Advanced Placement history course under debate has been criticized by Oklahoma Republican lawmakers for months

While an Oklahoma lawmaker stirred national condemnation this week for trying to legislate against Advanced Placement U.S. history, the course itself has been a lightning rod for criticism for months now, particularly from Republicans.

They complain the newly revised course glosses over the Founding Fathers and the principles of the Declaration of Independence, that it excludes discussion of key players such as Albert Einstein, Jonas Salk and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Also, they say it focuses on the negative and emphasizes the differences posed by race, gender, class and ethnicity, that it portrays America not as an exceptional nation, but just another place where the rich and powerful rule and oppress.

The Republican National Committee adopted a resolution calling it “a radically revisionist view of American history.”