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? kzread.info/dash/bejne/nniLqo99c5qagM4.html Why did the Mexican-American War happen? kzread.info/dash/bejne/eoihtbBtddvJmZM.html Civil War related episodes Lincoln was a Conspiracist? kzread.info/dash/bejne/eJpmo62CfNzPYNI.html Lost Cause myth kzread.info/dash/bejne/Z3mDyrp_Zc-0l7Q.html Civil War lecture kzread.info/dash/bejne/dWusxs-spq3HYps.html Sectional Crisis lecture kzread.info/dash/bejne/g3miu81rqMqredI.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

@jacobdalland1390

10 ай бұрын

That was a good video, and I'm glad I saw it as an amateur historian planning to visit the Alamo in two months.

@contrawise

10 ай бұрын

I would've thought museology was study of the twisted plots congured by The Three Sisters.

@dinotsar6396

7 ай бұрын

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.

@zlatanibrahimovic1915

6 ай бұрын

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.

@thefirstsalty3055

10 ай бұрын

a lying, misinformed, and purposefully omitting exhibit? just like the real thing!

@SpoopySquid

10 ай бұрын

​@@thefirstsalty3055how meta

@DiamondKingStudios

10 ай бұрын

“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.”

@redjirachi1

10 ай бұрын

@@thefirstsalty3055 Only thing they're missing is an advertisment for Charleston Chew

@bmyers7078

9 ай бұрын

@@redjirachi1: do they have a headless Spiro Agnew ?

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

10 ай бұрын

That's funny. When was this?

@marclowe724

10 ай бұрын

@@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.

@cjclark1208

10 ай бұрын

@@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”

@travcollier

10 ай бұрын

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.

@georgemoore2226

10 ай бұрын

​@@cjclark1208definitely would not be able to land a job in Florida.

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.

@DiamondKingStudios

10 ай бұрын

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”

@macinnnes4298

9 ай бұрын

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 :).

@z.s.7992

9 ай бұрын

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.

@hollybigelow5337

9 ай бұрын

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.

@markcampbell8158

6 ай бұрын

@@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.

I did not know Museology was a word, but I nonetheless will try to sneak it into as many conversations as possible today.

@theshenpartei

10 ай бұрын

Same here

@brotlowskyrgseg1018

10 ай бұрын

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!

@aalihte3378

10 ай бұрын

OMG I was literally gonna say the same thing.

@charlesloeffler333

10 ай бұрын

Muse-ology: study of muses?

@erinmac4750

3 ай бұрын

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.

@thefirstsalty3055

10 ай бұрын

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.

@spacecatboy2962

10 ай бұрын

yeah they should put pictures of all the people killed and wounded because of johnson

@WolfgangDoghouse

10 ай бұрын

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

@MrRjh63

9 ай бұрын

So the Daughters of the confederacy have a modern analog? that is saddening.

@lonnietoth5765

9 ай бұрын

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.

@scottdoesntmatter4409

9 ай бұрын

Frankly, I wouldn't be proud to be Texan at all. I know too much about the state.

@sebastianchavez577

7 ай бұрын

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

In Texas we think of the Alamo as more of a memorial than a museum. No apologies.

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.

@renehinojosa1962

10 ай бұрын

Many of these plaques were put together by people with a high school level education.

@TryingIGuess

9 ай бұрын

Lies my teacher told me is one of my favorites tbh

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.

@JBaum55

9 ай бұрын

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.

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

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.

@thefirstsalty3055

10 ай бұрын

just like the real thing!

@AHumanBeingNamedAlex

6 ай бұрын

@@thefirstsalty3055that’s the joke

As a Texan, the Alamo really only ever is talked about rhetorically

@CynicalHistorian

10 ай бұрын

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

@scottdoesntmatter4409

9 ай бұрын

Frankly, I wouldn't be proud to be Texan at all. I know too much about the state.

Of course the Alamo is lying about there not being a basement! Where else would they be keeping Pee-Wee’s bike?

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!

@christophermancini8285

10 ай бұрын

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

@karldehaut

10 ай бұрын

I hope that Cypher read your comment.

@erinmac4750

3 ай бұрын

I do hope he comes across it. Information turns into YT gold in his hands. 😎🍀

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. :)

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...

@deeznoots6241

10 ай бұрын

That is the only 100% facts and evidence based museum with zero bias

@iamhungey12345

10 ай бұрын

Plus everyone knows mothman communicates by hooting.

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.

@travcollier

10 ай бұрын

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.

@DiamondKingStudios

10 ай бұрын

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.

@CynicalHistorian

10 ай бұрын

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!

@minombreesminombre4878

10 ай бұрын

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.)

@jacksmith-vs4ct

9 ай бұрын

@@CynicalHistorian lol yeah the coward that ran away and was killed by Mexican Calvary

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!

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 😅

@texashistorytrust

9 ай бұрын

...except Juan Badillo's name is on the Cenotaph.

@jacksmith-vs4ct

9 ай бұрын

wonder if he was one of the few that actually fought instead of ran like most of them

*reads title* Alright. IS there actually a basement in the Alamo?

@CynicalHistorian

10 ай бұрын

They won't show it!

@cantgetitupanymore3244

10 ай бұрын

There's a basement?last time visted was in 4th grade in 2007

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.

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.

@CynicalHistorian

10 ай бұрын

What's DIA? It's that referring to Denver and the armor exhibit?

@markwilliams2620

10 ай бұрын

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.

@CynicalHistorian

10 ай бұрын

@@markwilliams2620 Ah. That museum nearly got sold and it would've been one of the worst travesties to ever befall American museology

@davidnelson1865

10 ай бұрын

DIA was one of the many jewels of Detroit that is making a comeback after hard times

@biggusdickus9057

9 ай бұрын

i went to that museum a few years ago and it was amazing

As a native San Antonian, and history aficionado, I appreciate the video immensely. Well done, sir.

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.

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.

My favorite part of your content is when you show outtakes of the King interrupting you...warms my heart

A good channel for those who want to dig deeper behind the mainstream sciency

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.

‘’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.

@SEAZNDragon

10 ай бұрын

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?"

@eddiev3052

10 ай бұрын

Haha I like that! Especially when you consider how Mexico’s abolishion of slavery was a major reason for the Texians revolt.

@markdouglas8073

10 ай бұрын

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!!

@surprisedchar2458

9 ай бұрын

@@SEAZNDragoneveryone else in the country already has.

@realnativenativistcolonize668

9 ай бұрын

I agree 100% Mark. "Forget The Alamo” is a great book. Respect and appreciation for your comment.

We are extremely lucky the other missions have been persevered much better and include a lot more historical context in their exhibits.

@realnativenativistcolonize668

9 ай бұрын

I agree 100%. Thank you!

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.

@michaelwalker7400

10 ай бұрын

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.

@deeznoots6241

10 ай бұрын

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

@michaelwalker7400

10 ай бұрын

@@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.

@jeremypnet

9 ай бұрын

The Battle of Britain wasn’t a tactical defeat, not for Britain anyway.

Thank you so much for pointing all this out!! I appreciate your work

I went to the Alamo in 2019 and noticed that the exhibits in the Long Barracks were gone, now I know why.

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).

Biggest lie the Alamo tells is it’s lack of basement. RIP Paul.

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

Hey thanks, this was a great post.

8:50 was not just Latinos, but Chinese in California as well. These acts in and of themselves were not bad, as they allowed the population to assimilate the large groups of various immigrants that arrived throughout the late 1800s. Quotas are not outright banning of all immigration, just throttling of rate.

@JMM33RanMA

10 ай бұрын

Do you agree with signs reading [Help Wanted-No Irish], or only if they just slow down the immigration? On my mother's side, I have British colonials who fought in our Revolution, as well as German and Irish refugees. I am NOT sympathetic with "Keep America white," And "Keep America English" lost out by the late 19th Century.

@marlonbryanmunoznunez3179

10 ай бұрын

Those "quotas" were done to keep the US a white nation. This is something that was mentioned very explicitly at the time and benefited from the popularity that the pseudoscience of Eugenics had. They were racist from inception, intent and application. Fortunately they failed 😜

Really enjoyed this video, having worked at a living museum for 7 years, didnt know some of the specifics of a museums definition

My first time watching your video; already subscribed after enjoying your unique approach. Thanks! Was noticing that cool shot of liquor on your bookcase...😊

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.

@CynicalHistorian

10 ай бұрын

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

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.

Great video and topic, in general. Allons, Brother!

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.

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.

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.

@waterooster65

10 ай бұрын

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.

@JMM33RanMA

10 ай бұрын

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.

@marlonbryanmunoznunez3179

10 ай бұрын

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.

@ricardoaguirre6126

10 ай бұрын

@@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.

@JMM33RanMA

9 ай бұрын

@@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.

thanks for uploading good videos always.

crazy stuff man

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.

Nicely done.

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.

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

8 ай бұрын

DRT hasn’t run Alamo operations for years.

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.

@CynicalHistorian

10 ай бұрын

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

@Artur_M.

10 ай бұрын

@@CynicalHistorian Yep, too real.

For some reason, while looking at that family chart, I was shocked to find out your birth name is not Cypher

@CynicalHistorian

10 ай бұрын

Seems like everything about me is a shock to everyone, almost like I'm a cypher

Good info.

This was a well timed video having just finished the book Blunt Instruments which covered the history, motivations and interpretations of monuments, museums and patriotic practices. I was thinking of Forget the Alamo too and was glad it was mentioned in the video

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?

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."

@toddjones1480

9 ай бұрын

The least embarrassing explanation I can come up with is... maybe they were Mormon?

@seasidescott

9 ай бұрын

@@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.

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.

FANTASTIC VIDEO

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

That was a very lenient look at those museums, specially the Nixon one.

Very interesting video and very interesting topic

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~

"TEMU" ad selling Orange Prison Garb! That was funny!

My cat woke up when he heard King at the end 😂

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.

We gotta get any old Ghostbusters stuff out of there and put it in a genuine film museum

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.

Thanks!

@CynicalHistorian

10 ай бұрын

And thank you!

You're the son of the "Beard of Knowledge"?!? Mind blown. 😲

Spotted SLO in your b-roll there 👀 Great video!

Great video

I went to the Alamo back in 2010, and I was astonished that the tour took less than 15 minutes. ⭐️⭐️- Meh.

Museology is the word of the day

@CynicalHistorian

10 ай бұрын

*Museology

@theshenpartei

10 ай бұрын

@@CynicalHistorianoops my bad

@theshenpartei

10 ай бұрын

@@CynicalHistorianfixed it

You have a beautiful cat there, sir.

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.

I was curious about your review of 1970s miniseries' roots and their accuracy. Bearing in mind the limitations of what was known at the time.

The title was perfect 🤌🏼

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 really enjoy your videos and the context they give....I was looking forward to watching this and I finally have time. I have a question though about musuems for you. Do you think museums should return historical artifacts that were stolen from tribes or plundered from tombs as in the Benin Bronzes, or pretty much all of Egypt? Im honestly not sure what to think on this. I mean definitely return the Benin Bronzes. They are the historical record of that culture...they should be in their hands. History is incredibly important...and sharing it with future generations...its paramount to understanding ones society.

@CynicalHistorian

9 ай бұрын

That's a very sticky subject and too off-topic. I simply don't know enough to say anything about it

@z.s.7992

9 ай бұрын

​@@CynicalHistorian yes its definitely off topic...and I can definitely respect your answer. The info about the alamo was fascinating. The changes at the Alamo sadden me. I went there back in the nineties. It wasn't amazing but it was interesting and now that I can look back on it with the lens of triumphalism I can definitely see it. They got slaughtered and it was a military disaster. I also never new that the slogan "Remember the Alamo!" became racially disparaging. One place I really enjoyed in upstate New York is St Marie among the Iroquois. It is a living history installation staffed by volunteers teaching about the lives of the jesuit missionaries that settled in the area. It has a similar vibe considering how we treated the natives of this area (even till now, onandaga lake is one of the most polluted lakes in the world, thanks Crucible steel). The site was given back to the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and they opened a center that more directly talks about the experiences of Native Americans living in the area before and after including the Iroquois creation myth. I haven't been back to it since it transferred hands in 2013 but next time I visit my son I will probably end up taking him...now that its open again.

Was that Mr. Beat in some of your photos taken at the Nixon Museum? Are you all friends? If so that's dope! Either way I really enjoy your channel. Thanks for what you're doing.

@CynicalHistorian

10 ай бұрын

Yep to both

insightful😊

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. 🙄

Loved the visual essay, but King stole the show at the end.

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.

I really enjoy this channel, thanks doc. I think Nixons legacy is one of peoples mistrust of the government on an empirical/ non conspiratorial level. Which distrust foments to this very day being supercharged by social media.

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

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.

As a kid I remembered wanting to donate my cap pistol to the Alamo museum. Funny what kids think is valued, no?

David Bowie was killed at the Alamo? No wonder he wrote that song "I'm afraid of Americans"! Anyway, I liked this method of posing critical questions and examining them. History is a science and most people unfortunately do not understand that. Sadly, many believe that a study of the past is some sort of "Sunday School devotional" without nuances and facts that have to be explored on a valid, reliable and objective basis. I enjoyed this video and the investigation of the these topics.

My father in law and I love history and museums. We both get a good chuckle when I take my wife to museums and she gets bored and annoyed.

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.

@CynicalHistorian

10 ай бұрын

Hah, thanks

Yeah, I went to the Alamo a year ago and...it was kind of lackluster to be honest.

"You can't invade your own country." I wish that I knew enough to say it in Spanish, for a Santa Ana meme

@guillermoadrianolopezdomin1860

9 ай бұрын

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*)

I think it would be very in formative to know whether the bookstore in the gift shop assuming there is one has a full range of titles available to visitors or weather the books critical of Nixon are available as they should be

Excellent presentation on what museums are and are not. Now I know these for-profit "museums" are actually entertainment centers. You definitely have skill to present complex subjects for us laypeople. Regarding omissions, does the Alamo have a basement or not? Nobody seems to answer that one. I wonder if it exists and does it contain Hoffa's body, and everyone's missing socks?