The struggle over textbooks in Texas has become legendary due largely to the efforts of Mel and Norm Gabler of Longview, Texas. (Melvin Nolan Freeman Gabler (January 5, 1915 - December 19, 2004) and his wife, Norma Elizabeth Rhodes Gabler (June 16, 1923 - July 22, 2007 have both passed away.) Although they have both passed away, the work they began of reviewing textbooks and exposing the inaccuracies they contain in 1961 continues with the company they established, Education Research Analysts. They began their efforts when reviewing the textbook brought home by one of their children. Thye found several inaccuracies and erroneous information in their child’s book. Their initial experience alerted them to many problems within the educational resources available to children. The Gabler’s went on and reviewed textbooks dealing with health, math, science, government history, social studies and other areas. The number of errors they found was not a few typos. At one point, the list of errors they found in textbooks was fifty-four feet long.

The errors they found forced many textbook publishers to change their texts. Some critics of the Gabler’s viewed their actions as censorship. They viewed their actions as seeking accuracy. The areas of health and science were often the subjects with the most heated debates. Critics have been vocal about the work the Gabler’s did regarding government and science texts. The critics often ignore the blatant errors regarding history that they uncovered. Although they were criticized, the book receiving the highest marks given by the Gabler’s were generally adopted by the State textbook committee.

Despite their accomplishments, groups like People for the American Way opposed the work of the Gabler's. The deep pockets of such groups provided stout resistance to the work of exposing error and falsehood in textbooks.

Since I am not an expert on all areas of history, this hub focuses on the inaccuracies found concerning Texas history. Some of the inaccuracies found by Education Research Analysts in texts used by public schools include:

One school textbook says: "The U.S. victory [in the Mexican War] leads to the acquisition of Texas …."

– Creating America (McDougal, 2006), p. 389a, row 4, col. 2, "SECTION 3 - KEY IDEAS," bullet 3, lines 1-2, Teacher's Edition

The reality is that Texas joined the Union, then came the Mexican War, not after the war as the text claims.

The textbook says "Texas became part of the Mexi­can Cession"

– America: History of Our Nation (Prentice, 2006), p. A-12, lower left label, lines 2-3

The reality is that the State of Texas was not part of Mexican Cession from Spain.

The textbook says: "Jackson, Thomas 'Stone­wall' … fought with Lee in the … First and Second Battles of Bull Run."

– United States History (Holt, 2006), p. R56, col. 2

The reality is that Robert E. Lee was not at the First Battle of Bull Run

The textbook says: "It is 1803. Thomas Jefferson has purchased the Louisiana Territory from France. The United States has expanded to the Mississippi River."

- Call to Freedom: Beginnings to 1877 (Holt, 2003), p. 393, col. 1, par. 1, lines 2-5

The reality is that the Louisiana Purchase extended the United States well beyond the banks of the Mississippi River.

The textbook poses a question and answer stating : Q: "What were the events that occurred during the Texas Revolution?"

- Call to Freedom: Beginnings to 1877 (Holt, 2003), p. T14, "Understanding Main Ideas," no. 2

A: "Santa Anna … signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo."

- Call to Freedom: Beginnings to 1877 (Holt, 2003), p. T14, left margin, "Understanding Main Ideas," no. 2, lines 7-11, Teacher's Edition

The reality is that Texas gained it Independence with the Treaty of Velasco. The Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo concerned the end of the Mexican War and the selling of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah to the United States.

In History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond, a textbook published by the Teachers' Curriculum Institute, "jihad" is presented as a term connoting a personal struggle rather than a holy war.

The text book publisher Houghton Mifflin removed all references to 'jihad' starting in 2005 from all its social studies books.

In World History: Continuity and Change by Holt, Rinehart, Winston, the entry on the Ten Commandments describes them as "Moral laws Moses claimed to have received from the Hebrew God Y-hweh on Mount Sinai." In the very same glossary, however, the book treats the Koran as sacred: It is a "Holy Book of Islam containing revelations received by Muhammad from God.”

In "World History" published byMcGraw-Hill/Glencoe states that Osama bin Laden believes that "Western ideas had contaminated Muslim societies."

In 1991 there were plenty of fireworks in the adoption of history text books. Some of the errors that prompted outrage were claiming that Napoleon had won at Waterloo, "Sputnik' was a nuclear-armed missile, and that the Bay of Pigs invasion had been conducted by United States troops. Errors like this are what the Gablers exposed. Since Texas spends millions of dollars on text books, (20 million in 1992), providing students with accurate and factual information is important.

The 2009 Texas text book adoption process of social studies texts will likely provide fireworks as well. One group, The Texas Council for Social Studies has made some radical recommendations for the upcoming review of social studies books for use in Texas. The revision of the social studies text books are already proving contentious. Among the recommendations are the following:

At the first grade level:

• In the section on holidays, customs, and celebrations, they recommend the removal and celebration of Independence Day and Veterans’ Day.

• The section on holidays, customs, and celebrations, the recommendation removes anthems and mottoes of both Texas and the United States.

At the third grade level, the following recommendations were made:

• Removal of references to Daniel Boone, Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, and Robinson Crusoe.

• Adding such personalities as: Grace Hopper (a New York born computer programmer), Margaret Knight (a Maine-born inventor), Quanah Parker, Dr. Hector P. Garcia, Maya Lin (the Ohio born architect who designed the Vietnam Veterans memorial), Maya Angelou (not a Texan), Sandra Cisneros (a Chicago born author), Kadir Nelson (an artist from Washington DC), Jean Pinkney (a children's author from North Carolina), Angela Shelf Medear, Elisabet Ney, Carmen Lomas Garza (A Texas born children's author), and Bill Martin (a Scottish children's author).

At the Fourth Grade

• They recommended the removal of the suggested selection of a children’s biography of Stephen F. Austin.

The history and social studies textbooks dealing with United States and world history seem to be the biggest source of controversy. Many of the errors concern the portrayal of various religious groups. Some of those expressing concern are Hindus, Islamic, Jewish and Christian groups. These groups have expressed concerns over how their beliefs are portrayed along with causes and meanings associated with various historic events. The Arab-Israeli war, the crusades, the Mexican War,the Highland clearances, the War Between the States, the Armenian genocides and the civil rights movement in the United States are some of the historic events that are often hotly disputed.

The history disputes are not limited to texbooks. There are also diputes regarding historic monuments and how the events are recorded at those monuments.