Thanks to MyHeritage for sponsoring this. Goto bit.ly/TheCynicalHistorianMH for a free 2-week trial and 50% off from there. Click "read more" for further info, corrections, and bibliography Thanks for watching! Please consider supporting the channel by buying merch: teespring.com/stores/the-cynical-historian Or by donating to my Patreon: www.patreon.com/CynicalHistorian *[reserved for Errata]* *Related videos* Why did the Texas Revolution happen? th-cam.com/video/lDWH-DC74Pk/w-d-xo.html Why did the Mexican-American War happen? th-cam.com/video/HTmSN4Exci0/w-d-xo.html Civil War related episodes Lincoln was a Conspiracist? th-cam.com/video/Ff2AKILyi0o/w-d-xo.html Lost Cause myth th-cam.com/video/5EOhXF5lNgQ/w-d-xo.html Civil War lecture th-cam.com/video/C7xdmsvJa28/w-d-xo.html Sectional Crisis lecture th-cam.com/video/QEnYk2xgEIo/w-d-xo.html *Bibliography* Edward P. Alexander, Mary Alexander, and Juilie Decker, Museums in Motion: An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums, 3rd ed. (1979; Lanham, Mar.: Rowman and Littlefield, 2017). amzn.to/3X9eT5d Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, Jason Stanford, Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth (New York: Penguin Press, 2021). amzn.to/3N77YF7 Gerald George and Carol Maryan-George, Starting Right: A Basic Guide to Museum Planning, 3rd ed. (1992; Lanham, Mar.: AltaMira Press, 2012). amzn.to/3NonWfn Laura Lyons McLemore, Inventing Texas: Early Historians of the Lone Star State (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2004). amzn.to/41P8gXo David Montejano, Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836-1986 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1987). amzn.to/2NFGNla Rick Perlstein, Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America (New York: Scribner, 2008). amzn.to/3sLTDlQ Rick Perlstein, The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2014). amzn.to/306XMo9 “Statement of Professional Standards and Ethics,” American Association for State and Local History, 2018. learn.aaslh.org/products/aaslh-statement-of-standards-and-ethics Michael Van Wagenen, Remembering the Forgotten War: The Enduring Legacies of the US-Mexican War (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2012). amzn.to/3n6SV5y
Can you do an official vid for the ad please. I'm trying my heritage, and I put in the info I found, but it doesn't really seem to be doing too much. It did find my brother for me, before I put it in, but that's it
“People have got to know whether or not their museum is spreading disinformation. Well, we are not spreading disinformation. We deserve every donation we’ve got.”
Oh, wow, the Nixon Library has really improved! When I visited on a school trip in the mid-90s, back when it was solely run by the Nixon Foundation, it was pretty much all hagiography. (My school was a private evangelical thing, so they were very much Team Nixon too.) SO much about China. I remember the docent making a big deal about the topiary Checkers in the garden, too. But there was nothing about how Nixon's presidency ended, Google didn’t exist yet, and I'd heard my politically liberal next-door neighbor joking about an unfamiliar word, so at the end of the tour, when the docent asked for questions, I stuck my eleven-year-old hand up and innocently asked, "What's Watergate?" And that's how I got screamed at by a little old lady and dragged off by my ear in the gardens of the Nixon Library. I'm glad they actually talk about Watergate now. It probably saves a lot of screaming.
I bet that if the rare Russian field trip to the US happened to come by the Nixon museum, the staff would lead the tour with “Our kitchens are still better than yours”
The Nixon Library has definitely improved from the dark days of the 90s but it still has a lot of problems. The Library a few years ago was working on building a simulation of the 1973 Yom Kippur War from the U.S. Government prospective. A defining moment of the Nixon Administration to be sure. I and my fellow history undergrads were invited to tour the Library and partake in a proto-type version of the game before they made it ready for high school students. The simulation itself was designed pretty well. We were broken into groups each representing a different department or policy team (DoD, Arab Affairs, Israel Diplo team, etc.) They had actual memos that the various groups submitted to the president and each group was supposed to argue their case on what actions the president (Nixon) should take. This is all well and good until you realize that given the information Nixon had and the actual situation in 1973....and maybe Nixon did things not purely for "strategic" or rational decisions. As soon as we all decided on something that Nixon did not do in real life the simulation ended with Israel using nuclear weapons on the Arabs.... ya it went from 0 to 100 real quick. The simulation would have been great if they had allowed other outcomes or maybe talked about how Nixon didn't always make the "correct" foreign policy decision. Instead it turned into a weird vindication of Nixon and Kissinger's foreign policy with no other room for interpretation. My friends from college still regularly joke about Golda Meir nuking the world :).
I also did school in the nineties....Not having context for a lot of what they taught in history classes really kinda makes the head spin when you start talking to people from other countries, or that have a background in history.
I never really thought about it from the religious perspective, but that is a special kind of denial. I have recently learned from the Kissinger Report, that was accidentally made public before it’s creators intended, that Nixon’s visit to China was arranged and controlled by the country’s most powerful Eugenicists for the sole purpose of promoting their Eugenics Agenda. They outright state that the best win they can have is for Nixon to convince China to adopt a one-child policy. They explicitly state that while this will have profound impacts in the current generation, the real wins will come on the next generation. If I remember correctly, the goal was to have Chinese families prioritize having male children, with the hope that it would create a roughly 5 to 1 ratio of men to women. The Eugenicists pointed out that would drastically support their objectives even more than the one child policy, and the best part is there was a good chance the Chinese would never see that impact coming until it was too late to do anything about it, at least for that generation. I know Nixon did a lot of things wrong, but coming from a religious perspective of someone who believes Satan’s biggest agenda is a war on unborn children because he resents any human being who gets a chance at life, Nixon’s visit to China is perhaps the greatest win Satan has ever had in the war of good and evil. I know many people aren’t religious and will think that view is ridiculous and naive, etc., but for actual religious people to be praising Nixon and celebrating that infamous trip to China makes me particularly ill. To be fair, at the time this was all secret. On the surface, Nixon’s visit to China seemed like an incredible move in the right direction for the whole world. But we know better now. It’s bad enough when evil calls evil good, but when good people are tricked into calling evil good out ability to fight evil becomes practically non-existent.
@@hollybigelow5337Quite a insightful post. To me the irony is we have become more like China through the years. Today Hollywood and the NBA don’t want to offend the Chinese. The market is too big, and we Americans don’t stand for human rights anymore.
True story, when I took Texas History for one of my history electives in college, Professor Hughes mentioned how earlier in his career the history department led students on a tour of the San Antonio missions with the professors giving a lecture at each of the sites. He did The Alamo and was just getting started on his lecture about how the defenders of The Alamo were foolish and it was a general military disaster for the Texans, he was stopped and quickly escorted offsite.
@@CynicalHistorian I seem to recall he mentioned that Ozzy had just had his incident, so that would have been 82ish (I was taking his class in 05ish). A lot of his lectures involved dispelling myths, which tends to piss off the people invested in those false myths.
@@marclowe724 aka the lobbyists and politicians they fund. Safe to say, this guy would have a hard time finding work in his field nowadays if he didn’t “take the money and shut up”
When I took Texas history in middle school (mid 80s), it was more myth than history. In college, a friend from Mexico and I had some great fun comparing what we were taught.
As someone who studies museology, this response hit me on a spiritual level. Nobody has any idea it's even a thing, but there are dozens of us. Dozens!
Interesting story I heard. Just before his death LBJ took a tour through his just opened museum. He was asked what he thought and said it was to positive and insisted that the museum include his failures. I guess this should not be surprising since LBJ was at one point a history teacher. As a history teacher in Texas I dislike the Alamo. Unfortunately this will not change as long as the Daughters are involved. Other historical sites in San Antonio do a much better job of providing balanced history.
I often joke to clients about how dumb Texas History class was when it comes up in conversation. Once I told this to a person who was teaching history in KC..... Then he tells me that he used to teach Texas History classes and laughs agreeing with me and adding to it. We spent much of his appointment ragging on how crap Texas is in general afterwards. XD
As a child of seven in 1960 , I went to see the great " Alamo " with John Wayne . My grandmother set me straight on Hollywood and a history book . My grandmother put a spark in me that went on to reading and studying my next big movie " Spartucus " . In both movies , I at a young age , found out the truth about both events ! Then studying the Battle of the Greasy Grass , I realized Custer was morally and egotistically corrupt ! Like it or not , David Crocket and his volunteers were illegal aliens who took up arms against Mexico ! Travis and Bowie signed contracts to be citizens of Mexico . Crocket never did ! I also learned that the first concentration camp ( that was the name given by the British ) was in South Africa during the Boer War in 1891 . 20,000 Belgium women and children were starved to death . The British also sent the first slaves to America from England , White Irish indentured slaves . History is not pretty !
As a Texan and knowing the political trends here, the moment you said that the Alamo was different from 2018 to 2022, my heart sank because i knew it would have gotten worse.
I was born in Texas but I’m honestly more proud of the fact that I grew up in Tennessee and both my parents are Mexican Americans. And Tennessee did their own fcked up shit too bro
One of the worst culprits of this is the American History museum in Washington, DC. There are of course difficulties inherent to summing up a nation's history in a physical form, and one shouldn't be surprised that a government tells its own history tamely, but it is riddled with oversimplification and erasure of many aspects of more controversial historical episodes, like Vietnam.
I would say there at least improvnkg, or trying to improve recently. Recent renivations to their democracy wing has tried to incorporate more aspects of American protest and voices with regards to these controversies, and the military wing does examine some of the public reaction to Vietnam. It's still not quite the lengths they should, though, I'll admit. Hopefully if they get to revising their military wing or other places, they'll try to give more context and aspects of the wromgs of that and other wars by the U.S., as well as other, more unfortunate parts of our nation's past. The Smithsonian has been very good about it in other places, so I'm optimistic that museum may change too.
Anyone who wants to learn more about this topic can read "Lies Across America." It talks about roadside plaques and how they lie to us about history. Very interesting.
I've seen that plenty in this comments section, LOL. Seemed like the actual site was trying to change people's rhetorical nonsense, but they sadly reversed course
Hi Cypher! I’m a huge fan of yours. I’m a UCLA poli sci and history double major going into my sophomore year. I grew up in Yorba Linda and worked at the Nixon Library for three years as one of the library’s docents working with NARA. I wish I knew you guys were visiting so I could’ve given you guys a private tour or something a bit more formal. If you would like me to provide you the fact books i had access to as a worker of the library, I could. I feel like getting the docent manual would help you understand the biased way the Nixon library is displayed. After working at the library for 3 years, I can say it really was eye opening the revisionism that is being championed by the right today. I hope you see this comment: channels like yours really were the ones that inspired me to pursue a future in history. It is awesome you made a video about my hometown museum!
Note when I make my claims of revisionism. It is more so on the bounds of what is excluded in the museum and how certain events were framed. I think the Nixon library needs some adjustment, but the people working there are still really well-meaning
Honestly, I’d be kinda mad if I walked into the Nixon library and everything was straightforward and honest. There needs to be a maximum of double dealing, deception, disinformation and general heavy handed tricky dickness! They should get Neil Young, Rick Pearlstein, and Matt Groening to design an exhibit.
Really interesting stuff! Especially about the Alamo changing so much in only 5 years. I wasn't familiar with your connected Texas Revolution and Mex-Am war videos (having only found your channel a few months ago), but I ended up watching both of them. Those were really enjoyable and I learned a lot. Thanks, Cypher! Great work!
When I was at the Alamo, my father got completely confused by the timeline due to lack of context and avoiding really explaining the reason for the Alamo
From the sound of it, that Nixon Library makes him like a man ahead of his time (and my apologies if I misinterpret that). It would make sense that Libraries portray their respective President in a good light and there is still limits on how far you can carry that, but it is indeed kind of hard to downplay Watergate. So kudos to whoever wrote the blurbs on it, gold star for effort.
In the case of Nixon, I'm actually pretty sympathetic to the library being biased towards the positives of his administration. Since most folks have a (justified IMO) overall negative view of Nixon, highlighting the positive is adding important nuance and context. If Nixon was a more beloved figure (eg JFK), then I would be more annoyed by glossing over so much of the bad stuff.
If I was running the Nixon Library social media, I’d try to revive the Kitchen Debate by mentioning with “@“ official Russian accounts. And it would only ramp up in 2022. (I’ve never been to Carter’s presidential library here in GA, despite going to Plains twice and meeting him in-person once as a young child, but I wonder how they handle the Iran hostage crisis and oil prices, and how much they say “guys look a Nobel Peace Prize”
I didn’t get to spend as much time in the Alamo as I wanted to but one thing that stuck out to me as an issue was the expansive gift shop inside of it stood in contrast to the carnage that occurred there. Like, “Excuse me. People died here. No, I don’t want to buy specialty fudge.” Gift shops are fine, imo. However, the size and merchandizing of certain things was a turn off to me. The Alamo is more than just symbolism. Everyone who lived and died there was a real person with a real story. ALL of them deserve to be told respectfully in context.
Honestly, I'm perfectly fine with gift shops. I'm angry they didn't have a coon-skin cap. Like this is the Alamo! I want to all around the Western Historical Association like the King of the Wild Frontier!
Having a gift shop was fine. They were even selling some of my great-aunt’s books about the Alamo. (Voices of the Alamo is a kid’s book, but you might find it interesting…) I just couldn’t get up the stomach for snacks and fun. In Texas, you go to Buc-ee’s for that. Genuine question: what do you think Mr. Crockett would think of selling coon skin caps in the place where he died? Do you think he wore one often? I’m thinking of the way Billy Bob Thornton portrayed him in the 2003(?) movie The Alamo. I was in 7th grade Texas history that year and they took our whole class to the theatre to see it. (I went to kindergarten at David Crockett Elementary school. We also had a Bowie Elementary in town, and a Travis Elementary. No schools named for Tejano Alamo defenders, which tracks with your point about the exclusionary narrative at the Alamo itself.)
In my first serious history class, the teacher told us: "The problem with history, is that people lie." I have learned over the years that not only to people in the past lie but historians lie also.
My first museum was the DIA. First into the darkness of the Medieval armor (thankfully brought to light during a 1990 renovation) and then the light of _Detroit Industry Murals_ by Diego Rivera. Thank you, Edsel. You weren't alive for a 5 year old to tell you how mesmerizing a first time experience it was.
Detroit Institute of Art. The great hall of armor had its windows blanked out for decades. They were opened during the renovation which exposed both the armor and the glorious dias on the ceiling.
Museums are often bias and aren't always truthful? Next you'll tell me The Mothman Museum isn't a meticulously accurate exhibition for large West Virginia flying creatures...
Another excellent video, Cypher! You gave a lot of good insight into museums and what they set out to do. Also, the bloopers at the end had me chuckle a lot too.
I'd be interested to see a video like this on the Canadian Human Rights Museum. I went there some years ago and enjoyed it alot, but there's probably some interesting caveats with how they present things.
I have a ancestor who fought in the Alamo, Juan Antonio Badillo, and I always wondered why his name wasn’t on the statue in front of the Alamo thanks for clearing that up 😅
My friend (and sister in law) is a librarian for a small town's public library, which is considered a "government" job, but the issues that arise in that one tiny library get more controversial behind the scenes than I ever woulda expected, down to which books get featured on their front-facing book racks, and even how the library itself gets decorated, and which events and holidays to even decorate for! I mean, God forbid they accidentally highlight a book with a lesbian couple, for example. It's often the bold younger librarians who are more liberal than their elder, more conservative and anxious counterpart librarians who fear mediocrity's wrath if they recommend anything too "unwholesome" by yesteryear's standards. Thus, I can only imagine that even the pettiest issues get even more politicized when it comes to local history, especially when the Alamo is such a legendary place where enthusiasts may be likely to make the story more legend than simple fact. I wish historians were a bit more like the scientific community inside something like archaeology. Sure, that's got its well known controversies too, but overall they're encouraged to just look at the facts. TLDR: It's hard to only do facts without any opinions in a history lesson when there's so much emotion, pride, and politics involved.
Finally! A topic that I know a good amount about (although from an European perspective). I did my master's thesis on Nationalism's effect on museums. The Alamo is a textbook case of a museum dedicated exactly to a national narrative and, as such, it will always be problematic and subservient to nationalism unless they change their nature in an intrinsic manner. Which, seeing the state of Texas' politics right now, I highly doubt that is going to happen.
‘’Forget The Alamo” came out a few years ago. Great book. There’s a funny story about the authors talk being cancelled at the Bob bullock museum in Austin after some “daughters of the Alamo” types actually read about it. Good ol’ texas politics.
I grew up and still live in Texas. One of these days I plan to respond to someone saying we should forget something like slavery with "so should we forget the Alamo then?"
I highly recommend the book. Almost everything I learned in school was wrong. My Junior High was actually named “Alamo”-and my high school was named for Robert E. Lee!!
I was fortunate enough to work at the Smithsonian's museum storage center as a college student. Definitely the most enjoyable job I've ever had, and I got to see so many artifacts and specimens there.
Excellent analysis. I was wondering when you were finally going to use all that Nixon museum footage. It was great to spend some time with you in the Oval Office there. :)
Heh, I’m a northerner (from Chicago, and a fan of history) who moved to Texas in 2009, and my daughter learned the history of Texas in 4th grade@ 2014)… as she told me the story of the Alamo (as taught to her class) I could only ask, “Are you implying the Texans were the ‘good guys’ in this story?“ I mean, Santa Anna wasn’t exactly a benevolent and great dude, but as it was (and probably still is) taught to 4th grade students, he’s an invader. So the instruction of Texas history (to Texans) is … interesting at best. (Update: My daughter is better now and understands history is far more complex).
I found this really interesting I have a Masters in Museum Science and didn’t 20 years as a museum director, most of it at the excellent Petroleum Museum in Midland, Tx. I’ve since been on museum boards and done exhibit design work. There’s always a trade off between accurate storytelling and the desires of your donors/board members. At the Petroleum Museum we told the science and technology of the oil industry and regional history but trod lightly, but didn’t ignore, environmental issues, for example. The Alamo isn’t really a museum - it’s basically a religious shrine and will be as long as 22:39 the DRT runs it
@@TejasChica Run by, I believe, the General Land Office, Which makes leadership running for office every 4 years and accurate interpretation even more of a football.
Although I'm not American anymore, I started school during the mid-1970s in Texas in a strongly Hispanic majority area on the Mexican border around Donna. This is about 100 miles south of the Alamo. I'm both surprised and not surprised by what you're saying. I'm not claiming you're wrong or anything. As I recall, we were told that one of the primary reasons Texas revolted was Mexico's anti-slavery laws. The main aggrandizement I recall is that the battle of the Alamo was compared to Thermopylae in the sense of being a delaying tactic to let the disorganized army form up to be able to face the enemy. The role of Hispanic Texans was clearly stated. IIRC the teachers told us that Hispanic Texans (people native to the area) outnumbered immigrants (generally white Americans) by at least 2:1. I don't know what would have been taught if it weren't for the fact my family was about the only non-Hispanic family in town. That includes teachers.
A really interesting museology experience i had was visiting the Hungarian national gallery in Budapest. It was a flagrantly nationalistic museum, that saught to portray Hungarian society as a anchient unbending christian culture definied by strong warrior men and only held back by the east and the west. There was virtually no art from the communist periode and that which was there was entirely antipartisan. Very interesting experience. Didnt leave a particularly good impression on me from an artistic or rhetorical standpoint
The Alamo was a tactical defeat yet a strategic success in martyrdom and steeling the resolve of the Texans further. A similar example might be the Battle of Britain, where airborne bombing might have killed some and wrecked infrastructure, but emboldened the British homefront into Total War.
I think that's the strangest thing with the Alamo. Had they simply packed up and moved to Goliad, or followed Houston, they may have still won at San Jacinto, or they could have been destroyed somewhere else with the entirety of the army instead of just the 187 there in San Antonio. We do have a lot of people trying to get a fuller picture of the Alamo taught in Texas, but the DRT and others are against it. Heck, the rebirth of attention for Juan Sequin outside of the Central Texas Hispanic population is only really starting to emerge even now. And it took that 2004 version of the movie for some people to relearn that Tejanos fought at the Alamo alongside the Texians.
Was it a strategic success though? The Alamo was followed by a load of desertions from the Texan army by people who saw it as the beginning of the end of the Texan revolution
@@deeznoots6241 If it buys you time, you can consider it a strategic win. Especially if you take out up to 20% of your opponents force. It forced Santa Ana to spend time rebuilding troop strength which gave Houston space to move.
@@deeznoots6241after the two forts fell, Texas was wide open and it triggered the Run away scrape. Thousands of Texians burned their homes and fled because of the Santa Anna sent the signal that he was killing everyone. There was desertion but also more enlistment. The army was growing the further East Sam Houston went.
The Alamo is one of the events that got me into history in the first place. It seemed like such an epic story to my young mind. Im well aware now that the truth is more complicated but it still holds special meaning to me. Some see it as a struggle against tyranny, others focus on the issue of slavery. Im in the middle.
I like your take on it. As texas has done it's best to be southern-adjacent, there was a large push to take away the "southern pride" in the 70's-90's and replace it with Texas pride. A fundamental part of this has been making the Texas Revolution our founding myth. Like many other foundation myths, it speaks more to themes than what historically happened. The Alamo's last stand makes a fantastic martyr story for the founding of texas, especially with such big names as Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William Travis dying there. Militaristically, it was a blunder, but as all children of my generation (born '93) were told, it bought Houston's army 13 days to recoup from Goliad and other disastrous battles.
I understand completely. I'm from Massachusetts, and they try to be truthful, like telling us about the evil Triangle Trade, but the mythical Thanksgiving Story has very few true elements in it. We, and most "Americans," are living on stolen property. That would be bad enough if only in the past, but the theft of tribal land [see the pipeline vs Lakota] and suppression of tribal identity is ongoing.
What's the middle of that issue? There's no middle. The Anglo colonists wanted to keep and expand slavery and Mexico took an issue with that since it was abolished since their independence of Spain in 1821. The Mexicans lost the war and were expelled and slavery remained as an institution on those lands until it was removed by force in the mid 1860s. It's clear that the Anglo colonists were the baddies and it was an unjust war of conquest. Evil won at that time.
@@marlonbryanmunoznunez3179 Texans weren't the only ones who rebeled against Santa Anna. Other Mexican states fought against him. Tejanos fought alongside Americans in the Alamo and at San Jacinto. To me the Texas revolution wasn't very black and white. But it also annoys me how some still downplay the issue of slavery.
@@bhartley868 Was that the position of Juan Seguin and the Tejanos? There have been regional rebellions in Mexico before and since that time, from Sonora to Oaxaca. The Texicans took advantage of that, and betrayed the Tejanos as soon as they were in control. Santa Ana first betrayed Spain, then he betrayed Emperador Iturbide, and then betrayed the Republic by making himself a dictator. This explains why he is still reviled by many Mexicans.
As a Native/Mexican/American myself, I would like to express my gratitude for your honesty on the Alamo. It is always great to see a fellow American not give a watered-down version of the Alamo. Another interesting topic you might want to cover (if you haven't already), is the San Patricio Batallón (St. Patrick's Battalion) during the Mexican/American war. A mostly Irish/Mexican battalion, but with some Scotts, Poles, and Germans also sprinkled in. Originally, they were U.S. soldiers, but they chose to switch sides, to defend Mexico against the U.S. invasion. Anyway, all respect to you & yours my brother. ~Serg~
No open containers or food or drinks are allowed in the building, but you can carry a legal firearm. That’s Texas for ya. The rules of reverence are stupid, because most of the Battle of the Alamo took place on what is today the huge public plaza that’s in front of the building, and that’s where most of the men died. And it’s a busy plaza with people playing music, talking, drinking, etc. So if they’re going to have reverence for where those heroes died, they should enforce those rules out on the plaza. Also, I was raised in Houston, and took Texas history when I was in school. They never mentioned to us that the Texans wanted to reinstate slavery to Texas. The Mexican government had outlawed slavery- one of the main reasons the Texans were revolting was because they wanted to have slaves. So, when Texas became a republic, slavery became legal, and black people in Texan were enslaved. And yet we were told that the Texas Revolution was all about freedom. 🙄
I visit a Historic house / Museum and I’ve learned history of the family involved with the house. I’ve learned things about the family that you not hear at the museum. “Things that would tarnish the narrative.” The skeletons in the closet.
I really, really LOVE your videos. I love history myself. I got it from my Great, Great Grandmother, who would tell stories of who it was in the 1800's. My slow self just realized, who your father is!. I love that fact that you followed in his foot step. Wonderful man.
Quite a few museums in the UK when referring to the Early Middle Ages, will often call it the "Dark Ages", I'm relatively sure they do it for marketing purposes.
Yeah. It's like how the Smithsonian will often refer to "the American character." Using outdated terminology can often allow people to come and have that confronted with education
DRT and obsession with blood lineage - my grandmother was a member of the DRT. My mother and sister could have been, but never joined. Me? Not allowed. Why? I’m adopted and can’t trace a blood relation to anyone who fought on that side (could probably find a relation in Santa Ana’s army though). I visited the Alamo earlier this year while at a conference. The docent there was really pushing hard that glorious victorious slant and did not want to discuss the promises the Texians broke to the Mexican government. Just another frustrating example of historical narrative excluding multiple contemporary perspectives and motivations from the period.
Nixon...was a technocrat. I don't believe he had an iota of feeling for his fellow human beings but if you could show him a study that proved the validity of a government program, he'd push it. His drug program poured money into methadone clinics, education campaigns and medical research into addiction.
What I like most about this video, is that it made me aware to biases in musea. I’m from The Netherlands and the bias will be different, but I know now not to trust everything, but stay critical. And you have an adorable talking cat.
Back in mid-80s there was English-only on the ballot in Texas and I heard a person say, "Since English was good enough for the Lord, it's good enough for everyone."
@@toddjones1480 - Lol, in Texas it's the Methodists who ya gotta worry about. They feel free to block you in your own driveway on Sunday during church if they it's convenient for them. Or the Baptists who I've heard say, "The Bible is for believing, not for reading." People will agree because they don't want to read it (a good idea if they want to keep their faith). They also will agree with the lady saying Jesus spoke English (even if they know better) because they don't like people using words they don't know whether it's Spanish or big fancy college words.
Very interesting and thought-provoking video! For me personally, as I had the pleasure to work for a year and a half in a historical museum and I'm still in contact with people working there. Perhaps you could make it a series, presenting and reviewing various museums? PS. I wish that more would understand one of the points made early in the video: that gathering and preservation of artifacts is one of the essential functions of museums. Because let me tell you; some people can get really upset that something they donated to a museum is not displayed on the permanent exposition.
I was accessioning an artifact that required a bit of clarification from the donor once (whether to remove their nametag). Called them on the phone just to get yelled at for 10 minutes about how their uniform wasn't on display next to the one we did have up, despite having 30-40 of the exact same thing in the collection
Maurice Halbwachs was the precursor of the idea and the study of collective memory. One of the interesting aspects of history is to study how historical myths are constructed through a national novel. The fluctuating relationships between acceptance and rejection are fascinating. That's why I love your video which shows the complicated relationship between a population and its history, between public institutions (museums in this case) and their narration of historical facts. There is also something that I find unpleasant, even disturbing, to point out. The chasm between academic knowledge of history and the general public's knowledge of history. Especially for the United States where I do not see politicians making the decision to ask historians to report on a historical subject or a historical period and to accept it as a reliable narration of events. Greeting from Switzerland
I did laugh a little bit when you mentioned the Nixon library didn't let you bring in your camera. Isn't one of the most well known things about that guy that he liked to record things.
My first time watching your video; already subscribed after enjoying your unique approach. Thanks! Was noticing that cool shot of liquor on your bookcase...😊
I have a personal connection to the Alamo. I have always thought of it more as a historical attraction than a museum. My personal connection is that one of the survivors of the Alamo battle married into my family. Her first husband Almeron Dickinson died in the battle. His name (misspelled) is on the big monument. Susanna's fifth and final husband was my great great great grandfather's brother. There is a small museum dedicated to her and my uncle in Austin. There is also a statue of her in front of the Alamo, holding her daughter Angelina ("the babe of the Alamo"). It's a tenuous connection, but now that I think of it, I have another connection to the Alamo. In the 90s I had a roommate who was the office manager for the law office of Paul Reuben's sister Abby Rubenfeld. I'm grateful for what is preserved and reconstructed of the Alamo. Pictures of it neglected and falling into ruins illustrate how easy it is to lose history if no one thinks a building is worth saving. When I lived in Austin in the 1980s, I had no idea that the building where Susanna Dickenson lived was still standing. It was hiding in plain sight as part of a well-regarded barbecue restaurant. The the city approved a downtown convention center, and a hotel was built where the barbecue restaurant had stood. But someone managed to raise money to move the house (in pieces, I think) across the street, until more money was available to put it back together. Then again, it may be that some of the prominence of the Alamo in the history of Texas is due to the site being preserved.
I don't get why museums feel the need to rewrite history to make us feel better. Looking at the bad can show us how far we've come. Knowing that makes me feel much better than reading rewritten history, and I think many people can relate.
11:40 The quote by Jan Jarboe Russel is deeply flawed in that it's not actually remotely common for people living in San Antonio to visit the Alamo. The San Antonians I know consider it purely a tourist trap. All museums are like this though. It's very normal for the vast majority of Museum visitors to be from out of state and it's even more common the more well known they are. The attention the Alamo gets from the rest of the US is the driving factor keeping it afloat and it's naive to insinuate that everyday San Antonians are controlling the narrative there by popular consensus. The vast, vast majority don't even know where the Alamo is, much less attribute religious factors to it. The entire riverwalk surrounding the Alamo is designed to attract out-of-state tourism and support the local government.
I actually got to speak with representatives from the Alamo trust recently at a professional development conference and they said by 2026 they plan to reopen part of the museum which is more focused on including the stories of slaves and indigenous people. Whether they actually do this well is to be seen but there is a representative from a local tribal organization on the board so fingers crossed ig?
How refreshing i wish i had come across this channel earlier. Im busy going through all your videos now! Best wishes from a Scottish history lover who is exhausted by our own reinterpretation of our history AND the failure of others who can tell the difference between Scottish, English and or UK history(all wrapped up in politics as usual)
When I went to Salem in 2012 there were so many museums about the Witch Trials and Witchcraft that it was confusing to know which was a legitimate museum and what was a tourist trap. Some were obvious, others weren't and it was disappointing. It's a contrast to my homeland where there is a sense of centralisation regarding museums for a city, landmark, or theme. Prague has some interesting museums, like the Museum for Medieval Torture and one museum was not safe for work. The locals will advise that they are tourist traps.
Museums interpret towards the biases of the sponsors. My sister a professor was disappointed when she visited a San Antonio historical museum. She said it was limited , not inclusive and biased. 3:59
Small correction but NARA is the National Archives and Records *Administration. Unrelated fun fact, I got kicked out of the Nixon Library by Rand Paul's staff once.
I would love to hear the history of Valerian Trifa. Who he was, what he did in Romania, exactly how he was able to emigrate to the United States, how he became the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the United States, and how he came to give the opening prayer for Congress.
12:33 It’s sad to hear about such regression😓. I guess Texas, like my home state of Florida, is going through a period of heightened conservative extremism.
I recently visited the Alamo. It was interesting when the exhibits tried to include information about the greater historical context of the battle, but also blatantly obvious when they were glorifying or mythologizing it. I think the most egregious thing was the stuff about 'Joe the Slave'. They even had a book about him in the gift shop! I don't think they mentioned slavery anywhere else in the museum . On a positive note, the rest of San Antonio was a very pleasant surprise. The city is very walkable and pedestrian friendly, very diverse, lots of good Mexican restaurants and a very fun market square. It kind of makes places like the Alamo and Buckhorn saloon stand out more for how fake their version of history is
I need to revisit the Bob Bullock history museum in Austin. I remember loving it and going all the time as a kid but I’m sure it’s also got plenty of triumphalist messaging.
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*Related videos*
Why did the Texas Revolution happen? th-cam.com/video/lDWH-DC74Pk/w-d-xo.html
Why did the Mexican-American War happen? th-cam.com/video/HTmSN4Exci0/w-d-xo.html
Civil War related episodes
Lincoln was a Conspiracist? th-cam.com/video/Ff2AKILyi0o/w-d-xo.html
Lost Cause myth th-cam.com/video/5EOhXF5lNgQ/w-d-xo.html
Civil War lecture th-cam.com/video/C7xdmsvJa28/w-d-xo.html
Sectional Crisis lecture th-cam.com/video/QEnYk2xgEIo/w-d-xo.html
*Bibliography*
Edward P. Alexander, Mary Alexander, and Juilie Decker, Museums in Motion: An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums, 3rd ed. (1979; Lanham, Mar.: Rowman and Littlefield, 2017). amzn.to/3X9eT5d
Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, Jason Stanford, Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth (New York: Penguin Press, 2021). amzn.to/3N77YF7
Gerald George and Carol Maryan-George, Starting Right: A Basic Guide to Museum Planning, 3rd ed. (1992; Lanham, Mar.: AltaMira Press, 2012). amzn.to/3NonWfn
Laura Lyons McLemore, Inventing Texas: Early Historians of the Lone Star State (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2004). amzn.to/41P8gXo
David Montejano, Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836-1986 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1987). amzn.to/2NFGNla
Rick Perlstein, Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America (New York: Scribner, 2008). amzn.to/3sLTDlQ
Rick Perlstein, The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2014). amzn.to/306XMo9
“Statement of Professional Standards and Ethics,” American Association for State and Local History, 2018. learn.aaslh.org/products/aaslh-statement-of-standards-and-ethics
Michael Van Wagenen, Remembering the Forgotten War: The Enduring Legacies of the US-Mexican War (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2012). amzn.to/3n6SV5y
That was a good video, and I'm glad I saw it as an amateur historian planning to visit the Alamo in two months.
I would've thought museology was study of the twisted plots congured by The Three Sisters.
I liked this video, but I would like to point out one error: I believe NARA stands for “National Archives and Records Administration,” not Agency.
Can you do an official vid for the ad please. I'm trying my heritage, and I put in the info I found, but it doesn't really seem to be doing too much. It did find my brother for me, before I put it in, but that's it
Outdated and obstinate policies at the Nixon museum? That's just a living history exhibit.
a lying, misinformed, and purposefully omitting exhibit? just like the real thing!
@@thefirstsalty3055how meta
“People have got to know whether or not their museum is spreading disinformation. Well, we are not spreading disinformation. We deserve every donation we’ve got.”
@@thefirstsalty3055 Only thing they're missing is an advertisment for Charleston Chew
@@redjirachi1: do they have a headless Spiro Agnew ?
Oh, wow, the Nixon Library has really improved!
When I visited on a school trip in the mid-90s, back when it was solely run by the Nixon Foundation, it was pretty much all hagiography. (My school was a private evangelical thing, so they were very much Team Nixon too.) SO much about China. I remember the docent making a big deal about the topiary Checkers in the garden, too. But there was nothing about how Nixon's presidency ended, Google didn’t exist yet, and I'd heard my politically liberal next-door neighbor joking about an unfamiliar word, so at the end of the tour, when the docent asked for questions, I stuck my eleven-year-old hand up and innocently asked, "What's Watergate?"
And that's how I got screamed at by a little old lady and dragged off by my ear in the gardens of the Nixon Library.
I'm glad they actually talk about Watergate now. It probably saves a lot of screaming.
I bet that if the rare Russian field trip to the US happened to come by the Nixon museum, the staff would lead the tour with “Our kitchens are still better than yours”
The Nixon Library has definitely improved from the dark days of the 90s but it still has a lot of problems. The Library a few years ago was working on building a simulation of the 1973 Yom Kippur War from the U.S. Government prospective. A defining moment of the Nixon Administration to be sure. I and my fellow history undergrads were invited to tour the Library and partake in a proto-type version of the game before they made it ready for high school students. The simulation itself was designed pretty well. We were broken into groups each representing a different department or policy team (DoD, Arab Affairs, Israel Diplo team, etc.) They had actual memos that the various groups submitted to the president and each group was supposed to argue their case on what actions the president (Nixon) should take. This is all well and good until you realize that given the information Nixon had and the actual situation in 1973....and maybe Nixon did things not purely for "strategic" or rational decisions. As soon as we all decided on something that Nixon did not do in real life the simulation ended with Israel using nuclear weapons on the Arabs.... ya it went from 0 to 100 real quick. The simulation would have been great if they had allowed other outcomes or maybe talked about how Nixon didn't always make the "correct" foreign policy decision. Instead it turned into a weird vindication of Nixon and Kissinger's foreign policy with no other room for interpretation. My friends from college still regularly joke about Golda Meir nuking the world :).
I also did school in the nineties....Not having context for a lot of what they taught in history classes really kinda makes the head spin when you start talking to people from other countries, or that have a background in history.
I never really thought about it from the religious perspective, but that is a special kind of denial. I have recently learned from the Kissinger Report, that was accidentally made public before it’s creators intended, that Nixon’s visit to China was arranged and controlled by the country’s most powerful Eugenicists for the sole purpose of promoting their Eugenics Agenda. They outright state that the best win they can have is for Nixon to convince China to adopt a one-child policy. They explicitly state that while this will have profound impacts in the current generation, the real wins will come on the next generation. If I remember correctly, the goal was to have Chinese families prioritize having male children, with the hope that it would create a roughly 5 to 1 ratio of men to women. The Eugenicists pointed out that would drastically support their objectives even more than the one child policy, and the best part is there was a good chance the Chinese would never see that impact coming until it was too late to do anything about it, at least for that generation.
I know Nixon did a lot of things wrong, but coming from a religious perspective of someone who believes Satan’s biggest agenda is a war on unborn children because he resents any human being who gets a chance at life, Nixon’s visit to China is perhaps the greatest win Satan has ever had in the war of good and evil. I know many people aren’t religious and will think that view is ridiculous and naive, etc., but for actual religious people to be praising Nixon and celebrating that infamous trip to China makes me particularly ill. To be fair, at the time this was all secret. On the surface, Nixon’s visit to China seemed like an incredible move in the right direction for the whole world. But we know better now. It’s bad enough when evil calls evil good, but when good people are tricked into calling evil good out ability to fight evil becomes practically non-existent.
@@hollybigelow5337Quite a insightful post. To me the irony is we have become more like China through the years. Today Hollywood and the NBA don’t want to offend the Chinese. The market is too big, and we Americans don’t stand for human rights anymore.
True story, when I took Texas History for one of my history electives in college, Professor Hughes mentioned how earlier in his career the history department led students on a tour of the San Antonio missions with the professors giving a lecture at each of the sites. He did The Alamo and was just getting started on his lecture about how the defenders of The Alamo were foolish and it was a general military disaster for the Texans, he was stopped and quickly escorted offsite.
That's funny. When was this?
@@CynicalHistorian I seem to recall he mentioned that Ozzy had just had his incident, so that would have been 82ish (I was taking his class in 05ish). A lot of his lectures involved dispelling myths, which tends to piss off the people invested in those false myths.
@@marclowe724 aka the lobbyists and politicians they fund. Safe to say, this guy would have a hard time finding work in his field nowadays if he didn’t “take the money and shut up”
When I took Texas history in middle school (mid 80s), it was more myth than history. In college, a friend from Mexico and I had some great fun comparing what we were taught.
@@cjthebeeskneesdefinitely would not be able to land a job in Florida.
I did not know Museology was a word, but I nonetheless will try to sneak it into as many conversations as possible today.
Same here
As someone who studies museology, this response hit me on a spiritual level. Nobody has any idea it's even a thing, but there are dozens of us. Dozens!
OMG I was literally gonna say the same thing.
Muse-ology: study of muses?
6 months later......
Love this thread! ✌️😎🍀
Interesting story I heard. Just before his death LBJ took a tour through his just opened museum. He was asked what he thought and said it was to positive and insisted that the museum include his failures. I guess this should not be surprising since LBJ was at one point a history teacher.
As a history teacher in Texas I dislike the Alamo. Unfortunately this will not change as long as the Daughters are involved. Other historical sites in San Antonio do a much better job of providing balanced history.
i shook my head when i heard the daughers were involved, unfortunately they don't seek to teach history, but only to push a narrative.
yeah they should put pictures of all the people killed and wounded because of johnson
I often joke to clients about how dumb Texas History class was when it comes up in conversation.
Once I told this to a person who was teaching history in KC..... Then he tells me that he used to teach Texas History classes and laughs agreeing with me and adding to it. We spent much of his appointment ragging on how crap Texas is in general afterwards. XD
So the Daughters of the confederacy have a modern analog? that is saddening.
As a child of seven in 1960 , I went to see the great " Alamo " with John Wayne . My grandmother set me straight on Hollywood and a history book . My grandmother put a spark in me that went on to reading and studying my next big movie " Spartucus " . In both movies , I at a young age , found out the truth about both events ! Then studying the Battle of the Greasy Grass , I realized Custer was morally and egotistically corrupt ! Like it or not , David Crocket and his volunteers were illegal aliens who took up arms against Mexico ! Travis and Bowie signed contracts to be citizens of Mexico . Crocket never did ! I also learned that the first concentration camp ( that was the name given by the British ) was in South Africa during the Boer War in 1891 . 20,000 Belgium women and children were starved to death . The British also sent the first slaves to America from England , White Irish indentured slaves . History is not pretty !
As a Texan and knowing the political trends here, the moment you said that the Alamo was different from 2018 to 2022, my heart sank because i knew it would have gotten worse.
Frankly, I wouldn't be proud to be Texan at all. I know too much about the state.
I was born in Texas but I’m honestly more proud of the fact that I grew up in Tennessee and both my parents are Mexican Americans. And Tennessee did their own fcked up shit too bro
One of the worst culprits of this is the American History museum in Washington, DC. There are of course difficulties inherent to summing up a nation's history in a physical form, and one shouldn't be surprised that a government tells its own history tamely, but it is riddled with oversimplification and erasure of many aspects of more controversial historical episodes, like Vietnam.
I would say there at least improvnkg, or trying to improve recently. Recent renivations to their democracy wing has tried to incorporate more aspects of American protest and voices with regards to these controversies, and the military wing does examine some of the public reaction to Vietnam. It's still not quite the lengths they should, though, I'll admit. Hopefully if they get to revising their military wing or other places, they'll try to give more context and aspects of the wromgs of that and other wars by the U.S., as well as other, more unfortunate parts of our nation's past. The Smithsonian has been very good about it in other places, so I'm optimistic that museum may change too.
Anyone who wants to learn more about this topic can read "Lies Across America." It talks about roadside plaques and how they lie to us about history. Very interesting.
Many of these plaques were put together by people with a high school level education.
Lies my teacher told me is one of my favorites tbh
Of course the Alamo is lying about there not being a basement! Where else would they be keeping Pee-Wee’s bike?
As a Texan, the Alamo really only ever is talked about rhetorically
I've seen that plenty in this comments section, LOL. Seemed like the actual site was trying to change people's rhetorical nonsense, but they sadly reversed course
Frankly, I wouldn't be proud to be Texan at all. I know too much about the state.
As a native San Antonian, and history aficionado, I appreciate the video immensely. Well done, sir.
Hi Cypher! I’m a huge fan of yours. I’m a UCLA poli sci and history double major going into my sophomore year. I grew up in Yorba Linda and worked at the Nixon Library for three years as one of the library’s docents working with NARA. I wish I knew you guys were visiting so I could’ve given you guys a private tour or something a bit more formal. If you would like me to provide you the fact books i had access to as a worker of the library, I could. I feel like getting the docent manual would help you understand the biased way the Nixon library is displayed. After working at the library for 3 years, I can say it really was eye opening the revisionism that is being championed by the right today.
I hope you see this comment: channels like yours really were the ones that inspired me to pursue a future in history. It is awesome you made a video about my hometown museum!
Note when I make my claims of revisionism. It is more so on the bounds of what is excluded in the museum and how certain events were framed. I think the Nixon library needs some adjustment, but the people working there are still really well-meaning
I hope that Cypher read your comment.
I do hope he comes across it. Information turns into YT gold in his hands. 😎🍀
Honestly, I’d be kinda mad if I walked into the Nixon library and everything was straightforward and honest. There needs to be a maximum of double dealing, deception, disinformation and general heavy handed tricky dickness! They should get Neil Young, Rick Pearlstein, and Matt Groening to design an exhibit.
just like the real thing!
@@thefirstsalty3055that’s the joke
Is there an interactive activity involving recording telephone conversations and plumbing?
Really interesting stuff! Especially about the Alamo changing so much in only 5 years.
I wasn't familiar with your connected Texas Revolution and Mex-Am war videos (having only found your channel a few months ago), but I ended up watching both of them. Those were really enjoyable and I learned a lot.
Thanks, Cypher! Great work!
When I was at the Alamo, my father got completely confused by the timeline due to lack of context and avoiding really explaining the reason for the Alamo
From the sound of it, that Nixon Library makes him like a man ahead of his time (and my apologies if I misinterpret that). It would make sense that Libraries portray their respective President in a good light and there is still limits on how far you can carry that, but it is indeed kind of hard to downplay Watergate. So kudos to whoever wrote the blurbs on it, gold star for effort.
In the case of Nixon, I'm actually pretty sympathetic to the library being biased towards the positives of his administration. Since most folks have a (justified IMO) overall negative view of Nixon, highlighting the positive is adding important nuance and context. If Nixon was a more beloved figure (eg JFK), then I would be more annoyed by glossing over so much of the bad stuff.
If I was running the Nixon Library social media, I’d try to revive the Kitchen Debate by mentioning with “@“ official Russian accounts.
And it would only ramp up in 2022.
(I’ve never been to Carter’s presidential library here in GA, despite going to Plains twice and meeting him in-person once as a young child, but I wonder how they handle the Iran hostage crisis and oil prices, and how much they say “guys look a Nobel Peace Prize”
What's funny is that lbj did the same thing Nixon was accused of in the Watergate scandal
A good channel for those who want to dig deeper behind the mainstream sciency
I didn’t get to spend as much time in the Alamo as I wanted to but one thing that stuck out to me as an issue was the expansive gift shop inside of it stood in contrast to the carnage that occurred there. Like, “Excuse me. People died here. No, I don’t want to buy specialty fudge.” Gift shops are fine, imo. However, the size and merchandizing of certain things was a turn off to me. The Alamo is more than just symbolism. Everyone who lived and died there was a real person with a real story. ALL of them deserve to be told respectfully in context.
Honestly, I'm perfectly fine with gift shops. I'm angry they didn't have a coon-skin cap. Like this is the Alamo! I want to all around the Western Historical Association like the King of the Wild Frontier!
Having a gift shop was fine. They were even selling some of my great-aunt’s books about the Alamo. (Voices of the Alamo is a kid’s book, but you might find it interesting…) I just couldn’t get up the stomach for snacks and fun. In Texas, you go to Buc-ee’s for that. Genuine question: what do you think Mr. Crockett would think of selling coon skin caps in the place where he died? Do you think he wore one often? I’m thinking of the way Billy Bob Thornton portrayed him in the 2003(?) movie The Alamo. I was in 7th grade Texas history that year and they took our whole class to the theatre to see it. (I went to kindergarten at David Crockett Elementary school. We also had a Bowie Elementary in town, and a Travis Elementary. No schools named for Tejano Alamo defenders, which tracks with your point about the exclusionary narrative at the Alamo itself.)
@@CynicalHistorian lol yeah the coward that ran away and was killed by Mexican Calvary
My favorite part of your content is when you show outtakes of the King interrupting you...warms my heart
In my first serious history class, the teacher told us: "The problem with history, is that people lie." I have learned over the years that not only to people in the past lie but historians lie also.
My first museum was the DIA. First into the darkness of the Medieval armor (thankfully brought to light during a 1990 renovation) and then the light of _Detroit Industry Murals_ by Diego Rivera. Thank you, Edsel. You weren't alive for a 5 year old to tell you how mesmerizing a first time experience it was.
What's DIA? It's that referring to Denver and the armor exhibit?
Detroit Institute of Art. The great hall of armor had its windows blanked out for decades. They were opened during the renovation which exposed both the armor and the glorious dias on the ceiling.
@@markwilliams2620 Ah. That museum nearly got sold and it would've been one of the worst travesties to ever befall American museology
DIA was one of the many jewels of Detroit that is making a comeback after hard times
i went to that museum a few years ago and it was amazing
Museums are often bias and aren't always truthful? Next you'll tell me The Mothman Museum isn't a meticulously accurate exhibition for large West Virginia flying creatures...
That is the only 100% facts and evidence based museum with zero bias
Plus everyone knows mothman communicates by hooting.
Another excellent video, Cypher! You gave a lot of good insight into museums and what they set out to do. Also, the bloopers at the end had me chuckle a lot too.
I'd be interested to see a video like this on the Canadian Human Rights Museum. I went there some years ago and enjoyed it alot, but there's probably some interesting caveats with how they present things.
I have a ancestor who fought in the Alamo, Juan Antonio Badillo, and I always wondered why his name wasn’t on the statue in front of the Alamo thanks for clearing that up 😅
...except Juan Badillo's name is on the Cenotaph.
wonder if he was one of the few that actually fought instead of ran like most of them
My friend (and sister in law) is a librarian for a small town's public library, which is considered a "government" job, but the issues that arise in that one tiny library get more controversial behind the scenes than I ever woulda expected, down to which books get featured on their front-facing book racks, and even how the library itself gets decorated, and which events and holidays to even decorate for! I mean, God forbid they accidentally highlight a book with a lesbian couple, for example. It's often the bold younger librarians who are more liberal than their elder, more conservative and anxious counterpart librarians who fear mediocrity's wrath if they recommend anything too "unwholesome" by yesteryear's standards.
Thus, I can only imagine that even the pettiest issues get even more politicized when it comes to local history, especially when the Alamo is such a legendary place where enthusiasts may be likely to make the story more legend than simple fact.
I wish historians were a bit more like the scientific community inside something like archaeology. Sure, that's got its well known controversies too, but overall they're encouraged to just look at the facts.
TLDR:
It's hard to only do facts without any opinions in a history lesson when there's so much emotion, pride, and politics involved.
*reads title* Alright. IS there actually a basement in the Alamo?
They won't show it!
There's a basement?last time visted was in 4th grade in 2007
In Texas we think of the Alamo as more of a memorial than a museum. No apologies.
A memorial in the defense of African slavery and the unlawful annexation of land from Mexico? Yikes.
Finally! A topic that I know a good amount about (although from an European perspective).
I did my master's thesis on Nationalism's effect on museums. The Alamo is a textbook case of a museum dedicated exactly to a national narrative and, as such, it will always be problematic and subservient to nationalism unless they change their nature in an intrinsic manner.
Which, seeing the state of Texas' politics right now, I highly doubt that is going to happen.
‘’Forget The Alamo” came out a few years ago. Great book. There’s a funny story about the authors talk being cancelled at the Bob bullock museum in Austin after some “daughters of the Alamo” types actually read about it. Good ol’ texas politics.
I grew up and still live in Texas. One of these days I plan to respond to someone saying we should forget something like slavery with "so should we forget the Alamo then?"
Haha I like that! Especially when you consider how Mexico’s abolishion of slavery was a major reason for the Texians revolt.
I highly recommend the book. Almost everything I learned in school was wrong. My Junior High was actually named “Alamo”-and my high school was named for Robert E. Lee!!
@@SEAZNDragoneveryone else in the country already has.
I agree 100% Mark. "Forget The Alamo” is a great book. Respect and appreciation for your comment.
I was fortunate enough to work at the Smithsonian's museum storage center as a college student. Definitely the most enjoyable job I've ever had, and I got to see so many artifacts and specimens there.
Excellent analysis. I was wondering when you were finally going to use all that Nixon museum footage. It was great to spend some time with you in the Oval Office there. :)
Heh, I’m a northerner (from Chicago, and a fan of history) who moved to Texas in 2009, and my daughter learned the history of Texas in 4th grade@ 2014)… as she told me the story of the Alamo (as taught to her class) I could only ask, “Are you implying the Texans were the ‘good guys’ in this story?“
I mean, Santa Anna wasn’t exactly a benevolent and great dude, but as it was (and probably still is) taught to 4th grade students, he’s an invader. So the instruction of Texas history (to Texans) is … interesting at best. (Update: My daughter is better now and understands history is far more complex).
We are extremely lucky the other missions have been persevered much better and include a lot more historical context in their exhibits.
I agree 100%. Thank you!
I found this really interesting I have a Masters in Museum Science and didn’t 20 years as a museum director, most of it at the excellent Petroleum Museum in Midland, Tx. I’ve since been on museum boards and done exhibit design work. There’s always a trade off between accurate storytelling and the desires of your donors/board members. At the Petroleum Museum we told the science and technology of the oil industry and regional history but trod lightly, but didn’t ignore, environmental issues, for example. The Alamo isn’t really a museum - it’s basically a religious shrine and will be as long as 22:39 the DRT runs it
DRT hasn’t run Alamo operations for years.
@@TejasChica Run by, I believe, the General Land Office, Which makes leadership running for office every 4 years and accurate interpretation even more of a football.
Although I'm not American anymore, I started school during the mid-1970s in Texas in a strongly Hispanic majority area on the Mexican border around Donna. This is about 100 miles south of the Alamo. I'm both surprised and not surprised by what you're saying. I'm not claiming you're wrong or anything. As I recall, we were told that one of the primary reasons Texas revolted was Mexico's anti-slavery laws. The main aggrandizement I recall is that the battle of the Alamo was compared to Thermopylae in the sense of being a delaying tactic to let the disorganized army form up to be able to face the enemy. The role of Hispanic Texans was clearly stated. IIRC the teachers told us that Hispanic Texans (people native to the area) outnumbered immigrants (generally white Americans) by at least 2:1. I don't know what would have been taught if it weren't for the fact my family was about the only non-Hispanic family in town. That includes teachers.
A really interesting museology experience i had was visiting the Hungarian national gallery in Budapest. It was a flagrantly nationalistic museum, that saught to portray Hungarian society as a anchient unbending christian culture definied by strong warrior men and only held back by the east and the west. There was virtually no art from the communist periode and that which was there was entirely antipartisan. Very interesting experience. Didnt leave a particularly good impression on me from an artistic or rhetorical standpoint
The Alamo was a tactical defeat yet a strategic success in martyrdom and steeling the resolve of the Texans further. A similar example might be the Battle of Britain, where airborne bombing might have killed some and wrecked infrastructure, but emboldened the British homefront into Total War.
I think that's the strangest thing with the Alamo. Had they simply packed up and moved to Goliad, or followed Houston, they may have still won at San Jacinto, or they could have been destroyed somewhere else with the entirety of the army instead of just the 187 there in San Antonio. We do have a lot of people trying to get a fuller picture of the Alamo taught in Texas, but the DRT and others are against it. Heck, the rebirth of attention for Juan Sequin outside of the Central Texas Hispanic population is only really starting to emerge even now. And it took that 2004 version of the movie for some people to relearn that Tejanos fought at the Alamo alongside the Texians.
Was it a strategic success though? The Alamo was followed by a load of desertions from the Texan army by people who saw it as the beginning of the end of the Texan revolution
@@deeznoots6241 If it buys you time, you can consider it a strategic win. Especially if you take out up to 20% of your opponents force. It forced Santa Ana to spend time rebuilding troop strength which gave Houston space to move.
The Battle of Britain wasn’t a tactical defeat, not for Britain anyway.
@@deeznoots6241after the two forts fell, Texas was wide open and it triggered the Run away scrape. Thousands of Texians burned their homes and fled because of the Santa Anna sent the signal that he was killing everyone. There was desertion but also more enlistment. The army was growing the further East Sam Houston went.
Biggest lie the Alamo tells is it’s lack of basement.
RIP Paul.
The Alamo is one of the events that got me into history in the first place. It seemed like such an epic story to my young mind. Im well aware now that the truth is more complicated but it still holds special meaning to me. Some see it as a struggle against tyranny, others focus on the issue of slavery. Im in the middle.
I like your take on it. As texas has done it's best to be southern-adjacent, there was a large push to take away the "southern pride" in the 70's-90's and replace it with Texas pride. A fundamental part of this has been making the Texas Revolution our founding myth. Like many other foundation myths, it speaks more to themes than what historically happened. The Alamo's last stand makes a fantastic martyr story for the founding of texas, especially with such big names as Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William Travis dying there. Militaristically, it was a blunder, but as all children of my generation (born '93) were told, it bought Houston's army 13 days to recoup from Goliad and other disastrous battles.
I understand completely. I'm from Massachusetts, and they try to be truthful, like telling us about the evil Triangle Trade, but the mythical Thanksgiving Story has very few true elements in it. We, and most "Americans," are living on stolen property. That would be bad enough if only in the past, but the theft of tribal land [see the pipeline vs Lakota] and suppression of tribal identity is ongoing.
What's the middle of that issue? There's no middle. The Anglo colonists wanted to keep and expand slavery and Mexico took an issue with that since it was abolished since their independence of Spain in 1821. The Mexicans lost the war and were expelled and slavery remained as an institution on those lands until it was removed by force in the mid 1860s.
It's clear that the Anglo colonists were the baddies and it was an unjust war of conquest. Evil won at that time.
@@marlonbryanmunoznunez3179 Texans weren't the only ones who rebeled against Santa Anna. Other Mexican states fought against him. Tejanos fought alongside Americans in the Alamo and at San Jacinto. To me the Texas revolution wasn't very black and white. But it also annoys me how some still downplay the issue of slavery.
@@bhartley868 Was that the position of Juan Seguin and the Tejanos? There have been regional rebellions in Mexico before and since that time, from Sonora to Oaxaca. The Texicans took advantage of that, and betrayed the Tejanos as soon as they were in control.
Santa Ana first betrayed Spain, then he betrayed Emperador Iturbide, and then betrayed the Republic by making himself a dictator. This explains why he is still reviled by many Mexicans.
As a Native/Mexican/American myself, I would like to express my gratitude for your honesty on the Alamo. It is always great to see a fellow American not give a watered-down version of the Alamo.
Another interesting topic you might want to cover (if you haven't already), is the San Patricio Batallón (St. Patrick's Battalion) during the Mexican/American war. A mostly Irish/Mexican battalion, but with some Scotts, Poles, and Germans also sprinkled in. Originally, they were U.S. soldiers, but they chose to switch sides, to defend Mexico against the U.S. invasion. Anyway, all respect to you & yours my brother. ~Serg~
Thank you so much for pointing all this out!! I appreciate your work
Really enjoyed this video, having worked at a living museum for 7 years, didnt know some of the specifics of a museums definition
I went to the Alamo in 2019 and noticed that the exhibits in the Long Barracks were gone, now I know why.
No open containers or food or drinks are allowed in the building, but you can carry a legal firearm. That’s Texas for ya. The rules of reverence are stupid, because most of the Battle of the Alamo took place on what is today the huge public plaza that’s in front of the building, and that’s where most of the men died. And it’s a busy plaza with people playing music, talking, drinking, etc. So if they’re going to have reverence for where those heroes died, they should enforce those rules out on the plaza. Also, I was raised in Houston, and took Texas history when I was in school. They never mentioned to us that the Texans wanted to
reinstate slavery to Texas. The Mexican government had outlawed slavery- one of the main reasons the Texans were revolting was because they wanted to have slaves. So, when Texas became a republic, slavery became legal, and black people in Texan were enslaved. And yet we were told that the Texas Revolution was all about freedom. 🙄
I visit a Historic house / Museum and I’ve learned history of the family involved with the house. I’ve learned things about the family that you not hear at the museum. “Things that would tarnish the narrative.” The skeletons in the closet.
Great video and topic, in general. Allons, Brother!
For some reason, while looking at that family chart, I was shocked to find out your birth name is not Cypher
Seems like everything about me is a shock to everyone, almost like I'm a cypher
I really, really LOVE your videos. I love history myself. I got it from my Great, Great Grandmother, who would tell stories of who it was in the 1800's. My slow self just realized, who your father is!. I love that fact that you followed in his foot step. Wonderful man.
Quite a few museums in the UK when referring to the Early Middle Ages, will often call it the "Dark Ages", I'm relatively sure they do it for marketing purposes.
Yeah. It's like how the Smithsonian will often refer to "the American character." Using outdated terminology can often allow people to come and have that confronted with education
DRT and obsession with blood lineage - my grandmother was a member of the DRT. My mother and sister could have been, but never joined. Me? Not allowed. Why? I’m adopted and can’t trace a blood relation to anyone who fought on that side (could probably find a relation in Santa Ana’s army though).
I visited the Alamo earlier this year while at a conference. The docent there was really pushing hard that glorious victorious slant and did not want to discuss the promises the Texians broke to the Mexican government. Just another frustrating example of historical narrative excluding multiple contemporary perspectives and motivations from the period.
Nixon...was a technocrat. I don't believe he had an iota of feeling for his fellow human beings but if you could show him a study that proved the validity of a government program, he'd push it. His drug program poured money into methadone clinics, education campaigns and medical research into addiction.
What I like most about this video, is that it made me aware to biases in musea. I’m from The Netherlands and the bias will be different, but I know now not to trust everything, but stay critical.
And you have an adorable talking cat.
The Texas History Museum is far worse; on my ‘18 visit, I was appalled at the blatant racism dripping from most exhibits.
Back in mid-80s there was English-only on the ballot in Texas and I heard a person say, "Since English was good enough for the Lord, it's good enough for everyone."
The least embarrassing explanation I can come up with is... maybe they were Mormon?
@@toddjones1480 - Lol, in Texas it's the Methodists who ya gotta worry about. They feel free to block you in your own driveway on Sunday during church if they it's convenient for them.
Or the Baptists who I've heard say, "The Bible is for believing, not for reading."
People will agree because they don't want to read it (a good idea if they want to keep their faith). They also will agree with the lady saying Jesus spoke English (even if they know better) because they don't like people using words they don't know whether it's Spanish or big fancy college words.
Museology is the word of the day
*Museology
@@CynicalHistorianoops my bad
@@CynicalHistorianfixed it
Very interesting and thought-provoking video!
For me personally, as I had the pleasure to work for a year and a half in a historical museum and I'm still in contact with people working there. Perhaps you could make it a series, presenting and reviewing various museums?
PS. I wish that more would understand one of the points made early in the video: that gathering and preservation of artifacts is one of the essential functions of museums. Because let me tell you; some people can get really upset that something they donated to a museum is not displayed on the permanent exposition.
I was accessioning an artifact that required a bit of clarification from the donor once (whether to remove their nametag). Called them on the phone just to get yelled at for 10 minutes about how their uniform wasn't on display next to the one we did have up, despite having 30-40 of the exact same thing in the collection
@@CynicalHistorian Yep, too real.
Maurice Halbwachs was the precursor of the idea and the study of collective memory. One of the interesting aspects of history is to study how historical myths are constructed through a national novel. The fluctuating relationships between acceptance and rejection are fascinating. That's why I love your video which shows the complicated relationship between a population and its history, between public institutions (museums in this case) and their narration of historical facts. There is also something that I find unpleasant, even disturbing, to point out. The chasm between academic knowledge of history and the general public's knowledge of history. Especially for the United States where I do not see politicians making the decision to ask historians to report on a historical subject or a historical period and to accept it as a reliable narration of events. Greeting from Switzerland
You're the son of the "Beard of Knowledge"?!? Mind blown. 😲
Very interesting stuff. Thanks!
I did laugh a little bit when you mentioned the Nixon library didn't let you bring in your camera. Isn't one of the most well known things about that guy that he liked to record things.
I'm from Houston, and I think the Alamo is generally billed as a mythological exhibit rather than historical.
My first time watching your video; already subscribed after enjoying your unique approach. Thanks! Was noticing that cool shot of liquor on your bookcase...😊
Loved the visual essay, but King stole the show at the end.
I have a personal connection to the Alamo. I have always thought of it more as a historical attraction than a museum.
My personal connection is that one of the survivors of the Alamo battle married into my family. Her first husband Almeron Dickinson died in the battle. His name (misspelled) is on the big monument. Susanna's fifth and final husband was my great great great grandfather's brother. There is a small museum dedicated to her and my uncle in Austin. There is also a statue of her in front of the Alamo, holding her daughter Angelina ("the babe of the Alamo").
It's a tenuous connection, but now that I think of it, I have another connection to the Alamo. In the 90s I had a roommate who was the office manager for the law office of Paul Reuben's sister Abby Rubenfeld.
I'm grateful for what is preserved and reconstructed of the Alamo. Pictures of it neglected and falling into ruins illustrate how easy it is to lose history if no one thinks a building is worth saving. When I lived in Austin in the 1980s, I had no idea that the building where Susanna Dickenson lived was still standing. It was hiding in plain sight as part of a well-regarded barbecue restaurant. The the city approved a downtown convention center, and a hotel was built where the barbecue restaurant had stood. But someone managed to raise money to move the house (in pieces, I think) across the street, until more money was available to put it back together.
Then again, it may be that some of the prominence of the Alamo in the history of Texas is due to the site being preserved.
The most important thing to happen at the Alamo was Pee Wee looking for the basement, everything else is mythology
And Ozzy Osbourne getting his ban for "washing" the cenotaph
You have a beautiful cat there, sir.
That was a very lenient look at those museums, specially the Nixon one.
I don't get why museums feel the need to rewrite history to make us feel better. Looking at the bad can show us how far we've come. Knowing that makes me feel much better than reading rewritten history, and I think many people can relate.
"TEMU" ad selling Orange Prison Garb! That was funny!
11:40 The quote by Jan Jarboe Russel is deeply flawed in that it's not actually remotely common for people living in San Antonio to visit the Alamo. The San Antonians I know consider it purely a tourist trap. All museums are like this though. It's very normal for the vast majority of Museum visitors to be from out of state and it's even more common the more well known they are. The attention the Alamo gets from the rest of the US is the driving factor keeping it afloat and it's naive to insinuate that everyday San Antonians are controlling the narrative there by popular consensus. The vast, vast majority don't even know where the Alamo is, much less attribute religious factors to it. The entire riverwalk surrounding the Alamo is designed to attract out-of-state tourism and support the local government.
I actually got to speak with representatives from the Alamo trust recently at a professional development conference and they said by 2026 they plan to reopen part of the museum which is more focused on including the stories of slaves and indigenous people. Whether they actually do this well is to be seen but there is a representative from a local tribal organization on the board so fingers crossed ig?
We gotta get any old Ghostbusters stuff out of there and put it in a genuine film museum
In 1974 i had the fun task of drawing nixon for my presidential report. It was hard to not be b8ased, even for a 4th grader
My cat woke up when he heard King at the end 😂
How refreshing i wish i had come across this channel earlier. Im busy going through all your videos now! Best wishes from a Scottish history lover who is exhausted by our own reinterpretation of our history AND the failure of others who can tell the difference between Scottish, English and or UK history(all wrapped up in politics as usual)
thanks for uploading good videos always.
When I went to Salem in 2012 there were so many museums about the Witch Trials and Witchcraft that it was confusing to know which was a legitimate museum and what was a tourist trap. Some were obvious, others weren't and it was disappointing. It's a contrast to my homeland where there is a sense of centralisation regarding museums for a city, landmark, or theme.
Prague has some interesting museums, like the Museum for Medieval Torture and one museum was not safe for work. The locals will advise that they are tourist traps.
The title was perfect 🤌🏼
Museums interpret towards the biases of the sponsors. My sister a professor was disappointed when she visited a San Antonio historical museum. She said it was limited , not inclusive and biased. 3:59
Small correction but NARA is the National Archives and Records *Administration.
Unrelated fun fact, I got kicked out of the Nixon Library by Rand Paul's staff once.
Hah, thanks
I would love to hear the history of Valerian Trifa.
Who he was, what he did in Romania, exactly how he was able to emigrate to the United States, how he became the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church in the United States, and how he came to give the opening prayer for Congress.
12:33 It’s sad to hear about such regression😓. I guess Texas, like my home state of Florida, is going through a period of heightened conservative extremism.
I recently visited the Alamo. It was interesting when the exhibits tried to include information about the greater historical context of the battle, but also blatantly obvious when they were glorifying or mythologizing it. I think the most egregious thing was the stuff about 'Joe the Slave'. They even had a book about him in the gift shop! I don't think they mentioned slavery anywhere else in the museum .
On a positive note, the rest of San Antonio was a very pleasant surprise. The city is very walkable and pedestrian friendly, very diverse, lots of good Mexican restaurants and a very fun market square. It kind of makes places like the Alamo and Buckhorn saloon stand out more for how fake their version of history is
crazy stuff man
Thanks!
And thank you!
I know this is off topic, but I love King Richard ❤
He is a very good boy, but he's decided to lick my shins as I'm typing this and it needs to stop, LOL
@@CynicalHistorian ha ha
As a kid I remembered wanting to donate my cap pistol to the Alamo museum. Funny what kids think is valued, no?
The Alamo hasn't been the same since it became a World Heritage site.
Putting Grants library in the south? a bold move
Just wait until this guy finds out about the Bush Jr. library
"You can't invade your own country." I wish that I knew enough to say it in Spanish, for a Santa Ana meme
Tu no puedes invadir tu propio país.
Pronounced:
Too noh poo-eh-des in-vah-deer too pro-pee-oh pa-is. (put some emphasis on the *i* of *is*)
Museology is so under-rated You-Tubes spell-checker wants to, and its automated captions did, correct it to musicology.
Few people know that the first Republic of Texas was actually created by Tejanos in 1813 under the green flag.
They were mostly Americans, hence why it's categorized as a filibuster
@@CynicalHistorian not sure if I am understanding you correctly but you might be thinking of the second republic of Texas. But let me know! :)
I need to revisit the Bob Bullock history museum in Austin. I remember loving it and going all the time as a kid but I’m sure it’s also got plenty of triumphalist messaging.
Whenever I hear Nixon library I think of BoJack Horseman
Actually, if I had thought aboutr it, I would have been suspicious of the accuracy of those institutions.
Yeah, I went to the Alamo a year ago and...it was kind of lackluster to be honest.
Nicely done.