America moves forward: A history for Peter

A History for Peter #3

by Gerald W. Johnson

young adult American History

Genres: History, Childrens, Nonfiction, Juvenile

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Gerald White Johnson, often credited as Gerald W. Johnson, was a journalist, historian, and an advocate of liberal causes. He wrote many nonfiction books on history, biography, and commentary on American politics and culture.

Johnson was an editorial writer for the Baltimore Sunpupers from 1926 to 1943, and a contributing editor of the New Republic from 1954 until his death in 1980.

Reviews

[Thomas Bell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read a piece of a biography on Gerald White Johnson, and it mentioned how one advantage of him writing these three books for children was that he was able to avoid accusations of lack of research, skipping over important pieces (that are not in-line with his narrative) and being politically motivated.

This book shows a clear lack of research, and the author (Johnson) only mentioned the pieces of history that he felt exulted Presidents Wilson, Roosevelt and Truman. In fact, the last book left off with some Woodrow Wilson Worship (WWW for short). It led pretty quickly to Franklin D. Roosevelt Worship, but in between was some accusation, without any reasoning - just him saying it, that Presidents Coolidge and Hoover weren't wicked - just stupid. And he ends with saying that President Eisenhower, who was a good President, didn't really do anything important. And he gives no justification.

AND the author spent quite a few pages trying to justify stupid crap that his Democrat Presidents did. And he also tries to argue again, even though he did in the last book, that the Republicans are at fault for WWII because they didn't agree to join the incredibly faulty League of Nations. But President Wilson did sign the agreement, without Congress, to apply the sanctions they did to Germany. AND the author mentions how President Roosevelt did a bunch of that he technically didn't have the authority to do, like declare that all the banks in the country would be closed for over a week so the government could inspect them all, but then says that it was good because it needed to be done.

This series started out okay, but each book became more and more just a bunch of political propaganda. EVERY Republican President was at one point or another labeled stupid and without any justification whatsoever. And then he said things like disagreeing with the Democratic viewpoint is un-American. He did, fortunately, mention some of the things that people disliked about President Roosevelt, but it seems that he did that only to give him reason to provide justification. Seemed like he was trying to be defensive.

Anyway, I am disappointed with the 1961 Newbery committee for choosing this book. It is clear that they agreed with his viewpoints, but an innacurate 'history' book that seems very politically brainwashy, (and yes, Peter was only 10 at the time of publication), shouldn't even be a consideration.

[Courtney · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one didn't even have the random knowledgeable tangents of its predecessor. So, it didn't have any redeeming qualities. I don't think it can be counted as a history (poor Peter) as much as this is your grandfather's political commentary (as a children's book?).

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Newbery Honor book that gives a history of the United States from World War 1 until just after World War 2.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2-2.5 stars. Firstly, it is necessary to remember that Johnson was first and foremost a journalist and editor. This explains his writing style which is, as another reviewer said, "avuncular". Secondly, because he was a journalist, these histories are less history than they are opinion and propaganda - yes, I know that history is written from a particular POV, but Johnson goes overboard. Thirdly, this volume is less tedious to read than the first, and I am glad I don't have to read the second (America Grows Up which covers 1783- 1914). Johnson tends to focus on the historical figure in this book, so we get glowing reports of the deeds of Wilson and Roosevelt and disparagements of the Republican Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover, and barely mentions Eisenhower except as a general. While Johnson favors the Wilson doctrine of self-determination which in essence opened the world to American influence (be it innocent or a new type of imperialism) I'm giving the .5 star because of his explanation of the League of Nations. Much of the book focuses on the two World Wars and events abroad to the neglect of the events on the home front, but he does touch on the rise of the KKK in the 1920s. On the other hand he misses the developments in China and the Middle East, and he makes no mention of the civil rights movement in the 1950s. If you're looking for a history, look elsewhere. I read this for my 2020 Reading Challenge (PopSugar "title has more than 20 letters" - 35) and my Newbery Challenge (Honor 1961). I read this via Open Library/Internet Archive due to library closures amid the Covid 19 pandemic.

[Katie]

Gerald Johnson is a very perceptive writer. His first two books of this series are some of my very favorite American history books for young people. In this one, he takes a more personal (liberal) perspective, making large sections of it unusable for someone looking to offer a more objective view of the first half of the twentieth century. For example, he has *only* good things to say about Woodrow Wilson and FDR, both of whom actually contributed negatively to our nation's forward movement. At the same time, there are whole sections that absolutely thrill me to my toes and make me incredibly proud to be an American. I will definitely be keeping this book and using large portions of it in my children's middle school history lessons, but I do suggest having alternatives for the topics on which Mr. Johnson shares more opinion than objective fact.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given my experience with the first book in this nonfiction trilogy, I was surprised at how much I didn't hate this book. It was published in 1960 and begins with World War I, so it covers a pretty brief stretch of time for a survey of history. Post World War II, Johnson can look at World War I with some perspective, but it is still a different and interesting perspective reading an additional sixty years later. I don't think I've ever read anything that gives Truman so many pages and so much credit while just barely mentioning Eisenhower. This book includes so much commentary and opinion, it's almost laughable at times, but the narrator is still absent from the pages. Women and people of color are also virtually absent from the pages, though he does say racism is bad a few times.

[Tamara York · Rating 3 out of 5]

Newbery Challenge 187/415. I find this American history trilogy very interesting. The tone is unusual in that it is conversational, explains big picture issues better than most, but is oddly opinionated. I really enjoyed this series, but the author’s tendency to state his opinion as fact is off putting. The woodcut illustrations are fantastic.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish this series was still in print! Fabulous books for homeschool.

[Ami McNay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history book. Has to be balanced with other views, as do most books.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author is heavily biased toward Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, two presidents I'm not fond of, and says nothing good of the other side. If you want to get a better picture of the presidents in the 1920s, I would highly recommend "Coolidge" by Amity Shlaes, who is a libertarian. The author stated how many opinions as though they are facts, which always rubs me the wrong way. The only part I found remotely tolerable was the information on world war 2. At least that seemed factual. And the author literally talks about Eisenhower's presidency for one or two paragraphs. It is not acceptable to promote heavily biased materials to children, regardless of right or left leanings. Kids should hear facts and learn to think for themselves.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of history is well written and I learned a few things while reading it. It covers an interesting period in American history, particularly the World Wars, and the author's perspective on various events is interesting and fresh. Although the book is older, the content is not dated.

[Scott Williams]

0eaa6545-b6b7-48a9-8811-b81fa6c778ef

[Anna]

A delightful read written by an FDR and Woodrow Wilson fan boy.