Franklin Toppled the Ivory Tower

Re: “He Served America Anyway” (Aug. 17) on the career of the distinguished historian John Hope Franklin: The article did not mention Franklin’s contribution to the teaching of history to the children of America.

In 1965, Franklin co-authored, with UCLA history professor John W. Caughey and Harvard history professor Ernest R. May (Caughey’s son-in-law) a textbook for junior high school history courses. It was titled “Land of the Free” and aroused a controversy. Critics condemned it as being under communist influence for being too critical of American history, for saying things no other textbooks said.

And just what made “Land of the Free” so controversial? Franklin, Caughey and May dared to include the contributions of African Americans to U.S. history. Incredible as it may seem today, this was the first textbook to deal realistically with minorities in the U.S. No one could ever say that Franklin and his colleagues lived in an ivory tower.

ABRAHAM HOFFMAN

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