History Repeating Itself

"This is a magnificent piece of historical research and writing, one that is sure to be well received by scholars and also to appeal strongly to journalists and political commentators."—Leslie Howsam, author of Past into Print: The Publishing of History in Britain, 1850–1950

"Provides a very readable yet nuanced account of the reading habits and assignments of 19th-century American Children. Pfitzer's well-documented description of largely forgotten but extremely influential authors and textbooks, as well as shifting overarching educational theories, provides important insight into US educational history as well as the study and use of history itself. Recommended."—Choice

"Pfitzer ably grounds his analysis in the broader secondary literature about nineteenth-century childhood, historiography, and textbook-making."—American Historical Review

"History Repeating Itself is clear, well written, and insightful, a strong contribution to childhood studies and, in its way, to the teaching of history. . . . [It] raises some thorny questions about the interaction between political ideology and historical interpretation, both for homeschoolers and for those who study them."—Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth

"Pfitzer consistently demonstrates that, despite their aversion to revisionism, Christian Right publishers issue revised versions of nineteenth-century histories, and also silently revise these texts themselves. . . . Pfitzer openly states his belief that using nineteenth-century popular history to teach twenty-first-century students is misleading and dangerous. Few scholars would disagree."—American Literature to 1900