Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Response to July 17, 2002

Holt, Rinehart and Winston's
Formal Response
To
Written Comments
July 17, 2002

Texas Public Policy Foundation - Sample Errors

John Marshall was the first Supreme Court Chief Justice. Wrong person - John Jay was the first Supreme Court Chief Justice. Grade 8 American History, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, page 337.

HRW Response: Thank you for pointing out this error, which we identified in our corrections list submitted to the TEA on June 27. As stated in that report, we will correct the Interpreting the Visual Record caption on page 337 so that it says "John Marshall was the fourth Supreme Court chief justice."

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella gave Columbus 3 ships. Wrong number – The king and queen gave Columbus no ships. He chartered the Santa Maria himself and the town of Palos gave the Nina and Pinta to Columbus in payment of a debt owed to the monarchs. Grade 7 Texas History, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, page 90.

HRW Response: Thank you for pointing out the need for this clarification. The text on page 90S will be changed to address this issue. The new text will read "Ferdinand and Isabella supported Columbus, who acquired three ships."

The Austro-Hungarians imposed Roman Catholicism in Croatia and Slovenia. Inaccurate statement-People in both Croatia and Slovenia had widely practiced Catholicism long before arrival of the Austro-Hungarians, siding with Rome during the Great Schism. Grade 6 World Cultures, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, page 329.

HRW Response: Although we do not feel that the current wording constitutes an error, we do agree that the passage could be misleading. Therefore, in the first paragraph, line 6, we will change the sentence after "Islam." to read, "Eventually the Ottoman Empire weakened, and in the late 1800s the Austro-Hungarians took control of Croatia and Slovenia." We will delete the last sentence of the paragraph.

William Kennedy is described as a "Texan." Inaccurate description-William Kennedy served as British Consul to Texas and received a land grant to settle in Texas, but he never settled or became a permanent resident of Texas. Grade 7 Texas History, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, page 284.

HRW Response: Thank you for pointing out the need for this clarification. We will delete "Texan" from the sentence describing Kennedy.

Gideon Lewis was Richard King's partner in the King Ranch. Inaccurate name – Mifflin Kennedy was Richard King's partner. Grade 7 Texas History, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, page 449.

HRW Response: On page 449 (T,S), the text states "The King Ranch in South Texas was one of the most important cattle operations in the state. Richard King and Gideon Lewis established the ranch in Nueces County in the early 1850s." This is an accurate statement. The Handbook of Texas states, "The 825,000-acre King Ranch, in Nueces, Kenedy, Kleberg, and Willacy counties, had its beginning in 1852, when Richard King and Gideon K. Lewis set up a cattle camp on Santa Gertrudis Creek in South Texas. Formal purchase began in 1853, when they bought a Spanish land grant, Rincun de Santa Gertrudis, of 15,500 acres on Santa Gertrudis Creek in Nueces County. A short time later they purchased the Garza Santa Gertrudis grant of 53,000 acres. During the mid-1850s, as partners, King and Lewis acquired more landholdings around the area of the creek." The Handbook of Texas further notes that Lewis was a partner until his death in 1855, that James Walworth and Mifflin Kenedy entered into a partnership in 1856, and that Mifflin Kenedy bought interest in the ranch in 1860. The handbook also states that by the late 1960s these partnerships had ended. Students have an opportunity to learn more about the King Ranch with the Internet Activity on page 459 (S,T). We will add information about Mifflin Kenedy in the Chapter Enrichment Links on the Internet, keyword "ST3 CH21".

The Ninth and Tenth Amendments extend rights to the people and to the states. This is an inaccurate statement and the interpretation is exactly the opposite of what the Amendments say. The Ninth and Tenth Amendments recognize pre-existing rights and powers but do not create or expand rights. The federal government has no authority to grant rights or powers to citizens or states. Grade 8 American History, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, page 276, teachers' edition.

HRW Response: We agree that the answer may be misleading and will change the answer to read as follows: "They recognize the existence of rights and powers that are not listed in the Constitution."

Texas Public Policy Foundation - Sample Statements of Bias

4. "The Careers in Government section discusses the job of state trial court judge. The segment concludes by noting that 'Critics charge that in a Republican controlled Senate (in California), it is harder for women and minorities to be confirmed.' The implication is that Republicans oppose the candidacy of women and minorities when in fact it's more likely that many of these women and minority candidates are of the opposite political party. To this end, it should be clarified that the opposition is one of philosophical difference and not racist or sexist." Holt, Rinehart & Winston, American Government, page 278, Dr. Chris Mammons.

HRW Response: Although we do not agree with the reviewer that this passage contains a factual error, we do agree that the reader could interpret the passage to include an unintended bias with regard to Republican motives. Please note that the source of the "charge" by "critics" was a nonpartisan report issued in 2000 by the Alliance for Justice. As a result of re-examining this passage due to the reviewer's comment, we have chosen to replace the last paragraph of the Careers feature with the following two paragraphs, which will now read as follows:

"The process of selecting judges varies from state to state. In some states judges are elected, while in others the governor or state legislature makes judicial appointments. Once selected to "the bench," judges may serve either for fixed terms or until mandatory retirement. Some state judges who are initially chosen in a partisan election later face uncontested "retention" elections. In these elections, voters decide only whether or not they want to retain the judge on the bench.

Some state judges may go on to receive appointment by the president to the federal judiciary. In recent years the confirmation process in the U.S. Senate has increasingly been one of political battles. In 2000 the nonpartisan Alliance for Justice reported that despite the urgent need for judges, many vacancies were going unfilled because of politics."

7. "The discussion of affirmative action in Texas in the teachers' edition notes that the Texas 10% rule should 'make the relatively segregated high schools the basis for integration in higher education, and reward the students based on merit.' The difficulty here is that there is much evidence to indicate that the 10% rule is having an adverse effect on students (many of them minority) who come from schools where the academic standards are not as rigorous. When these students are accepted into college because they are in the top 10% of their class, they often have difficulty competing at the college level. In short, the top 10% rule is not a true merit system but instead provides set-asides for the top 10% of every school regardless of the level of achievement." Holt, Rinehart & Winston, American Government, page 348 (teachers' edition), Dr. Chris Hammons.

HRW Response: We understand the reviewer's point; however, we believe that the statement in question is factual, even if not as clear and comprehensive as the reviewer may wish. The mention of the 10 percent rule is part of a brief sketch of the issue of diversity in higher education provided as background information to the teacher, and we do not believe that it is misleading as to the system's merit component. Within each high school in the state, students are indeed rewarded based on merit — i.e., they are included in the top 10 percent of their class based on their academic achievement, with no gender, racial, or other set-asides involved. We do believe that the last sentence of this annotation, which was originally written prior to this law being passed, needs to be updated. Therefore, to clarify that the concluding statement on p. 348(T) expresses the intention of the law's supporters at the time that it was passed, not its outcome, we will replace the last sentence with the following sentence: "Supporters of the law intended that this measure combat the potential decline in college enrollment by minority students, while at the same time rewarding high school students based on the merit." We will also add "in 1998" after "passed a law" in line 2 of this paragraph.

9. "The Incas practiced imperialism, but it is not called that; instead, the power is always used for good. European imperialism doesn't receive this same treatment. Examples: "The Inca emperor had absolute power but used it to improve the empire." Also, "In an effort to unify these people, Inca rulers tried to eliminate regional differences. They sometimes moved entire villages to colonize new lands." None of this is referred to as imperialism. When Europeans "move[d] entire villages to colonize new lands" it was always considered a bad thing, even if regional differences were overcome. Even when the British in India "treated Hindus and Muslims equally but did little to ease religious hatred between them (page 675)." It was not enough to treat them equal, the British are criticized for not proactively solving ancient rivalries." Holt, Rinehart & Winston, High School World History, pages 211 and 675, Scott Ham's.

HRW Response: Holt's World History: The Human Journey, like most, if not all, other high school world history textbooks, does not introduce the term imperialism until the post-European exploration era in keeping with general historiographical trends. Therefore, the term imperialism is not used in the text discussions of Mesoamerica and Andean South America before the 1400s. We would also point out that TEK 7B states that students are to study the effects of imperialism on selected societies, which the text does.

Regarding the reviewer's concern with the passage on page 675 of the text, we do not believe that the text gives the impression of favoring one group over another. The example cited by the reviewer is one case in which lack of elaboration on a topic benefits impressions of the British. The sentence occurs in a paragraph discussing the British tactic of "divide and rule" in India. Several historians argue that the British subtly encouraged religious rivalries or intentionally avoided taking action to ease Hindu/Muslim hatred in order to help British colonization efforts. These historians postulate that the British thinking was as follows: as long as the Hindus and Muslims were fighting each other, they would not band together to oppose the British. Because scholars still debate how active, or purposely inactive, the British were in these rivalries, we chose not to elaborate further on this subject.

Texas Public Policy Foundation - Recommendations - Grade 7 Texas History

"572S notes that urbanization occurred more slowly in Texas than in the United States as a whole but does not offer a reason." Holt, Rinehart & Winston, page 572 (students' edition)

HRW Response: Thank you for your feedback on this issue. Unfortunately, to have adequately and clearly explained the history of urbanization in Texas as it compared to urbanization in the rest of the United States would have taken far more space in the textbook than this particular issue warranted in the scope of the Texas history course. Because the point we make may raise questions for students, however, we are adding an Internet Activity that students can access through the Chapter Enrichments link, keyword ST3 CH27.

"Chapter 24 is weak concerning the hurricane of 1900 and the impact it had on Galveston." Holt, Rinehart & Winston

HRW Response: On page 508(S,T) the text discusses the Galveston hurricane in the context of political reforms and the development of the commission plan of local government. On that page, there is a primary source quote on the beginning of the hurricane, a photograph showing the destruction the hurricane caused, and a feature on the building of the seawall to prevent future hurricane damage. Students more fully explore the effects of the hurricane on page 515 (S,T) with the following Internet Activity: "Access the Internet through the HRW Go site to research how the Galveston hurricane of 1900 affected the political, economic, and social development of Texas. Then locate, differentiate, and use primary and secondary sources to create a pamphlet that shows the various ways in which the hurricane changed Galveston's people, infrastructure, and government." We feel that the text and its related activities adequately cover this topic.

"Nowhere in the textbook do they mention Miss Ima Hogg and her contributions to the Arts." Holt, Rinehart & Winston

HRW Response: Thank you for bringing the lack of coverage of Ima Hogg to our attention. Because she was not mentioned in the TEKS and space constraints made it difficult to include everyone we would like to have discussed, Ima Hogg was not featured in the Student's Edition. However, she certainly made many contributions to Texas and is an important figure. We will add a short feature called That's Interesting! to the Teacher's Edition on page 629. The feature will read as follows: "One of the state's great patrons of art, music, and education was Ima Hogg, the daughter of Governor James Hogg. She helped found the Houston Symphony Orchestra and was active in the arts and historic preservation. In 1969 Ima Hogg, along with Oveta Culp Hobby and Lady Bird Johnson, became one of the first three female members of the Academy of Texas." Students will be able to learn more information about Ima Hogg by accessing the Chapter Enrichment Links on the Internet, keyword ST3 CH27.

"I do not think that, in general, this text does as good a job as some of personalizing leaders in its presentation so that students may identify with them." Holt, Rinehart & Winston

HRW Response: We tried to bring the history and people of Texas, including its leaders, to life for the students. We feel that through the use of an engaging narrative, storylike section introductions, and features such as the Biographies, we have brought Texas leaders to life, to the extent possible in a textbook. We welcome from the reviewer more specific examples of how we have failed in these attempts in comparison to other texts. We should also point out that students will learn more about Texas leaders through portfolio projects, activities on the Internet, and other ancillary materials.

Texas Public Policy Foundation - Testimony of Dr. Christopher Hammons

528S, The text does an excellent job in pointing out that the Buffalo Soldiers also served in the Spanish-American War. I am disappointed, though, that this text does not mention that the 10^thcavalry did not receive equal treatment and respect from the settlers they defended.

HRW Response: Thank you for your positive comment about our inclusion in Chapter 25 of the buffalo soldiers in the Spanish-American War. However, you also note that we do not address the discrimination buffalo soldiers faced, particularly in regard to the wars on the Texas frontier, which are covered in Chapter 20. We agree that the issue of discrimination is an important topic; in fact, discrimination against African Americans is discussed extensively in the previous chapter. The Teacher's Edition has an Internet Activity on the buffalo soldiers (p. 429) as well as a reference to a CNN Presents Texas: Yesterday and Today video segment entitled "The Pardon of Henry O. Flipper." These activities give students a chance to explore more information on the buffalo soldiers. Due to the importance of this topic, we have decided to add more material, which students will be able to access through the Chapter Enrichment Links on the Internet, keyword ST3 CH20.

Reviewer Jennifer Powell

Ms. Powell: ...On the surface both books appear to achieve both of these goals. They each have timelines at the beginning of the chapter to show the big picture of the American Revolution. Most of the important people and the most important events are bolded. And they are reading — they're reading checks throughout the chapters in order to stimulate student's thinking. In addition both presents the texts of the Declaration of Independence with dictionary definitions of the difficult words and also a list of the signers. However, close evaluation reveals a few more details. For example, in the Declaration of Independence, there are inadequate references to the signers and their backgrounds. Prentice Hall, in the teacher's edition, mentions some of the signers were not lawyers, and then encourages teachers to ask the students to research the various occupations and the training that the signers had. Holt, however, had no mention of any of their backgrounds. Did you know that out of the 56 signers, 27 had seminary degrees? Holt did an excellent job of providing visual — visuals of history through art and detailed maps. In your packet, you will find an example of that. However, it falters in some of the more important areas. There are few quotes or references from primary sources and said an entire page was dedicated to an historical fiction book rather than primary sources. There are a lot of other primary source examples that could have been included. There is spy letters that are available. There is a lot of journal entries that are available from George Washington and other founding fathers, or the letters between John and Abigail Adams. Prentice Hall, although it does not have the same number of pictures as Holt's, it is superior. It provides summaries and several quotes in the texts. And the inadequacy of Holt can be compared with Prentice Hall with the example of their — their approach to Thomas Paine's common sense and important documents. Holt has a short summary and no quotes whereas Prentice Hall has a background, a summary, and an excerpt and discussion on primary source analysis.

HRW Response: We thank the reviewer for her positive comments regarding our overall presentation of information in Call to Freedom. We especially appreciate her positive comments regarding our use of visuals to support instruction, our presentation of the Declaration of Independence, and our use of Reading Checks to guide students through the mastery of content in Call to Freedom.

In response to the reviewer's comment that Holt contained no mention of the backgrounds of the signers of the Declaration, we would like to call the reviewer's attention to the following passages in Call to Freedom in which we discuss the signers. On page 191 of the Teacher's Edition, for example, we include a Citizenship informational annotation titled "Signing the Declaration." This annotation discusses the events taking place as late as July 1, 1776, that related to getting enough votes in favor of independence. The annotation specifically discusses Richard Henry Lee, Edward Rutledge, and Caesar Rodney — all signers of the Declaration of Independence. We also include a Citizenship annotation in the Teacher's Edition on page 196 to accompany the Declaration of Independence titled "The Signers." In this annotation we say that "the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence shared many characteristics — almost all were Protestant white males and were fairly wealthy. Forty-eight of the signers were born in America."

We are surprised by the reviewer's contention that Call to Freedom is deficient with regard to the inclusion of primary sources. We have included primary source excerpts at points of use throughout Call to Freedom. For example, Chapter 7, "The American Revolution," includes ten primary source quotes within the chapter narrative. (Please see pages 185, 186, 192, 193, 199, 200, 203, 208, 210, and 213.) Four of the primary source quotes are accompanied by an Analyzing Primary Sources critical thinking question. Also included in this chapter is the Declaration of Independence. We would like to call the reviewer's attention to the table of contents, pages xiii through xv, where we list over 150 primary source quotes and 17 historical documents that are included in the textbook.

Regarding the reviewer's comments about our coverage of Thomas Paine, we must mention that we devote a section (see page 190) in the American Revolution chapter to Thomas Paine's Common Sense titled "Paine's Common Sense." We include excerpts from the pamphlet in the discussion and place emphasis on the significance of this discussion by calling out both Common Sense and Thomas Paine as key terms that students should learn in this chapter. The section is followed by a Reading Check critical thinking question that focuses on the significance of Thomas Paine's Common Sense.

Ms. Powell: The TX Education Code wants public education to "prepare thoughtful, active citizens" and give them an appreciation for the basic democratic values and national heritage. Holt's textbook falls short of achieving these goals. Prentice Hall's textbook, on the other hand, strives to integrate primary sources and depth into its coverage of the American Revolution.

HRW Response: We addressed the reviewer's comments concerning primary sources in our preceding response. Here we will respond to her comments regarding citizenship.

We share the reviewer's concern with preparing students to become thoughtful, active citizens. We also feel that it is essential to provide students with information that will give them an appreciation for basic democratic values and our national heritage. We would like to draw the reviewer's attention to TEKS 8.16 through TEKS 8.23 listed below. We are listing in brackets after each TEKS reference some of the pages from Call to Freedom that address each of these TEKS objectives.

8.16 Government: The student understands the American beliefs and principles reflected in the U.S. Constitution and other important historic documents. [pp. 222-24, 241, 248]

8.17 Government: The student understands the process of changing the U.S. Constitution and the impact of amendments on American society, [pp. 247, 335, 566]

8.18 Government: The student understands the dynamic nature of the powers of the national government and state governments in a federal system. [242, 354, 391]

8.19 Government: The student understands the impact of landmark Supreme Court cases. [408, 566, 567]

8.20 Citizenship: The student understands the rights and responsibilities of citizens of the United States. [275, 295, 296]

8.21 Citizenship: The student understands the importance of voluntary individual participation in the democratic process. [114, 170, 704]

8.22 Citizenship: The student understands the importance of the expression of different points of view in a democratic society. [325, 636, 711]

8.23 Citizenship: The student understands the importance of effective leadership in a democratic society. [316, 477, 654]

We have addressed each of these identified TEKS objectives numerous times throughout Call to Freedom. We feel that the content of Call to Freedom will provide more than adequate support in preparing students to become thoughtful, active citizens. Throughout the Call to Freedom program we have attempted to provide content for students that encourages them to develop an appreciation for the basic democratic values on which our nation was built.

Reviewer Eleanor Hutcheson

Ms. Hutcheson: "Glencoe and Holt did correctly state the accurate details of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the $15 million United States paid to Mexico for the land session. They both also mention the additional 3.5 million paid to settle claims which Prentice and MacDougal did not."

HRW Response: We thank the reviewer for noting our accuracy regarding the details of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Ms. Hutcheson: "Again, Glencoe and Holt explain the laws made by the State democratic party of Texas forbidding the blacks to vote in their primary."

HRW Response: We thank the reviewer for noting our accuracy.

Ms. Hutcheson: "Holt has a sentence on 557 that Annie Mae was African-American and how was her life affected during the great depression. And she said, I didn't have to worry about no jobs because I had a job. And then she says other things. The question then of the book is: Why was it tough for her to find work and increase the hardship she faced because of discrimination against the African-American. And I say why be critical of a hard working, self-employed individual, more power to her. We need more people like that."

HRW Response: Regarding our quote by Annie Mae Hunt and the questions that follow, we did not intend, nor do we believe students will interpret question number 4 to be critical of Annie Mae Hunt. We believe it is appropriate to ask students the critical thinking question on page 557, "How might the fact that Annie Mae Hunt was African American have affected her life during the Great Depression?" The text notes 12 pages earlier on page 545 that the depression was particularly hard for African Americans and Mexican Americans who were often the first to lose their jobs. The Annotated Teacher's Edition provides one possible answer, focusing on both the difficulty of finding work and discrimination, but students' responses to this open-ended question will vary.

Ms. Hutcheson:

"Holt, Page 565 has a picture of a military post. What's this photo show about life on the military base? And the answer is facilities were plain and functional. And military base life included standing around and waiting. Now, this is negative to military efforts that should add, we're grateful that the military was able to organize and be effective in a very short time. I am assuming this was a World War II picture."

HRW Response: Our text images and their corresponding questions, such as the photo and related question on page 565, are designed to be open-ended critical thinking questions that help students practice the skill of analyzing primary sources, including visuals. The question on page 565, "What does this photo show about life on a military base?" has a variety of possible responses. The answer in the Annotated Teacher's Edition — "Facilities were plain and functional and military-based life included standing around and waiting" — is one possible student response. We fail to see how the photo or its related question and possible answer imply a negative attitude toward U.S. military efforts.

Reviewer Lindsay Whitehurst

"1. Portrayal of Abraham Lincoln ...

Holt devotes 1/4 page to Lincoln's bio and wants the students of Texas to remember that Lincoln was a funny guy. He liked to laugh, had a great sense of humor, and possessed a dry wit, as evidenced by this quote:

7 feel like the boy who stumped his toe," he said on losing the 1858 U.S. Senate race to Stephen Douglas. "/ am too big to cry and too badly hurt to laugh." (P. 97)

I ask you, which portrayal of Lincoln does Texas want to impress upon the minds of its students? Humor or humility? Laughter or leadership?"

HRW Response: The biographical sketch of President Lincoln on p. 97 begins, "Superior leadership skills made Abraham Lincoln one of our nation's greatest presidents. The personal hardship of losing two children and the stresses of the Civil War took a toll, however. Lincoln endured periodic bouts of severe depression. He often used laughter to combat his depression." Please note that this passage about Lincoln begins by describing his leadership skills. Also note that one of the purposes of the text's biographical sketches, such as this one about Lincoln, is to humanize historical figures and to make them more interesting to a broad range of students. The text also includes numerous examples of Lincoln's leadership ability: Lincoln's response to secession (pp. 91, 96); his response to Fort Sumter (p. 97); and his abilities as commander in chief (pp. 102, 110, 112, 113, 114, 117). An excerpt from Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation (p. 144) and his Gettysburg Address (p. 119) are also included. We feel that our text offers a wealth of detailed coverage of a multifaceted person, especially when one considers that this information is included for review purposes, not for in-depth study, in a textbook focused on modern U.S. History, from 1877 to the present. As one would expect, more thorough coverage of Lincoln can be found in our 8th grade U.S. history book Call to Freedom: Beginnings to 1877.

"2. Battle of Gettysburg ...

Holt provides a fairly sparse account of the battle: less than a page of text with the basics of what happened. It concludes with a less-than-adequate assessment.:

The Union army had proved that the Confederacy could be beaten, (p. 119)"

HRW Response: Please see our preceding response regarding the scope and intent of American Nation in the Modem Era as compared to the scope and intent of our 8^th grade U.S. History text, Call to Freedom: Beginnings to 1877. The Battle of Gettysburg is briefly mentioned in American Nation, which focuses on modern U.S. history; it is covered in more detail in Call to Freedom. Although intended for review purposes only, our coverage of the Battle of Gettysburg in American Nation (pp. 118-19) is substantial. On p. 119, 2nd complete paragraph, line 7, the text states, "The battle, however, marked a critical turning point." The text also includes several opportunities in the student edition and teacher's edition for students to examine the significance of the battle: Read to Discover, p. 118; Reading Check, p. 119; Finding the Main Idea, question 4a, p. 123; and Objective 1 lesson, p. 119. The text includes a Historical Document feature on the Gettysburg Address as well as maps of the final campaigns of the war. Given space considerations and the intent of the section in which this discussion occurs (for review purposes only), we believe this coverage to be informative and adequate for student comprehension.

"3. Who cares, and so what? ...

Holt actually raises the issue "Why it matters today," but gives rather inadequate answers ..."

HRW Response: It is not clear in the transcript to which book this comment applies. Should the reviewer's comment be directed toward Holt's American Nation in the Modern Era, we offer the following response. The Why It Matters Today feature in our text is a point-of-use activity that appears in each section of the book. There are a total of 101 such features in the book. The activities suggested in these features provide students opportunities to connect what they are studying with current events. These opportunities help students determine the importance of studying history. Each feature is directly connected to the specific content of each section, which is why a Why It Matters Today feature for "The North and South Face Off section of the Civil War chapter asks students to research the challenges U.S. soldiers face today.

Reviewer Dr. Jose Limon

"Another book, Holt's The American Nation in the Modern Era, provides hundreds of biographical references for key American individuals but includes only two Hispanic names."

HRW Response: Please note that our text contains 73 biographical sketches of key Americans, of which several are presidents. These sketches also include Hispanics, Juan Seguin (p. 87), José Marti (p. 333), Josefina Fierro de Bright (p. 452), and Cesar Chavez (p. 682). In addition, the text discusses the roles and contributions of Mexican Americans throughout U.S. history. On pp. 450-52, the text discusses Mexican Americans in the Great Depression — forming mutualistas, working in the Southwest, and organizing for their rights. Mexican Americans who fought in World War II, 17 of whom earned the Congressional Medal of Honor, are mentioned on p. 539. Section 2 (pp. 682-88) of Chapter 23. "Struggles for Change," is devoted to the Mexican American civil rights movement. It includes a discussion of the Texas movement and the formation of the Mexican American Youth Organization and La Raza Unida Party. As these and many other examples indicate, our goal at Holt, Rinehart and Winston is to publish a balanced historical account of our nation's past and the contributions of all Americans. Although we feel that we have achieved this goal, we are always open to suggestions for improving our textbook programs, and, therefore, welcome any specific suggestions the reviewer may have for creating more appropriate coverage of Hispanics.

Reviewer Stan Smith

Mr. Smith: The frequent use of describing our government as being a "democracy", when it should certainly be obvious to any adult student of our history that we were formed (and supposedly remain so today) as a "republic"; I found to be inexcusable in a book designed to teach our children. The great differences between these two types of government should be obvious to any qualified to provide learning material on the subject.

HRW Response: We thank the reviewer for taking the time to review and comment on Holt Call to Freedom: Beginnings to 1877, Texas Edition. However, we must disagree with the reviewer's statement that "It [the text] didn't refer to republic." We would like to point out the examples that follow in which the text clearly describes the republican nature of the U.S. government and the ideas of republicanism that fostered the growth of self-government in the United States.

In Chapter 8, Section I (page 224), under the heading "The State Constitutions," the text includes the following statements: "All of these political ideas were quickly put into practice after the United States declared independence. During the American Revolution nearly every colony wrote a new state constitution. These constitutions showed a belief in republicanism — that is, support for a system of government called a republic. In such a system, citizens elect representatives who are responsible to the people." The discussion in this section contains an explanation of how the first state constitutions promoted the growth of these republican ideas.

In Chapter 9 the text includes the Constitution of the United States. (See pages 262-83.) In our discussion of Article IV, Section 4, on pages 272-3, we include an informational annotation (Exploring the Document) that states, "In a republic, voters elect representatives to act in their best interest." The text also includes a critical thinking question that reads, "How does Article IV protect the practice of republicanism in the United States?"

As a final example in Chapter 10, Section I, on pages 301-2, the text includes the heading "Life in the New Republic" under which we discuss what life was like for most Americans during the early republic. We also include in this section a photo with the following caption: "Like these women, many Americans worked on farms in the early republic."

Mr. Smith: The "states rights" issue was treated as though the states had surrendered their sovereignty when the nation was formed. It is obvious that this was not the case. We are the "United States" of America, and these states gave the central government, with only the power it rightfully needs, it's right to existence. It needs to also be said that our constitution did not "evolve", as this textbook says, but was written in a period of 120 days, with the words having the same meaning today.

HRW Response: We are unclear about which specific passage the reviewer is referring to. We believe the text on page 240 (quoted below) presents a balanced and appropriate discussion for this grade level of the issues of popular sovereignty, federalism, and the founding of the United States under the Constitution.

"Most of the convention delegates wanted a strong national government to replace the Articles of Confederation. At the same time they wanted to protect popular sovereignty — the idea that political authority belongs to the people. They also wanted to balance the power of the national government with the powers of the states. Therefore, the delegates looked to federalism, or the sharing of power between a central government and the states that make up a country."

On p. 256, the text reiterates this point about federalism: "The Constitution created a federal system in which power is divided between the states and the federal government." Moreover, in discussing the Tenth Amendment (p. 289) we emphasize that states reserve powers to themselves. Because sovereignty is essentially about powers exercised by states (in the wider sense of that term), we feel that all these statements taken together clearly support the concept of continued (limited) state sovereignty in the context of the Union. By quoting Article VI (p. 240), we also allow the Constitution to speak for itself as to how states are subject to it. Finally, we are not aware of any particular passage in the text that denies states' sovereignty or speaks of states giving up their sovereignty.

Mr. Smith: The issue of slavery was treated as though this nation was the originator of that practice, and in such an emotion stimulating manner it would be difficult to see how our nation would not be further divided. The fact that slavery had been a major institution as far back as history is recorded, and the many factors surrounding it were never approached, nor the far more pertinent fact that it was this nation which actually abolished the practice, except in the area where it began; Asia and Africa. It is still practiced today in almost every nation of those regions except in Israel. Another important item, regarding this issue, that is not mentioned, is the problems associated with the sudden release of a large mass of totally uneducated people into our society; such as the south was faced with.

HRW Response: We find it difficult to respond to the reviewer's comments regarding slavery. We would welcome specific page or chapter references from the reviewer so that we might more effectively evaluate and respond to his concerns. We feel that our coverage of slavery is accurate and appropriate for the 8^th grade U.S. history course taught in Texas.

Mr. Smith: There were statements made in chapters one and two which raise questions of credibility for this book, at least in my mind. The Magna Carta, although it was a giant step forward on the road to freedom, did not recognize people as being "created equal". It addressed rights as belonging only to the wealthy. The fact of equal rights, under GOD, for all men was first addressed in the declaration of July 4th, 1776. In the section on "adapting to new climate" there was a lot of guesswork portrayed as fact regarding times and episodes of geological events, much like those of which have been scientifically called to question in recent years. The statement made on page 35 of chapter two "many people believed people are superior to other living creatures", I found to be incredulous. What kind of mindset is being instilled into our young people?

HRW Response: Please note that the following response is necessarily speculative since the reviewer did not indicate specific page numbers or passages in his comments regarding our coverage of Magna Carta.

The text of Call to Freedom discusses Magna Carta in several places. Page 22 reads, "In 1215 they [the nobles] forced [King] John to agree to Magna Carta, or the Great Charter. The charter addressed the land rights of nobles.... In addition, Magna Carta was one of the first documents to protect some of the rights of free people." On page 223, the following reference is made: "England had limited the power of its kings and queens in two documents — Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights. Magna Carta, signed by King John in 1215, required the king to follow the rule of law like other English people." Page 228, which features an excerpt from the charter, includes this introductory sentence: "[Magna Carta] stated that the king was subject to the rule of law, just as other citizens of England were." We believe that these are accurate statements about the importance and meaning of Magna Carta for 8^th grade American history students, and we fail to see how the text can be construed to mean, as the reviewer asserts, that Magna Carta "recognize[d] people as being 'created equal'". We do not believe that we have in any way disparaged the unique significance of the Declaration of Independence (the entire text of which is included on pages 194-197).

Regarding the reviewer's reference to "adapting to a new climate," we would point out that the subsection in Call to Freedom titled "Adapting to a New Climate" on page 6 follows a section titled "The First Migration to the Americas" (pp. 4-5). This prior section contains the following statements: "Many scientists believe that people first arrived in North America during the last Ice Age.... No one knows exactly when people crossed into North America.... historians rely on archaeology — the study of the unwritten past. ... Artifacts suggest that Paleo-lndians, or the first Americans, crossed into Alaska sometime between 38,000 and 10,000 B.C." (emphasis added).

The phrasing of this introductory subsection clearly establishes the discussion of this prehistoric period as a discussion based on the understandings of many scientists, historians, and archaeologists, not on "guesswork portrayed as fact." The "facts" of prehistory are of course not on par with those of history, and we make an obvious effort to establish that understanding in the context of the entire section.

Regarding the reviewer's concern with the passage on page 35, we would ask that the reviewer reread the passage, being mindful of the context of the passage. The sentence quoted by the reviewer in his comments is merely a transition to the brief discussion of humanist beliefs that follows. Since the reviewer misquoted the sentence, we will restate it here: "During the Renaissance many people believed that human beings were superior to all living creatures." This sentence presents to students the general idea of humanism, which was an important aspect of Renaissance thought. More specifically, the sentence focuses on the humanist idea concerning the glorification of human beings, as is shown in the following excerpt from Giovanni Pico della Mirandola's Oration on the Dignity of Man: "There is nothing to be seen more wonderful than man." The text is not, as the reviewer suggests, attempting to "instill" a particular "mindset... into our young people"; rather, it is providing students with background information about circumstances leading up to the discovery of the Americas.

Mr. Smith: This book did make reference to the fact that it was denominational differences within the Christian religion which formed the separate thinking of the colonist, and that it was their concern for state insistence on a particular Christian denomination that energized their actions on this issue. However this reference was buried in the mass of detail supporting acceptance of any religion, and fostering the idea that the Judeo-Christian Bible, along with a national relationship, and acceptance of the [true God] in public matters was not acceptable. It does not require a student of United States history to detect the error in this thinking. The etchings on our public buildings, built from the earliest times of our history, along with our institutionalized practices, also dating from our earliest times, illustrates the error in this. As a matter of fact almost those same words were spoken in the majority opinion of a supreme court decision about 50 years before the "Everson" decision, used only eight words of one of the same documents which, when used in it's entirety, in that earlier case had confirmed our nation as "a Christian nation"; perverted the meaning of "separation of church and state".

HRW Response: We are uncertain as to which passage in the textbook the reviewer is referring. This uncertainty prevents our addressing the reviewer's comments more specifically. That said, we would like to point out that on page 285, in our discussion of the First Amendment, the text states,"... the government cannot support or interfere with the practice of a religion. This [First] amendment keeps the government from favoring any religion over others. When the Constitution was written, many countries had an official state religion. However, some Americans wanted to keep the government from establishing an official religion." We believe this is an appropriate brief description of the meaning of the First Amendment regarding religion. Other mentions of religious freedom include pages 224 and 229, which discuss Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom; the latter page introduces a primary source excerpt from the statute with text recalling Jefferson's hope of "separating church and state" to protect Virginians' religious freedom. On page 275, in an annotation to the full text of the U.S. Constitution, the text invites students to explore the importance of the freedom of religion further. The textbook does not discuss the Everson decision.

Mr. Smith: The most dangerous writing within this book was in it's stressing our constitution as a "living document". This book went to great lengths in presenting this idea. Actually if any one simply used their GOD-given intelligence a little they would detect the fallacy here. The idea that a legal document, (which the constitution is) especially a legal document that is "law" (again which our constitution is) can have it's words change meaning to "fit circumstances is completely an asinine thought. If it were true the law (in this case constitution) itself would have no meaning. I can not help but wonder — is that the purpose? The arguments presented in this book, to the minds of children, display either a large degree of social ignorance, or a deliberate attempt to make pliable minds more adjustable to tyranny. Our constitution was written by highly capable individuals, gifted with writing skills, and exceptionally knowledgeable of the human and world situation. They understood (what apparently many today don't) that conduct which provide for good human relationships do not change with numbers, technical innovations or any external circumstances.

HRW Response: We believe that our discussion of the "living Constitution" idea presents the widely held view regarding the U.S. Constitution's flexibility over time and that this idea accords with mainstream constitutional scholarship. To quote just two of many sources that support this view: "The idea of a 'living Constitution'... has guided judicial interpretation throughout most of American history and has made it possible to adapt the Constitution to changing circumstances without extensive use of the amendment process." (American Political Dictionary; emphasis added) "["Living Constitution" means] The governing document of the United States whose meaning changes and evolves over time in response to new circumstances. This evolution takes place mainly in the minds of the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, not to mention other officials, whose actions and decisions constantly forge the written Constitution into directions never imagined by the framers. Yet this is in accord with their intent." (Dictionary of American Government and Politics) We believe that our brief presentation of the common, prevailing view is appropriate for a middle school American history course. We discuss the issue of strict versus loose construction on p. 308.

Reviewer Walt Glasscock

1. The writers of these texts have totally missed the genius that made America great.... The deeply religious convictions that directed our founders was the inspiration that drove them to forge this kind of Constitutional Republic. This must not be missed if one is to truly understand America.

HRW Response: The reviewer's comment suggests that the reviewer may be unaware of the scope and intent of Holt's People, Places, and Change. Holt's People, Places, and Change was written to meet the objectives of the 6^th grade TEKS, which outline a world cultures/world geography course. The description for this course in Proclamation 2000 of the State Board of Education begins with the sentence: "In grade 6, students study people and places of the contemporary world." Only 2 of the 23 TEKS for this course are designated as History TEKS (the others are labeled Geography, Cultures, etc.). The history sections that are included in Holt's People, Places, and Change have been provided to address the History TEKS for this course and to serve as guidelines for a more complete understanding of the geography and cultures of the world. They are not meant to provide an exhaustive history of the founding of each country. .

2. These two texts omit reference to our founders: no mention of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson in the roles they played in establishing this nation. How can you foster patriotism if you have no heroes?

HRW Response: Please see our response to the preceding comment.

4. These two texts constitute agenda-based geography. Geography is to supply information to students. Period. These texts involve indoctrination and manipulation of the students to form opinions and to adopt the philosophies and agendas of the authors as directed through the questions and suggested projects on the work pages.

HRW Response: We disagree with the reviewer regarding the presentation of the material. We believe that we have provided a balanced, thorough, and informative text that gives students a broad understanding of the geography, history, cultural traits, economy, and modern-day problems of the regions of the world. We are unclear as to the meaning of the reviewer's comment regarding "work pages"; all questions and suggested projects in section reviews, chapter reviews, lessons, and side-column activities relate to facts in the text and are presented in an unbiased manner.

Reviewer Roxann Chavez Reza

Ms. Reza: ...Overall, Call to Freedom presented its information well but lacked in depth of content. By expanding on particular civilizations and historical events the target audience would have a better understanding of how these events relate to American society today. For example, on Pages 7, 66 and 67, the empires of the Aztec, Inca, and Maya are briefly mentioned, but simply being mentioned does not do justice to these amazing civilizations. A discussion of the scientific, political, architectural, and societal achievements of these peoples is absolutely necessary. To state that these cultures were rich and powerful is not enough, would a textbook exclude any information pertaining to the Roman Empire and simply say it was great civilization? For readers to fully comprehend the magnitude of any civilization more information citing examples is obviously crucial.

HRW Response: We thank the reviewer for her positive comments regarding our overall presentation of information in Call to Freedom. We regret that the reviewer is not satisfied with the extent of the coverage given to the Aztec, Inca, and Maya civilizations. We would like to point out, however, that at Holt, Rinehart and Winston, we strive to present the most complete coverage possible for the intended audience in all of our textbooks. Toward that end, we value the time and effort that has been placed into developing the various state standards, such as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for social studies. In Holt Call to Freedom: Beginnings to 1877, Texas Edition we used the TEKS as guidelines in determining what information must be included, and it is worth noting that Call to Freedom has achieved 100 percent compliance with the TEKS standards and has been placed on the conforming list for 8^thgrade U.S. History.

Although the TEKS for the 8^th grade U.S. History course do not specifically mention the Aztec, Inca, or Maya civilizations, Call to Freedom does contain significant information about these civilizations. For example, in our discussion of the Aztec civilization in Chapter 1, page 7, we cover the history and cultural developments of the Aztec. We include a primary source poem from King Nezahualcóyot about how the Aztec knew that their success might not last. We also include an image showing an example of a tax record used by the Aztec to keep track of their wealth. In Section 1, pages 67-8, of Chapter 3, we have an entire section titled "Cortes and the Aztec" in which we focus our discussion on how Cortes conquered the Aztec and the effect of this defeat on the Aztec Empire. As support for instruction in this section, we also include the following: a primary source quote about the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlán, a side-margin feature about how the Aztec treated Cortes as though he was Quetzalcoatl (a legendary figure), an image of Moctezuma II, and a large image depicting the battle for Tenochtitlán. There is also a map on page 68 titled "Spanish Exploration and Conquests, 1513-1542" that shows the location of the Aztec Empire.

We begin our discussion of the Inca in Chapter 1. In this discussion we describe how and where the civilization began. We also devote some of our coverage here to the characteristics and developments of the Inca. There is also a photo included in this chapter showing Machu Picchu. In Chapter 3, Section 1 (page 68), we continue our discussion of the Inca under the section titled "Pizarro's Conquest of the Inca." Our coverage here focuses on the culture of the Inca civilization as well as Pizarro's defeat of the Inca. The extent of the Inca Empire is also shown on the map in this section.

We present information about the Maya civilization in Chapter 1. In Section 1 of this chapter we discuss the history and cultural aspects of the Maya civilization.

In our coverage of these civilizations we do discuss scientific, political, architectural, and societal achievements.

While we agree that including more information on these and other important civilizations would be ideal, we are unfortunately forced to make decisions about coverage due to space constraints in our textbooks. To cover the history of our country from the beginnings to 1877, we were forced to limit the coverage of all historical events and people. We feel that we have provided appropriate coverage of all groups and cultures given the scope of the course, the TEKS requirements, and textbook space limitations.

Ms. Reza: Furthermore, in the discussion of World War II, I was pleased that both African-American and Japanese-American efforts were recognized. I was astounded, though, that the efforts on behalf of the Mexican-Americans were not. This textbook failed to include that of the minority groups that participated in the war, Hispanics, were the most highly decorated. 17 Hispanics received United States Congressional Medal of Honor and of those 17, five were from Texas. Among the five, Jose M. Lopez not only received the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor but the highest military award for Mexico as well, the Aguila Esteca. Recognition for Hispanic efforts in World War II is most definitely needed in Call to Freedom.

A final example of information needing elaboration is the statement in reference to Cesar Chavez. I was very glad that Mr. Chavez was mentioned as a civil rights leader, but I was disappointed that only one short sentence was provided describing his efforts. For readers to understand his passion for wider migrant rights, a graphic description of migrant working conditions and substandard housing must be included. The Delano Grape Strike of 1966 in California was excluded altogether.

HRW Response: Perhaps the reviewer is unaware of the scope of the 8^th grade U.S. history course and its TEKS, which focus on U.S. history up to but not after 1877. As with all other textbooks submitted for this course, Holt's Call to Freedom contains a condensed Epilogue covering all of U.S. history since Reconstruction. This brief 32-page chapter in Call to Freedom is provided merely as a convenient resource for teachers who want to touch on some aspect of the country's later history while they are focusing on the years up to 1877. Therefore, this Epilogue was not intended to provide a true history of the topics mentioned by the reviewer. For more detailed coverage of World War II and the other topics mentioned by the reviewer, we suggest that she look to the textbooks submitted for high school U.S. history courses.

As a final note, we would like to say that at Holt we are committed to presenting history in a balanced manner and to identifying the contributions of all Americans to our national heritage.

Ms. Reza: The following are only several examples of areas in the textbook that need improvement or clarification:

* pages 67, 68 usage of the term "American Indians" to refer to Aztec and Maya civilizations, this term places these civilizations in the same category as Apache, Comanche, Sioux or Cherokee in later chapters

HRW Response: Although the term American Indian has been more frequently and commonly used in reference to North American Indians, the Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Ed.'s primary meaning for American Indian is "a member of any of the aboriginal peoples of the western hemisphere except usu. the Eskimos"; according to that definition these groups do all belong together. For the most part, the text refers to peoples by their more specific names; however at this grade level, we feel it is appropriate in certain contexts, including those cited by the reviewer, to use the term American Indian in its broader meaning.

* page 67 includes Tenochtitlán as an Aztec center, needs to include that this is present day Mexico City for geographical clarity

HRW Response: We include Tenochtitlán on a map titled "Spanish Exploration and Conquests, 1513-1542" on page 68. We indicate on this map that Tenochtitlán is present-day Mexico City.

* page 67 includes that Tenochtitlán was at the center of a great lake, needs to include the name of the lake, Lake Texcoco, also for geographical purposes

HRW Response: We appreciate the reviewer's concern but believe that the requested level of geographic detail, especially about an area that is not a part of the United States, is unnecessary in a U.S. history textbook.

* pages 7, 66, 67 much elaboration is needed on the few sentences describing who the Aztec and Maya were and their achievements

HRW Response: Please see HRW's first response to this reviewer's comments.

* page 67 there is no mention of "La Noche Triste", when in June of 1520 the Spaniards, in an escape attempt, drowned as a result of trying to cross a river but were weighed down in stolen Aztec treasures as they fled

HRW Response: While we do not use the term La Noche Triste in the text, we do discuss the fighting and losses to which this name refers on page 167. Unfortunately, space considerations prevent us from including additional details, such as the fact that the Spanish soldiers were hindered by the weight of the Aztec treasures that they were carrying.

* pages 67, 68 there is no mention of Cuauhtemoc, the nephew of Montezuma, who surrendered to the Spanish in 1521

HRW Response: We believe that the fall of the Aztec Empire is appropriately covered on pages 67 and 68, which include primary source quotations, a painting, and a map, in addition to the text discussion. We believe that mention of the person referred to by the reviewer is an unnecessary detail considering the scope and intent of the text.

* pages 496, 498 does not fully explain why Mexico refused to accept that Texas had become an independent state

HRW Response: We believe that our coverage of Texas becoming a republic is more than adequate. We believe that a more detailed explanation of the deliberations of the Mexican government as suggested by the reviewer is unnecessary in a U.S. history textbook for this grade level. Moreover, we would like to point out that the diplomatic aspect of the issue of Texas's independence from Mexico is further treated on page 501, which notes that after the Texas Revolution "Mexico still considered Texas to be its property." This issue is also discussed on page T9 (Student Edition), which states, "After Texas was annexed, Mexico cut off diplomatic relations with the United States. The Mexican government rejected the U.S. claim that the Rio Grande marked the southern border of Texas." Finally, we would remind reviewer that students would have had an opportunity to study this issue more fully in their 7^th grade Texas history course.

* page 500 discussion of Texas Rangers does include information regarding blatantly racist actions that only increased tensions between Americans and the newly created Mexican-American minority (the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo created Mexican-Americans when it divided the U.S. and Mexico and granted American citizenship to all living it what was formerly Mexico)

HRW Response: We are uncertain as to the intent of reviewer's comment. The Texas Rangers are not discussed on this page.

Holt, Rinehart and Winston
Formal Response
To
Oral Testimony
July 17, 2002

Reviewer: Ms. Lindsay Whitehurst

Ms. Whitehurst: "I chose two Eleventh Grade history textbooks; one was Holt's American Nation in the Modern Era. . . .

First, I would like to comment on each books' portrayal of Abraham Lincoln. Each book contains a short bio of the president; one book devotes half a page, the other a quarter of a page. And the first book that devoted a quarter of the page basically wants the students of Texas to remember that Lincoln was a funny guy. He liked to laugh, had a great sense of humor, possessed a dry wit, as evidenced by this quote:

'I feel like the boy who stumped his toe,' he said on losing the 1858 U.S. Senate race to Stephen Douglas. 'I am too big to cry and too badly hurt to laugh.'...

I ask you which portrayal of Lincoln does Texas want to impress upon the minds of its students, humor or humility? laughter or leadership?"

HRW Response: The biographical sketch of President Lincoln on p. 97 begins, "Superior leadership skills made Abraham Lincoln one of our nation's greatest presidents. The personal hardship of losing two children and the stresses of the Civil War took a toll, however. Lincoln endured periodic bouts of severe depression. He often used laughter to combat his depression." Please note that this passage about Lincoln begins by describing his leadership skills. Also note that one of the purposes of the text's biographical sketches, such as this one about Lincoln, is to humanize historical figures and to make them more interesting to a broad range of students. The text also includes numerous examples of Lincoln's leadership ability: Lincoln's response to secession (pp. 91, 96); his response to Fort Sumter (p. 97); and his abilities as commander in chief (pp. 102, 110, 112, 113, 114, 117). An excerpt from Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation (p. 114) and his Gettysburg Address (p. 119) are also included. We feel that our text offers a wealth of detailed coverage of a multifaceted person, especially when one considers that this information is included for review purposes, not for in-depth study, in a textbook focused on modern U.S. History, from 1877 to the present. As one would expect, more thorough coverage of Lincoln can be found in our 8th grade U.S. history book Call to Freedom: Beginnings to 1877.

Ms. Whitehurst: "The second area I focused on was each books' treatment of the Battle of Gettysburg. .. .

The first book provides a fairly sparse account of the battle, basically lip service, less than a page of text with the basics of what happened. It concludes with a less-than-adequate assessment:

'The Union army had proved that the Confederacy could be beaten.'"

HRW Response: Please see our preceding response regarding the scope and intent of American Nation in the Modern Era as compared to the scope and intent of our 8^th grade U.S. History text, Call to Freedom: Beginnings to 1877. The Battle of Gettysburg is briefly mentioned in American Nation, which focuses on modern U.S. history; it is covered in more detail in Call to Freedom. Although intended for review purposes only, our coverage of the Battle of Gettysburg

(pp. 118-19) is substantial. On p. 119, 2nd complete paragraph, line 7, the text states, "The battle, however, marked a critical turning point." The text also includes several opportunities in the student edition and teacher's edition for students to examine the significance of the battle: Read to Discover, p. 118; Reading Check, p. 119; Finding the Main Idea, question 4a, p. 123; and Objective 1 lesson, p. 119. The text includes an Historical Document feature on the Gettysburg Address as well as maps of the final campaigns of the war. Given space considerations and the intent of the section in which this discussion occurs (for review purposes only), we believe this coverage to be informative and adequate for student comprehension.

Ms. Whitehurst: "Most likely high school students will be asking their teachers this question: Why should I care? Why should it matter today?

As I provided examples, one of these books provides very inadequate answers to any of these questions that are raised. . . ."

HRW Response: It is not clear in the transcript to which book this comment applies. Should the reviewer's comment be directed toward Holt's American Nation in the Modem Era, we offer the following response. The Why It Matters Today feature in our text is a point-of-use activity that appears in each section of the book. There are a total of 101 such features in the book. The activities suggested in these features provide students opportunities to connect what they are studying with current events. These opportunities help students determine the importance of studying history. Each feature is directly connected to the specific content of each section, which is why a Why It Matters Today feature for "The North and South Face Off section of the Civil War chapter asks students to research the challenges U.S. soldiers face today.

Reviewer: Ms. Jennifer E. Powell

Ms. Powell: ...And I would like to highlight two of his goals in my comparison of these two books. One of which was to enlighten the understanding of the American Revolution and fit them for usefulness in their future. The key question here is: How do we want Eighth Graders to know and to remember the American Revolution? On the surface both books achieve these goals. They each have timelines at the beginning of the chapter to show the big picture of the American Revolution. Most of the important people and the most important events are bolded. And they are reading — they're reading checks throughout the chapters in order to stimulate student's thinking. In addition both presents the texts of the Declaration of Independence with dictionary definitions of the difficult words and also a list of the signers. However, close evaluation reveals a few more details. For example, in the Declaration of Independence, there are inadequate references to the signers and their backgrounds. Prentice Hall, in the teacher's edition, mentions some of the signers were not lawyers, and then encourages teachers to ask the students to research the various occupations and the training that the signers had. Holt, however, had no mention of any of their backgrounds. Did you know that out of the 56 signers, 27 had seminary degrees? Holt did an excellent job of providing visual — visuals of history through art and detailed maps. In your packet, you will find an example of that. However, it falters in some of the more important areas. There are few quotes or references from primary sources and said an entire page was dedicated to an historical fiction book rather than primary sources. There are a lot of other primary source examples that could have been included. There is spy letters that are available. There is a lot of journal entries that are available from George Washington and other founding fathers, or the letters between John and Abigail Adams. Prentice Hall, although it does not have the same number of pictures as Holt's, it is superior. It provides summaries and several quotes in the texts. And the inadequacy of Holt can be compared with Prentice Hall with the example of their — their approach to Thomas Paine's common sense and important documents. Holt has a short summary and no quotes whereas Prentice Hall has a background, a summary, and an excerpt and discussion on primary source analysis.

In response to reviewer's comment that an entire page was dedicated to a book of historical fiction rather than to primary sources in Call to Freedom, we would like to point out to the reviewer that we periodically conduct focus group sessions with teachers. We conduct these sessions to ensure that the information that we are providing in our programs meets the needs of students and teachers. One point that is consistently made by teachers in these focus groups, and that is evident in other data that we collect and study, is that a cross-curricular connection between history and other disciplines is very important to Social Studies teachers. In the one-page Connecting to Literature feature (page 189) in the American Revolution chapter titled "My Brother Sam Is Dead" we attempt to provide another aspect of the American Revolution — i.e., how it affected the lives of everyday people. In doing so we have given teachers the type of cross-curricular activity that they tell us they want; we have also included a story that will hopefully capture students' interest and motivate them to read further and develop a greater understanding of how the Revolution affected the lives of the colonists. We are surprised by the reviewer's contention that Call to Freedom is deficient with regard to the inclusion of primary sources. We have included primary source excerpts as points of use throughout Call to Freedom. For example, Chapter 7, "The American Revolution," includes ten primary source quotes within the chapter narrative. (Please see pages 185, 186, 192, 193, 199, 200, 203, 208, 210, and 213.) Four of the primary source quotes are accompanied by an Analyzing Primary Sources critical thinking question. Also included in this chapter is the Declaration of Independence. We would like to call the reviewer's attention to the table of contents, pages xiii through xv, where we list over 150 primary source quotes that are included in the textbook.

Regarding the reviewer's comments about our coverage of Thomas Paine, we must mention that we devote a section (see page 190) in the American Revolution chapter to Thomas Paine's Common Sense titled "Paine's Common Sense." We include excerpts from the pamphlet in the discussion and place emphasis on the significance of this discussion by calling out both Common Sense and Thomas Paine as key terms that students should learn in this chapter. The section is followed by a Reading Check critical thinking question that focuses on the significance of Thomas Paine's Common Sense.

Ms. Thornton: I have a question. Did you look at the teacher's edition concerning the background of our founding fathers? Was there anything in there that would help the teacher to facilitate some of that information that you said was lacking?

Ms. Powell: Both of the textbooks of the teacher's edition, they — they recommended Internet research. But that was — that was as far as it went.

Ms. Thornton: So there wasn't any information detailed about the founding fathers in the teacher's edition for the teacher.

Ms. Powell: Not specifically. In Holt it did not in. And then in Prentice Hall, it said that most of them were not attorneys. And it mentions that a couple were businessmen, one was a farmer. And then it — they recommend that students go and do a project and find out what their backgrounds were.

HRW Response: As noted in the response above, Call to Freedom does contain information in the Teacher's Edition on the signers of the Declaration. The text goes into a great deal of detail on the founding fathers, including Benjamin Franklin (see page 143, although he is discussed in other parts of the textbook as well), Thomas Jefferson (see pages 191-193), James Madison (see pages 236-37), William Paterson (see page 238), and Alexander Hamilton (see pages 304-5).

Reviewer: Ms. Eleanor Hutcheson

HRW Response: We thank the reviewer for noting our accuracy regarding the details of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in Holt Texas!

Ms. Hutcheson: "Again, Glencoe and Holt explain the laws made by the State democratic party of Texas forbidding the blacks to vote in their primary."

HRW Response: We thank the reviewer for noting our accuracy.

Ms. Hutcheson: "Holt, Page 565 has a picture of a military post. What's this photo show about life on the military base? And the answer is facilities were plain and functional. And military base life included standing around and waiting. Now, this is negative to military efforts that should add, we're grateful that the military was able to organize and be effective in a very short time. I am assuming this was a World War II picture."

HRW Response: Our text images and their corresponding questions, such as the photo and related question on page 565, are designed to be open-ended, critical thinking questions that help students practice the skill of analyzing primary sources, including visuals. The question on page 565, "What does this photo show about life on a military base?" has a variety of possible student responses. The answer in the Annotated Teacher's Edition, "Facilities were plain and functional and military-based life included standing around and waiting" is one of students' possible responses. We fail to see how the photo or its related question and possible answer imply a negative attitude toward U.S. military efforts.

Reviewer: Ms. Roxanne Reza

Ms. Reza: My research examined the representation of minorities in this particular textbook, namely Mexican Americans. And my next few statements will highlight my findings. Overall, Call to Freedom presented its information well but lacked the depth of content. By expanding on particular civilizations and historical events, the target audience would have a better understanding of how these events relate to American society today. For example, on Pages 7, 66 and 67, the empires of the Aztec, Inca and Maya are briefly mentioned. But simply being mentioned does not do justice to these a missing civilizations. A discussion of the scientific, political, architectural and societal achievements of these peoples is absolutely necessary. To state that these cultures were rich and powerful is not enough. Would a textbook exclude any information pertaining to the Roman Empire and simply say it was — that was a great civilization? For readers to fully comprehend the magnitude of any civilization, more information citing examples is obviously crucial.

HRW Response: We thank the reviewer for her positive comments regarding our overall presentation of information in Call to Freedom. We regret that the reviewer is not satisfied with the extent of the coverage given to the Aztec, Inca, and Maya civilizations. We would like to point out, however, that at Holt, Rinehart and Winston, we strive to present the most complete coverage possible for the intended audience in all of our textbooks. Toward that end, we value the time and effort that has been placed into developing the various state standards, such as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for social studies. In Holt Call to Freedom: Beginnings to 1877, Texas Edition we used the TEKS as guidelines in determining what information must be included, and it is worth noting that Call to Freedom has achieved 100% compliance with the TEKS standards and has been placed on the conforming list for 8^th grade U.S. History.

Although the TEKS for the 8^th grade U.S. History course do not specifically mention the Aztec, Inca, or Maya civilizations, Call to Freedom does contain significant information about these civilizations. For example, in our discussion of the Aztec civilization in Chapter 1, page 7, we cover the history and cultural developments of the Aztec. We include a primary source poem from King Nezahualcóyotl about how the Aztec knew that their success might not last. We also include an image showing an example of a tax record used by the Aztec to keep track of their wealth. In Section 1, pages 66-8, of Chapter 3, we have an entire section titled "Cortes and the Aztec" in which we focus our discussion on how Cortes conquered the Aztec and the effect of this defeat on the Aztec Empire. As support for instruction in this section, we also include the following: a primary source quote about the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlán, a side-margin feature about how the Aztec treated Cortes as though he was Quetzalcoatl (a legendary figure), an image of Moctezuma II, and a large image depicting the battle for Tenochtitlán. There is also a map on page 68 titled "Spanish Exploration and Conquests, 1513-1542" that shows the location of the Aztec Empire.

We begin our discussion of the Inca in Chapter 1. In this discussion we describe how and where the civilization began. We also devote some of our coverage here to the characteristics and developments of the Inca. There is also a photo included in this chapter showing Machu Picchu. In Chapter 3, Section 1 (page 68), we continue.our discussion of the Inca under the section titled "Pizarro's Conquest of the Inca." Our coverage here focuses on the culture of the Inca civilization as well as Pizarro's defeat of the Inca. The extent of the Inca Empire is also shown on the map in this section.

We present information about the Maya civilization in Chapter 1. In Section 1 of this chapter we discuss the history and cultural aspects of the Maya civilization.

In our coverage of these civilizations we do discuss scientific, political, architectural, and societal achievements.

Ms. Reza: Furthermore, in the discussion of World War II, I was pleased that both African-American and Japanese-American efforts were recognized. I was astounded, however, that the efforts on behalf of the Mexican-Americans were not. This textbook failed to include that of the minority groups that participated in the war, Hispanics, were the most highly decorated. Seventeen Hispanics received United States Congressional Medal of Honor and, of those 17, five were from Texas. Among the five, Jose M. Lopez not only received the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor but the highest military award for Mexico as well, the Aguillar Esteca. Recognition for Hispanic efforts in World War II is most definitely needed in Call to Freedom. A final example of information needing elaboration is a statement in reference to Cesar Chavez. I was very glad that Mr. Chavez was mentioned as a civil rights leader. But I was disappointed that only one short sentence was provided describing his efforts. For readers to understand his passion for wider migrant rights, a graphic description of migrant working conditions and substandard housing, must be included. The Delano grape strike of 1966 in California was excluded altogether.

HRW Response: We thank the reviewer for her positive comments. Perhaps the reviewer is unaware of the scope of the 8^th grade U.S. history course and its TEKS, which focus on U.S. history up to but not after 1877. As with all other textbooks submitted for this course, Holt's Call to Freedom contains a condensed Epilogue covering all of U.S. history since Reconstruction. This brief 32-page chapter in Call to Freedom is provided merely as a convenient resource for teachers who want to touch on some aspect of the country's later history while they are focusing on the years up to 1877. Therefore, this Epilogue was not intended to provide a true history of the topics mentioned by the reviewer. For more detailed coverage of World War II and the other topics mentioned by the reviewer, we suggest that she look to the textbooks submitted for high school U.S. history courses.

As a final note, we would like to say that at Holt we are committed to presenting history in a balanced manner and to identifying the contributions of all Americans to our national heritage.

Reviewer: Mr. Stan Smith

Mr. Smith: This book talked entirely about democracy. It didn't refer to republic. The only time it referred to republic was when it was about ancient Rome. And the irony of that is that Rome during the period of history when most of us are familiar with it had actually degenerated into a democracy. And I found it strange when so many credentialed writers and credentialed people don't seem to know what type of government we have. And I felt bad about this.

Mr. Smith: They talked about a state's rights. At the time of the revolution, at the time we declared our independence, at the time we were forming our nation, as the states giving up their sovereignty. States didn't give up our sovereignty. We are an United States. We work in a cooperative manner. States are sovereign. We are sovereign as individuals and we are sovereign as a nation. But we have to work for the rest of the world. That context needs to be taught. No one gives up sovereignty in order to become a part of or work with another unit or group.

Mr. Smith: Slavery. Slavery was treated like, if the United States didn't originate that practice, we mostly perpetuated. And we know that wasn't true. We know that slavery goes back a long way. But I will tell you, the bad thing about it, in teachings of this manner is no way to unite a divergent nation. When I am talking about divergent, I am talking about divergent of a lot of colors, classes, and et cetera. When you take one of them and tell them how badly they have been treated and elevate us to that point. The irony here is that, it was the United States that virtually eliminated slavery, and this was never brought out in that book. I don't think it is taught enough anywhere.

HRW Response: We find it difficult to respond to the reviewer's comments regarding slavery. We would welcome specific page or chapter references the reviewer so that we might more effectively evaluate and respond to his concerns. We feel that our coverage of slavery is accurate and appropriate for the 8^th grade U.S. history course taught in Texas.

Mr. Smith: The most dangerous thing, writing that I saw in the book and anywhere was this idea of our Constitution being — what is the term I want to use?

Mr. McLeroy: A living document.

Mr. Smith: A living document. That in the face of it is totally asinine. A legal document, a law, is a living document and becomes whatever the people that are administering it says it is. That — that is totally ridiculous. It means that that document is worthless. It means that the Constitution is worthless. And it is only good, it only means whoever is obtaining at that moment says it was. This is getting back to pagan government before our Constitution was written.

HRW Response: We believe that our discussion of the "living Constitution" idea presents the widely held view regarding the U.S. Constitution's flexibility over time and that this idea accords with mainstream constitutional scholarship. To quote just two of many sources that support this view, "The idea of a 'living Constitution'... has guided judicial interpretation throughout most of American history and has made it possible to adapt the Constitution to changing circumstances without extensive use of the amendment process." (American Political Dictionary; emphasis added) "['Living Constitution' means] The governing document of the United States whose meaning changes and evolves over time in response to new circumstances. This evolution takes place mainly in the minds of the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, not to mention other officials, whose actions and decisions constantly forge the written Constitution into directions never imagined by the framers. Yet this is in accord with their intent." (Dictionary of American Government and Politics) We believe that our brief presentation of the common, prevailing view is appropriate for a middle school American history course. We discuss the issue of strict versus loose construction on p. 308.

Ms. Thornton: In reviewing this book, Holt's Call to Freedom, you said there was never the mention of the word of this country being a republic. That word was never in the book.

Mr. Smith: I never saw it in the first eight chapters. The eight chapters is what I went through.

Ms. Thornton: And you said that in the book it says that the individual states gave up their sovereignty.

Mr. Smith: This was what the belief was. It never taught that. But it taught that the belief was that they gave up their sovereignty.

HRW Response: We discuss republic in Chapters 8, 9, and 10. Also see our earlier responses regarding republics and state sovereignty.

Reviewer: Mr. Walt Glasscock

Mr. Glasscock: (pp. 242-43) The deeply religious convictions that directed our founders was the inspiration that drove them to forge this kind of a constitutional republic. This must not be missed if one is to truly understand America.

Mr. Glasscock: (p. 243) ...These two texts omit reference to our founding fathers. No mention of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, in the roles they played in establishing this nation. How can you foster patriotism if you have no heroes?

HRW Response: Please see our response to the preceding comment.

Mr. Glasscock: (p. 244) The two text constitutes agenda-based geography. Geography is to supply information to students, period. These texts involve indoctrination, manipulation of the students to form opinions, and to adopt the philosophies and agendas of the authors as directed through the questions and suggested projects on the work pages.

Holt, Rinehart and Winston's
Formal Response to the Texas Public Policy Foundation Report
Social Studies Textbook Review 2002

List of Factual Errors by Book

PUBLISHER	TEXTBOOK TITLE	SUBJECT
Holt Rinehart & Winston	Holt, People Places and Change: An Introduction to World Studies, Texas Edition	6^th Grade Social Studies

1. p. 329. Error. The Austro-Hungarians did not impose Roman Catholicism in Croatia and Slovenia as the authors declare. Catholicism is deeply rooted in these two countries, both of which, though proselytized by Byzantium, inclined to unity with Rome when the Great Schism occurred. For a brief history on this question see Newman C. Eberhardt, A Summary of Catholic History: Ancient and Medieval History, Vol. I (St. Louis: B. Herder Book Co., 1961, pp. 501-02.

HRW Response: Although we do not feel that the current wording constitutes an error, we do agree that the passage could be misleading. Therefore, in the first paragraph, line 6, we will change the sentence after "Islam" to read as follows: "Eventually the Ottoman Empire weakened, and in the late 1800s the Austro-Hungarians took control of Croatia and Slovenia." We will delete the last sentence of the paragraph.

2. p. 427. US and UK led the alliance action against Iraq as the authors point out. However, it is important to say that they did so with the full approval of the UN. This wasn't an 'imperialist' action as might be implied or as one might conclude from the way the text is worded.

HRW Response: We agree with reviewer that adding information about the UN's consent to this military operation improves the passage. We will, therefore, in line 6, insert "With United Nations authorization," in front of "An" (lowercase "an"). For the record, please note that, in our opinion, the text as it is currently written is not erroneous.

3. P. 495. The treatment of the slave trade fails to mention that British policy and enforcement brought it to a close. The authors do not mention the fact that a slave trade existed in East Africa with the Arab and Islamic world, even before the West African slave trade began. Slavery was largely eliminated in Europe during the Middle Ages.

HRW Response: We would ask that the reviewer re-examine this passage in context, in which case the reviewer will notice that this section is meant to be a very brief overview of the slave trade in West Africa, not a history of the slave trade as a whole. The authors do in fact discuss the earlier slave trade in East Africa, on pp. 512-13.

4. p. 519. Famine in Ethiopia is caused not just by drought. Major factors are civil war and bad government, especially during the Communist regime of the 1970s-1990s.

HRW Response: While we do not believe that this passage contains a factual error, we do agree with the reviewer that clarification of the reason for the starvation of millions of people in Ethiopia would be helpful. We will change the last two sentences of the first paragraph to read: "Drought, combined with war and ineffective government policies, caused the starvation of several million people in the 1980s."

5. p. 273. The Communist Worker's Republic in Spain aggressively persecuted Catholics and murdered priests. So the rather anodyne phrase adopted by the authors, suggesting that the communists just wanted to "reduce Church influence," does not convey adequately the communist animus toward Catholicism in Spain.

HRW Response: While the reviewer may feel that the statement is not strong enough, we believe it accurately portrays the events and is appropriate wording for our sixth-grade audience within the scope of this course.

6. P. 421. The common prejudice concerning the "Dark Ages" is uncritically repeated here in the sidebar on Math. In fact the dark ages weren't so dark. Learning continued in Europe through the monasteries. The Muslims borrowed from ancient Greek knowledge, including math. It was Euclid who developed the science of geometry. Muslims used it, but cannot take credit for discovering it as might be implied from the sidebar.

HRW Response: The focus of the "Connecting to Math" feature on p. 421 is clearly "The Muslim Contributions to Mathematics," not the Dark Ages, and we believe that our brief mention of the cultural decline of Europe is appropriate for setting the time period and the sense of contrast with the emergence of Islamic civilization. In the second paragraph, however, we will make the following change to remove the implication that geometry was a discovery of Muslims: replace "algebra, geometry, and trigonometry." with "algebra and revived the study of geometry."

7. Pp. 115. Kwanzaa, the authors imply, originated in Africa. But Kwanzaa is not celebrated in Africa. It is an African-American invention of recent decades. Other real holidays with significant histories and backgrounds are not explained in this text, as the TEKS requires. They are merely listed.

HRW Response: We do not think that saying Kwanzaa is based on a traditional African festival implies that the holiday originated in Africa. However, to ensure that there is no confusion regarding Kwanzaa's origins, we will insert the words "in part" between "based" and "on" in line 6 of paragraph 4. The scope of the TEKS and space constraints prevent us from providing the background information and explanations desired by the reviewer. The TEKS require only that some religious holidays be explained — as we have done, for example, with Mexico's celebration of the Day of the Dead. Our reviewers, who teach children in the sixth grade, indicated in their reviews that this level of detail is grade appropriate and that this TEKS has been adequately covered.

PUBLISHER	TEXTBOOK TITLE	SUBJECT
Holt Rinehart & Winston	Holt Texas	7^th Grade Texas History

1. 90S says Ferdinand and Isabella gave Columbus three ships. Actually, Columbus chartered the Santa Maria himself, and the town of Palos, a shipbuilding center, provided the Nina and Pinta in lieu of a debt owed the monarchs.

2. 211S states that Santa Anna was popularly elected in 1833 after overthrowing Bustamante in 1832. 212T says he was popularly elected in 1831. The 1833 date is correct.

HRW Response: Thank you for pointing out this error in the Teacher's Edition. The date on page 212T will be changed to 1833 to match the correct date in the Student's Edition.

3. The biography of Zavala mentions that he received a land grant to settle 500 families. It does not say he never developed his settlement. It leaves the impression that he might have settled part of East Texas among his other accomplishments, 242S.

HRW Response: Thank you for noting this issue in the Zavala biography (242S), which in isolation could create a clarity issue. However, Zavala and his land grant are previously discussed on page 175S. The text on page 175S reads, "In 1829 he received a contract to settle 500 families on a huge tract of land in East Texas. Zavala never established the colony, however, and later sold it to the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company." Having made this point earlier in the text, we felt that it was not necessary to include it in the biography feature on page 242S; instead, in this feature we chose to focus on the many accomplishments of Zavala that had not been previously mentioned.

4. It is incorrect to call William Kennedy a Texan (284S). He did like Texas and served Texas' interests in England (replacing Arthur Ikin as consul) before annexation. He also served a couple of years as British consul to Texas. He received a grant to settle 600 families in Texas, but he never did and he never resided here permanently.

HRW Response: Thank you for pointing out the need for this clarification. We will delete "Texan" from the sentence describing Kennedy.

5. On page 271 (T,S) the text lists Edward Burleson as the vice president during Sam Houston's 2nd presidential term. Anson Jones was Sam Houston's vice president before becoming the last president of the Republic of Texas. This is a major error.

HRW Response: This is not an error. In the Handbook of Texas the biography of Edward Burleson states that "In 1841 he was elected vice president of the republic." The biography of Anson Jones in the Handbook of Texas states that "He declined candidacy for the vice presidency in the election of 1841, in which Houston again became president. Houston appointed Jones his secretary of state."

6. On page 449 (T,S) they mistakenly identify Richard King's partner in the King Ranch as Gideon Lewis when it should be Mifflin Kennedy.

HRW Response: On page 449 (T,S), the text states "The King Ranch in South Texas was one of the most important cattle operations in the state. Richard King and Gideon Lewis established the ranch in Nueces County in the early 1850s." This is an accurate statement. The Handbook of Texas states, "The 825,000-acre King Ranch, in Nueces, Kenedy, Kleberg, and Willacy counties, had its beginning in 1852, when Richard King and Gideon K. Lewis set up a cattle camp on Santa Gertrudis Creek in South Texas. Formal purchase began in 1853, when they bought a Spanish land grant, Rincun de Santa Gertrudis, of 15,500 acres on Santa Gertrudis Creek in Nueces County. A short time later they purchased the Garza Santa Gertrudis grant of 53,000 acres. During the mid-1850s, as partners, King and Lewis acquired more landholdings around the area of the creek." The Handbook of Texas further notes that Lewis was a partner until his death in 1855, that James Walworth and Mifflin Kenedy entered into a partnership in 1856, and that Mifflin Kenedy bought interest in the ranch in 1860. The handbook also states that by the late 1860s these partnerships had ended. Students have an opportunity to learn more about the King Ranch with the Internet Activity on page 459 (S,T). We will add information about Mifflin Kenedy in the Chapter Enrichment Links on the Internet, keyword "ST3 CH21".

PUBLISHER	TEXTBOOK TITLE	SUBJECT
Holt Rinehart & Winston	Holt Call to Freedom	8^th Grade American History

1. Chapter 11, p. 337. "The Visual Record." Sidebar says John Marshall was first Supreme Court Chief Justice. It was actually John Jay, as stated on p. 303.

2. Chapter 17, p. 521. "War Breaks Out." — "...the Texas and US claim that the Rio Grande marked the southern border of Texas..." This claim comes from the Treaty of Velasco, signed by Santa Anna after the battle of San Jacinto in 1836, giving Texas her independence (p. 496)

HRW Response: We are uncertain as to the reviewer's concern, but speculate that it focuses on the use of the word claim. Because the validity of the Treaty of Velasco was disputed, we believe that it is acceptable and appropriate to use the word claim in this passage in reference to the Texas and U.S. position on the location of the southern border of Texas.

3. Chapter 11. As mentioned in Section 5A, there is no mention of the election of 1804 or the Essex Junto. It's plan to get Aaron Burr into the NY governor's office and then have New England secede from the union shows that the concept of states' rights and secession was not particular to the South.

HRW Response: While we do not believe that our text errs on this point, we agree with aspects of the reviewer's suggestion. Therefore, we will add coverage of the election of 1804 on p. 341. The following changes will be made to accommodate this addition. The first paragraph will be changed from the end of the sentence in line five to the end of the first paragraph to read as follows: "To lead it, Jefferson chose former army captain Meriwether Lewis, who had served as his presidential assistant. Lewis chose Lieutenant William Clark to be the co-leader of the expedition. Jefferson told Lewis and Clark to explore the Missouri River." The following paragraph will be added to the bottom of the page to follow the paragraph that is currently the last paragraph on the page: "The Louisiana Purchase helped Jefferson's popularity. With George Clinton as his running mate, Jefferson defeated Federalist candidate Charles Cotesworth Pinckney in the 1804 presidential election. Pinckney's loss marked the decline of the Federalists." While we find that the information related to the Essex Junto is interesting, we do not feel that this is information that 8^th-grade students must know. Therefore, because of space constraints we are not able to add information on the Essex Junto.

4. On p. 12(S), the text discusses "potlatches." The text's benign wording about social standing and respect misleadingly neglects the central importance that potlatches and similar customs give to envy in the society in which they exist. Widespread envy has serious corrosive effects on families, friendships, and trust as well as holding back economic development. For a discussion of potlatches and envy, see Helmut Schoeck, Envy (1969).

HRW Response: The current text discussion of potlatches describes them as a tool for gaining respect. This description does not suggest that they played societal roles that were entirely positive or negative. We agree that an extended discussion of potlatches, including their cultivation of envy