This Country of Ours

Today, the Ambleside Online Advisory updated their website to defend the use of This Country of Ours in the curriculum, despite controversy about its use.

Here is what they have said

TCOO's treatment of the history of the Mormon church seems to come up among our members with predictable regularity both on and off list. The Advisory has received more private emails (both collectively and individually) than we care to count, has repeatedly been forced to counter misinformation on several lists, and received at least one petition. All this time and effort is directed toward convincing us to dump 'This Country of Ours' because of one chapter. The book is a singular target, accused of inaccuracies both specified and non-specified, in complaints around the blogosphere and negative reviews anywhere readers can post reviews--all in an attempt to prevent others from reading the book. The Advisory has tried to be tactful and gracious about this, but we cannot continue to devote our time to this topic. Therefore, the AO Advisory has sent the following letter regarding the book.

They went on to defend their position (see their page here) basically saying that the Latter Day Saints are over-reacting to the chapter about the Mormons, and that they do not feel it is substantially inaccurate, was common beliefs about the Mormons at the time it was written, and is still believed by many today... then included several links to Anti-Mormon websites. [they have now removed those links]

I know that this is a Canadian Charlotte Mason homeschool, and as such we don't study American History. However, I also know many Americans do read this blog. Please choose an alternative to This Country of Ours, or at least skip the hateful chapter about Mormons.

I have humbly asked the AO Advisory to have an alternative to TCOO in their schedule, although I have little hope that they will do so, as they have repeatedly defended their choice of TCOO even though they have, in their own words had "this particular book [...] come under fire more than any other book we've used in the curriculum".

Here is a suggested alternative, which would work up to the year it was published, about 1900. http://www.archive.org/details/childshistoryofu00morr

or alternatively, your could buy the "Stories of America" from Simply Charlotte Mason.

Suggestions from another mom: "The Story of the Thirteen Colonies" and "The Story of the Great Republic" by H. A. Guerber