Loewen, James W. “No Story To Tell,” Lies Across America. New York: New Press, 1999.
Focusing on one particular plantation, now owned by the National Park Service, Loewen attempts to illustrate the lack of initiative history museums are demonstrating in telling the story of slave life in early America. By making repeated visits to Hampton National Historic Site in Maryland, as well as other similar museums, he records how interpreters fail to focus on the whole story of the plantation, for they rarely discuss the people who actually made the wealth for the landowner, physically constructed the stylish mansions, or moved the enormous amounts of soil to build the elaborate gardens. Seldom are slave cabins a significant aspect of the tour, and if they are included at all, it is usually as a sidebar. After establishing the theoretical framework of artifacts as active agents, encoded with meaning, and that a social/historical model is a necessary guide in interpreting the plantation landscape accurately, Loewen defines some of the social issues that must be understood and interpreted by museum staff. These include four key problems with slave life. The first one being an atmosphere of racial inferiority towards blacks emphasized by the grand lifestyle of the white plantation owner compared to the forced simple lifestyle of the slave. The second and third problems were the slaves’ lack of independence and ability to make decisions, and the fourth was the violent manner in which some slaves were treated by whites and the effect of living with constant fear of this treatment. After making criticisms of these museums, Loewen attempts to make suggestions for a more successful interpretation of the stories associated with these sites. [C. Thomas]