ntire race of people. Slavery is covered as a news story, simply giving the general facts of the practice and not the details of exactly who is responsible for this atrocity or its effects on the American people, black and white. The textbooks also tend to ignore the participation in slavery by the northern states, such as the fact that the first colony to legalize slavery was Massachusetts and that Wall Street was initially a market place for slaves. (Loewen 6) The authors of American history textbooks also refuse to acknowledge that some of our own American heros, such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, were some of the main players in the institution of slavery and that this practice by government officials was openly accepted by society at that time. Just as important than the actual history itself, is the impact of slavery on America today which is also not included in American history textbooks. Loewen notes that the results of the practice of slavery lead us to believe that it is appropriate and even natural for whites to be on the top of the social and economic ladder and blacks on the bottom. (Loewen 8) This is due to the fact that history currently tells us that Europe was able to dominate the western world because they were smarter and more advanced than the Africans that they enslaved. This is what created the whole notion of racism towards blacks which increased throughout history. Some of the other material that we studied this semester showed how white racism played a significant role in the existence of slavery. One book in particular is a primary source of the institution of slavery and its relation to white racism. This work is the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written by himself. In one part of this book, Douglass talks about a mistress that he had in Baltimore who was welcoming to him at first, even teaching him how to read and write. She later became more brutal in her treatment towards him....