Presents the case for a consensus-driven approach to setting subject matter standards for history education. The author argues that the National History Standard Project, designed to broaden the scope of U.S. and world history education, has carried out the original intent of its funders, rejected one-sidedness, and achieved a compromise that…

Suggests there are flaws in the National Standards for United States History that could be detrimental to students. According to the author, in their pervasive present-mindedness and self-censorship, the standard's framers underestimate and ill-serve the students because the standards help develop a smug, superior, and self-righteous attitude…

Criticizes the National Standards in World History because they do not consider what American high school students need most to learn about world history given the limited time allotted to each subject. The author argues that the standards minimize the intellectual and political history of the West, poorly conceptualize the 20th century, and…