How History Museums Lie, at the Alamo and Nixon Library

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Museums are an important and oft forgotten part of the history profession. These institutions are key factors in how locales understand and interpret their own existence. There are huge responsibilities that come with that public service. Museum work is a noble task, worthy of praise, but that cannot blind us to the problems that arise from taking on that goal. Some abuse that in favor of affirming their core biases and it takes a keen eye to find it. The Alamo and Nixon Library are fairly good examples of this problem which teaches us something deeper about how history is written. Along the way, perhaps you can learn about what museums do and why they are an integral part of society.

The other HistoryTubers with me at the Nixon Library are ‪@GeneaVlogger‬ ‪@iammrbeat‬ ‪@CivilWarWeekByWeek‬ ‪@CasualHistorian‬
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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). https://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). https://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). https://amzn.to/3NonWfn

Laura Lyons McLemore, Inventing Texas: Early Historians of the Lone Star State (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2004). https://amzn.to/41P8gXo

David Montejano, Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836-1986 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1987). https://amzn.to/2NFGNla

Rick Perlstein, Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America (New York: Scribner, 2008). https://amzn.to/3sLTDlQ
Rick Perlstein, The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2014). https://amzn.to/306XMo9

“Statement of Professional Standards and Ethics,” American Association for State and Local History, 2018. https://learn.aaslh.org/products/aasl...

Michael Van Wagenen, Remembering the Forgotten War: The Enduring Legacies of the US-Mexican War (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2012). https://amzn.to/3n6SV5y
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Chapters
0:00 intro and promo
3:12 defining museums
5:10 Alamo
14:32 how to criticize
15:10 Nixon Library
20:42 conclusion
21:38 outtakes