Conservatives around the country oppose the current federal AP history curriculum and exam because they believe that it is biased in favor of a liberal interpretation of history.
They complain that AP students are being taught a version of history that turns much of what is accepted as U.S. history on its ear and looks at the country’s history of oppression of ethnic minorities and the poor.
Retired New Jersey history teacher Larry S. Krieger told Newsweek, “As I read through the document, I saw a consistently negative view of American history that highlights oppressors and exploiters.”
Krieger is one of the conservative activists leading the charge to change textbooks across the country to reflect a more traditional view of U.S. history and American exceptionalism.
While the narrative may be “historically true,” he argues, “progressives are going to be the heroes in this narrative.”
High school AP history, he said, should be less like a college course and award more plaudits to the founding fathers, captains of industry and other conservative heroes. The liberal bias in the AP curriculum, he said, will turn students against large companies, corporations and wealthy Americans.
“What we have here is a repetition of a theme: There’s another problem, the progressives come to the rescue, and who are the villains?” he said. “Well, American companies are the villains, of course.”
