This essay unearths the guiding question of David Harlan’s 1997 book, The Degradation of American History. While most commentators have focused their attention on Harlan’s biting criticism of the historical profession, this essay argues that Harlan’s diatribe against historical scholarship pursued “for its own sake” stems from a deep concern about the moral education of citizens in an age that François Hartog and others typify as “presentist.” Although Harlan’s remedies against presentism are found wanting, the essay argues that the question raised in The Degradation of American History is a relevant, timely, and still unresolved one, now even more than at the time of the book’s original publication.

这篇文章揭示了大​​卫哈兰 1997 年出版的著作《美国历史的退化》的指导性问题。虽然大多数评论家都将注意力集中在哈兰对历史专业的尖刻批评上，但本文认为，哈兰对“为自己的利益”追求的历史学术的谩骂源于对弗朗索瓦·哈托格和弗朗索瓦·哈托格（François Hartog）时代公民道德教育的深切关注。其他人则被称为“呈现者”。尽管发现哈兰针对当下主义的补救措施不足，但这篇文章认为，在《美国历史的退化》中提出的问题是一个相关的、及时的且仍未解决的问题，现在甚至比这本书最初出版时的问题还要多。