Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Biography/History
Scope and Content
Organization and Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Related Material
Descriptive Summary
Title: Charlotte Crabtree papers
Date (inclusive): 1960-2004
Collection number: 1785
Creator:
Crabtree, Charlotte
Extent:
19 document boxes (9.25 linear ft.)
2 shoe boxes
Abstract: Records about the development of California and National History Standards for K-12 education from 1986-1990s, evidence of
intense conservative political reaction to the standards, book drafts for
History on Trial, and academic work done during Charlotte Crabtree's career as a Professor of Education at the University of California, Los
Angeles are contained in the Charlotte Crabtree papers. In addition to her academic work, Charlotte Crabtree was at the forefront
of two major efforts to produce world and United States history standards incorporating multicultural perspectives and recent
scholarship. Collection material includes conference records, meeting records, hearing records, field report feedback, community
feedback, clippings of political responses in the media, textbooks, and academic publications.
Language: Finding aid is written in
English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library,
Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of
the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC
Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Laurie Lindop, 2006.
Processing Note
Processed by Julia Morton in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli,
2010.
The processing of this collection was generously supported by
Arcadia
funds.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Charlotte Crabtree papers (Collection 1785). Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, UCLA.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography/History
Charlotte Crabtree (1927-2006) was a Professor of Education at the University of California, Los Angeles heavily involved
in producing history standards for kindergarten - 12th grade education from 1986-1996, after which she coauthored a book about
the intense political response from Lynne V. Cheney and others to the newly multicultural history standards. Her academic
interests encompassed children's geographical learning, pedagogical engagement, and curricular content in primary and secondary
education.
The National Center for History in the Schools was established at UC Los Angeles through Charlotte Crabtree's winning grant
proposal. Under her direction in collaboration with UCLA Professor of History Gary Nash, the Center led the creation of the
1995 National Standards for World History and the National Standards for United States History.
These history standards were developed in conjunction with multiple rounds of feedback from teachers, historians, cultural
and special interest communities, and other groups. They were designed to include the fruit of recent historical scholarship
and promote the teaching of historical thinking skills, and were fairly well received in schools after their publication.
Nevertheless, they attracted a great deal of political attention. Beginning in 1994, the standards served as a lightning rod
for debates of what have been called the American culture wars. Conservative politicians such as Lynne V. Cheney protested
that the standards' multicultural inclusiveness smacked of historical revisionism, lacked proper patriotism, and excessively
scrutinized shameful moments in American history.
So fiercely did attention focus on the standards that congressional hearings were held to investigate the manner in which
they had been funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Humanities. As the significance
and magnitude of the history standards' political effect became increasingly clear, Charlotte Crabtree co-authored the 1997
book
History on Trial: Culture Wars and the Teaching of the Past with Gary Nash and Ross Dunn.
The 1995 history standards were Charlotte Crabtree's second major role leading efforts to update curricula. In 1986, Charlotte
Crabtree became principal co-writer for California History - Social Science Framework, which she hoped would incorporate multicultural
values and an examination of the interaction of history, economics, cultural traditions, and geography into curricular guidelines.
Some controversy over the treatment of Arab and Muslim communities in the Framework occurred while it was being put together.
Charlotte Crabtree was raised in South Dakota, Missouri, and Los Angeles. She graduated from the University of California,
Los Angeles with a bachelor's degree in History, and then taught elementary school. After earning a master's degree in Education
from UC Los Angeles in 1958 and a doctorate from Stanford University in 1962, she was a Professor of Education at UC Los Angeles
from 1961 until her retirement in 1993-1994. In addition to her involvement in mandatory education, she was lauded for her
organizational and administrative ability as an academic.
Scope and Content
Materials about the development of history content guidelines for K-12 education, political backlash to these guidelines,
drafts and correspondence for the book History on Trial and academic work are contained in this collection. The bulk of the
collection spans the late 1980s to the mid-1990s and includes papers, press materials, 12 videocassettes, 36 audio cassettes,
and copies of the 1995 National Standards for World History, the 1995 National Standards for United States History and the
1988 Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide.
Charlotte Crabtree's academic work includes correspondence, elementary school textbooks written under her direction, and publications
from 1960 to circa 1990 on structuring learning, schema theory in social studies, and elementary school children's geographic
education.
Curricular material on human rights and genocide includes feedback from cultural communities (Jewish, Arab, Right to Life,
Gay and Lesbian, Baltic states, Armenian, Chinese, Turkish, American Indian, Ukrainian, Polish, and religious groups), from
academics, primary and secondary school teachers within and outside of California, and publishers. Concern is evident about
the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, and anti-Muslim, anti-Arab sentiment. Evidence is contained about processes for evaluating
historical claims. Content relating to the production of the California History – Social Science Framework also includes meetings
of National Forum on History Textbooks, a Board of Education Hearing, audio recordings of radio interviews, educational videocassettes,
and television programs relating to K-12 education.
The process of creating the National History Standards is documented by text and audio materials from meetings of 1992-1994,
correspondence, and a large amount of feedback from teachers, communities, academics, and focus groups.
Documents displaying support for and criticism of the National History Standards include the comments of political figures,
news media, and the Department of Education. In particular, materials by and about Lynne V. Cheney's involvement in education
policy and reform are present.
Political debate is contained regarding the mandate for national standards creation and public thinking about national testing.
Materials from the National Educational Goals Panel and records for relevant Congressional Hearings and the proposed Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 are also included.
Organization and Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
- National History Standards Project
- History on Trial (Book)
- California History – Social Science Framework
- Academic Work.
Original order was maintained for series 1 and 2. Where possible, file titles were also preserved. For series 3 and 4, an
attempt was made to recreate what appeared to have been the intended order. Throughout, order is based on a combination of
chronological and topical grouping.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Crabtree, Charlotte
Related Material
Related administrative files for the National Center for History in the Schools may be found in University Archives Rec Ser
667.
Material relating to Charlotte Crabtree's academic career, including her CV, correspondence, and student evaluations, may
be found in the University Archives faculty file on Charlotte Crabtree.