History textbooks are high on many states' lists of things to buy within the next two years.
In 1994, the US Senate rejected the national standards, which were derided for failing to mention Paul Revere's ride, the Wright Brothers, or Thomas Edison, while including a 14th-century African king, Mansa Musa, and Indian chief Speckled Snake. The clash over history textbooks is set to pick up where that fight over standards and multiculturalism left off, some experts say. It is likely to be complicated by the need for books to meet new state education standards being set in 48 states. But because so many big states are involved in the adoption process, they influence publishers and tend to set the mold for all texts. Multiculturalism has surfaced in social studies textbooks over the last 10 years, Sewall says.