JSPES, Vol. 45, No. 3-4 (Fall-Winter 2020)
pp. 325-332

Book Review Article: The Attack on American Memory – A Book Review and Analysis

Dwight D. Murphey

Wichita State University, retired

Jarrett Stepman

The War on History: The Conspiracy to Rewrite America’s Past

Regnery Gateway, 2019

Although it is easy to think of the attack on American monuments and historic figures as the actions of a few, it actually reflects a broadly-felt animus against the American past by what the author here, by way of analogy to some recent medical thinking, calls “the interstitium” – the body of opinion-forming sentiment that permeates American society. Jarrett Stepman’s new book The War on History rebuts the attacks in an excellent series of informative chapters about such things as Columbus’ voyages, the history of Thanksgiving, and the life of Andrew Jackson. The author of this book review article takes the occasion to analyze both the intellectual background that has led to the alienated consensus and several pivotal concepts about America’s racial history that, though essential to clear understanding, are commonly left undiscussed and uncomprehended.