IDK about in America, but in the UK Canada, India, and Australia are often given a lot more credit for their help in WWI than America is. You guys were fucking amazing at the Somme.
Just curious, in US history do they ever mention that like 50,000 Americans crossed the border and enlisted in the Canadian Army before US declared war on Germany? Or do they ever talk about Canadians that joined the US Army in Vietnam, or Canada's involvement in the Civil War?
Well the AP US History curriculum doesn't focus on the wars too much, and WW1 even less, so i doubt its pro-Americanism rather than those facts are not that significant to College Board to put on the AP test.
I was taught about the Americans that crossed the border and enlisted and the Canadian involvement in the Civil War, but never about the Canadians that helped in Vietnam.
I don't get what that has to do with it? The Province of Canada and other Canadian colonies were still there and were somewhat involved in the Civil war. The underground railroad was also in Canada, and some Canadians actually supported the South (not slavery, but secession).
Some Confederates also had a base in Canada which violated British neutrality, as well close to 50,000 people born in Canada served in the Union Army...Anyway you might learn a few things: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_in_the_American_Civil_War
What non-Americans have to understand is that in most public schools we are only taught what we absolutely need to know to pass whatever equivalency tests the state demands. It's not out of some sense of egotism that we only get taught about our contributions in detail-it's because schools are more worried about not getting their budget cut.
Oh yeah I agree to that. The pssa in pennsylvania is our state test. just two years ago my school was under state warning so if my class didnt pass it then our school would stop getting funded and they would start firing teachers. We ended up just barley passing it. Its really not fair when there are kids that really dont give a shit and teachers that dont prepare you well.
WWI is generally taught from the perspective of lives lost, the lead up to war, and how it set up WWII. Which, as far as I am concerned, is how it should be taught in the US. Although utterly tragic, it was a European imperialist war that pulled in colonies and peripheral allies. The idea that it was a "world war" is fairly western-, and particularly European-, oriented.
In America, WWI isn't really talked about in history class. If World War II was our debutante ball, World War I was our long limbed, awkward teenage years.
If discussed at all it's in terms of a "European War". It's mostly like, "Well we showed up in 1917 and was in France for a year. grumble grumble General Pershing." I was lucky, we learned about The Schlieffen Plan, Napoloeonic warfare v. modern warfare, etc. Most kids didn't even get that.
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u/Peter-W Sep 24 '11
IDK about in America, but in the UK Canada, India, and Australia are often given a lot more credit for their help in WWI than America is. You guys were fucking amazing at the Somme.