Schweikart, author of the number one New York Times bestseller A Patriot’s History of the United States, and Dougherty take a critical look at America, from the postwar boom to her search for identity in the twenty-first century.

The second volume of A Patriot’s History of the Modern World picks up in 1945 with a world irrevocably altered by World War II and a powerful, victorious United States. But new foes and challenges soon arose: the growing sphere of Communist influence, hostile dictatorships and unreliable socialist allies, the emergence of China as an economic contender, and the threat of world Islamification.

The book reestablishes the argument of American exceptionalism and the interplay of our democratic pillars—Judeo-Christian religious beliefs, free market capitalism, land ownership, and common law—around the world.

Schweikart and Dougherty offer a fascinating conservative history of the last six decades.

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There is great concern now about the new Advanced Placement standards for the test. I AM NOT AN EXPERT ON THE TEST. I haven’t read all of it, but the parts I have read are troubling. It seems that there is a significant bent toward criticizing America as opposed to simply learning America’s history. The questions seem to be heavily tilted toward the negative aspects of our past and ignore or minimize the overwhelmingly positive events.

Let me suggest something that many of you might not like: don’t have your students take AP History. It is—again, I say this having taught it—something of a “cheat” in that it allows a motivated student to test out of a regular college U.S. History class. That’s not always a good thing. As a college teacher now, I know that a great deal goes on in the classroom, including (yes) information brought by students that is informative, thought-provoking, and overall beneficial. More than once, I’ve had a super-motivated student pick up an error (usually in a picture in a powerpoint show where I got the wrong general). The point is, American history as it is supposed to be taught is more than “what is on the test.” I am absolutely a believer in “content”: names, dates, battles, etc. But there is also more than mere content: there is listening to others’ views, absorbing their ideas—and if those ideas are wrong, learning how to confront them in a civilized and logical manner.

Many parents are rightly concerned that their kids will get a leftist professor. Well, if the AP Test itself is badly biased, they can’t do any worse. But they may do much better. You have some likelihood of getting either a fair liberal or a conservative, and especially if the student is taught by non-tenured lecturers, the likelihood of getting someone more conservative increases, because many of these people specifically AREN’T tenured because the liberal system has worked against them. Most often this occurs because they have done a “conservative” dissertation topic (a biography, for example, or anything except “race class gender”) so they have had to settle for lectureships. Also, lacking tenure, non-tenured instructors are more likely to be fair so as not to lose their positions.

In short, yes, we should fight to stop the new AP History standards, and overturn them if they are passed. But if they are passed, students can always go the old-fashioned route: take the class!

www.surviveusa.biz and you will see the link. Remember, if you want these autographed, we need to get the orders by 12/12/2013.

Also, we have—as long as supplies last—copies of “What Would the Founders Say?” for $5 plus shipping. Contact me at [email protected].

Finally, in conjunction with Rockin’ the Wall Films we are offering DVDs of “Rockin’ the Wall” as seen on PBS for $10 + shipping. You can see the trailer at www.rockinthewallstudios.com under “Projects: Completed.”

Patriot’s History of the Modern World, volume 2, from 1945 to 2012, will be out at Christmas. If you’re interested in getting both volumes, discounted and autographed, contact me at [email protected].

Patriot’s History of the Modern World, vol. 2, from 1945 to the present, is out in December and many of you are preordering either the single volume or the two-volume set. If you wish to pre-order the set, Dave Dougherty and I can autograph both and give you a special deal. Just e-mail me below.

“Rockin’ the Wall” will have a national theatrical release starting later this month! It will also appear on AXS television late this year or early next.

So, for all of you who have been seeking a complete curriculum for Patriot’s History, you now have one!

If you want to package that with our documentary “Rockin’ the Wall,” I will sell them together for $15.00 plus shipping. Again, e-mail me for details.

In between, you get to see how politics really worked in the 1800s (and to some extent still works today). Called “the purest man who ever walked the earth” by Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, Lincoln bribed, cajoled, and strong-armed congressmen to provide the votes for the 13th Amendment. One of the key moments occurs when Tommie Lee Jones, as Stevens, has to lie about his true beliefs. He must say publicly that he ONLY supports equality “before the law,” when in fact he supports total equality. But this statement was necessary to swing a few Democrat fence sitters who finally made up the margin of victory.

Daniel Day-Lewis is absolutely brilliant as Lincoln. You find yourself laughing at his stories, now 150 years old. But he also captures Lincoln’s anger, not only with the Radical Republicans, but also with his wife and son—Mary, who is looking for an excuse to go into one of her depressive fits, and Robert, who defies his father by joining the Army of the Potomac. You see a human Lincoln, but a still heroic Lincoln.

If there was one weakness, surprisingly it was in the score by John Williams. This was uninspiring and in scenes where Spieldberg should have you bawling like a baby, the music lets the film down.

No film has ever dealt with the dry topic of legislation such as “Lincoln,” and it’s doubtful any actor will again capture Honest Abe as did this Englishman. Highly recommended.