Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black & White

Product Description

Setting the Record Straight is a unique view of the religious and moral heritage of black Americans, with an emphasis on the untold yet significant stories from our rich political history. The material presented is ground-breaking and revolutionary, leaving viewers amazed and inspired.

Customer Reviews

A Must Read for Americans of all Colors
This book, "Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black & White" by David Burton is a must read for all those who are fearful of receiving revisionist history mingled with opinionated editorial but desires straight truth and well-researched evidence. It is my standard custom to highlight passages in a book for a personal quick reference in the future but this piece is so ladened with intriguing facts, brash truth and overt history that I would have gone through multiple highlighters trying to keep up. Barton wastes no time as you buckle up and get launched into the American Revolution with black patriots such as James Armistead, a spy who made the critical 1781 Yorktown victory that established America as an independent nation then to Peter Salem who was stalwart in the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill. Being a native of Boston, Mass. I was embarassed in all the history around me that I did not know. He continues with Prince Whipple and Oliver Cromwell who served under General Washington during the American Revolution, both portrayed (along with a woman named Mary Ludwig Hays) in the historic painting called "Washington Crossing the Delaware" by Emanuel Leutze in 1851 commemorating the event.

Barton continues along this journey and things that have been right in front of your face is dramatically revealed to you for the first time, NOW coupled everything with truth and facts that ties it all together. From the 2 parties (the Whigs and the Democrats) failing to do anything about slavery gave way to a new party called the Republican party, created to deal with slavery. Then to Reconstruction with Frederck Douglas and his personal enlightenment to his former misconception (similiar to most people today) about the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and the Declaration of Independence which he concluded in considering the fairness of the Constitution that, "The Constitution is a glorious liberty document...Now, take the Constitution according to its plain reading and I defy the presentation of a single pro-slavery clause in it. On the other hand, it will be found to contain principles and purposes entirely hostile to the existence of slavery." Barton slams open the door of truth so aggressively that it barely hangs on its hinges as you continue down history placing the Copperhead Democrats and the Republican parties in its proper context and perspective that shattered my misconception and political notions of the parties. From a anti-slavery Democrat of Charles Sumner who was violently beaten with a club by Democrat Preston Brooks for speaking against slavery on the floor of the Senate to later Sumner leaving the Democrat party to be one of the key founders of the new Republican party. Guess which party in the South of 1866 started a group whose declared purpose was to break down the "black supremacy" Republican government, threaten the 98% black Republicans voters and former slaves from the polls and had open and active members of Congress members of this organization? Give up? The party starts with a "D" and the group starts with a "K."

Barton's book ignites a fire of curiosity and hunger for more with his book that chronicles black history but can never be removed or divorced from American history. Each step along the way Barton exposes the fortitude, compassion and brevity of the human spirit and condition when black and white Americans fought, bled, were lynched and murdered standing for the cause of liberation and freedom for blacks and all Americans. Barton equips you with the knowledge of historical integrity and for myself as a black man, a relentless desire to learn more to understand myself, my experience, my history and enrich the lives of others through truth. David Barton has performed a magnificent task in this work and it should be read by all those who sincerely want to peak through the current veil of political deception, public school miseducation and historical theivery to see the potent intensity of American history.

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Good, well documented
Lots of well documented facts presented in a well organized fashion. Lots of insightful illustrations. The anti-Democrat stuff was laid on a bit thick and I would have prefered the information to be presented in seperate chapters. A good book regardless of the price.

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Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black & White
Reading this book is an education in lost American History. It focuses on the religious and moral heritage of African American and reveals their unique contributions to the fabric of America. This book does set the record straight by providing information that has been expunged from the class room text books. While reading it you ask yourself how this could have happened in America. It becomes clear when you dig deeper into American history. What you find is ugly.

In truth, the fault lies with racist like President Woodrow Wilson, author of "A History of the American People", which was so racially biased that D.W. Griffith quoted the President in his 1915 silent film, "The Birth of a Nation," "The white men were roused by a mere instinct of self preservation, until at last there has sprung into existence a great Ku Klux Klan, to protect the Southern country." Not only did President Wilson proudly stand by those words, but he also had a private showing of the movie at the White House. President Wilson after seeing the movie is quoted as saying "It is like writing history with lightning, my only regret is that it is all so true."

David Barton's book shines the light of truth on history and exposes those that attempted to erase and marginalize the contributions of these patriots of color. If you love history, it is well worth reading.

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great read. enlightening.
Well written. Short and to the point. Easy to read. Great information with foot notes.

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What my schools didn't teach me
I was aghast at the amount of history that I was denied in high school. David Barton has a great gift of being able to explain portions of our history so as to describe the how's and why's. I never knew how much I was denied educationally. I am thankful to Mr. Barton for helping me to understand the relationship between slaves and representation. What a turmoil. I recommend this book, in fact, I've bought this book for my mother who is also interested in the American History that was too inconvenient to teach.

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