continent up to the present day."
Larry Schweikart
Larry E. Schweikart is an American historian and professor of history at the University of Dayton. He is the author of more than a dozen books....
and Michael Allen
Michael Allen (historian)
Michael Allen is an American historian. He is a professor of history and American studies at the University of Washington Tacoma, book-review editor for Pacific Northwest Quarterly and president of the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame. He served in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War...
. Written from a conservative standpoint, it is a counterpoint to Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn was an American historian, academic, author, playwright, and social activist. Before and during his tenure as a political science professor at Boston University from 1964-88 he wrote more than 20 books, which included his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United...
's A People's History of the United States
A People's History of the United States
Chapter 7, "As Long As Grass Grows or Water Runs" discusses 19th century conflicts between the U.S. government and Native Americans and Indian removal, especially during the administrations of Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren....
and asserts that the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is an "overwhelmingly positive" force for good in the world.
Reception
After being recommended by talk-show host Glenn BeckGlenn Beck
Glenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks...
, the book quickly rose to the top of the New York Times and Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
bestseller lists.
Given the nature of the book, with its clear point of view, the critical reception has been divided. This echoes the divided reaction in 1980 to Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn was an American historian, academic, author, playwright, and social activist. Before and during his tenure as a political science professor at Boston University from 1964-88 he wrote more than 20 books, which included his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United...
's A People's History of the United States
A People's History of the United States
Chapter 7, "As Long As Grass Grows or Water Runs" discusses 19th century conflicts between the U.S. government and Native Americans and Indian removal, especially during the administrations of Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren....
, parts of which were deemed "required reading" by Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
historian Eric Foner
Eric Foner
Eric Foner is an American historian. On the faculty of the Department of History at Columbia University since 1982, he writes extensively on political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African American biography, Reconstruction, and historiography...
, even as Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
historian Oscar Handlin
Oscar Handlin
Oscar Handlin was an American historian. As a professor of history at Harvard University for over 50 years, he directed 80 PhD dissertations and helped promote social and ethnic history...
called Zinn's book a "fairy tale."
In a review of the Schweikart/Allen book in the conservative magazine National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
, Matthew Spalding of the Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
wrote that "A Patriot's History rejects the economic determinism
Economic determinism
Economic determinism is the theory which attributes primacy to the economic structure over politics in the development of human history. It is usually associated with the theories of Karl Marx, although many Marxist thinkers have dismissed plain and unilateral economic determinism as a form of...
of Beard
Charles A. Beard
Charles Austin Beard was, with Frederick Jackson Turner, one of the most influential American historians of the first half of the 20th century. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science...
and Zinn, and others who 'wrongly assume that people were (and are) incapable of acting outside of self-interest.'" Spalding continued:
Reviewing the book in the journal The History Teacher
The History Teacher
The History Teacher is a quarterly academic journal concerned with the teaching of history in schools, colleges, and universities. It was established in 1967 and is published by The Society for History Education....
, David Hoogland Noon was strongly critical of it. According to Noon, the book's peculiar priorities – it "devotes a single paragraph to the Japanese internment
Japanese American internment
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
while squandering an entire page with denunciations of liberal historians and their treatments of the subject" – as well as the omission of landmark works from its sources suggest "ignorance of the basic parameters of actual historical scholarship". Moreover, according to Noon, "the authors make claims that are not even remotely endorsed by the footnoted sources". "Written for an audience of the previously converted", Noon concluded, "this book is hardly worth anyone else's time."
Criticizing the book from a conservative perspective, Paul Gottfried
Paul Gottfried
Paul Edward Gottfried is Horace Raffensperger Professor of Humanities at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, and a Guggenheim recipient...
in the The American Conservative
The American Conservative
The American Conservative is a monthly U.S. opinion magazine published by Ron Unz. Its first editor was Scott McConnell, his successors being Kara Hopkins and the present incumbent, Daniel McCarthy....
characterized A Patriot's History as an example of neoconservative historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
:
In his review of the book in the Wall Street Journal, Brendan Miniter called a Patriot's History a "fluent account of America from the discovery of the Continent up to the present day."