ABSTRACT
Those who search for evidence of nationalistic bias in the more advanced textbooks used in the High schools of the United States will be less richly rewarded than those who confine themselves to the Junior High school books. That the latter should succumb more completely to prejudice is easily under standable. The Junior High school text is designed for students with a lower comprehension level, encouraging the author to oversimplify complexities and to stress the myths that seemingly have greater appeal to the young. Senior High school text books, on the other hand, can indulge in more subtleties. They are allowed greater space for fuller explanations and are designed to attract a more mature audience than one that would be impressed with the legends that encrust the truth in every nation’s history. For these reasons, evidences of overt bias are largely lacking, and examples of subconscious bias and group superiority are less flagrant.
