Common Myths in American History:
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Some historical facts and stories we take for granted are either false or at the least exaggerated. Some have been passed down through generations and some have even made their way into history books. Here are some of my favorite myths and the facts behind the myths. This seems to be the most popular page here at www.interestinghistory.info and I will be adding to it on a regular basis to give you a reason to come back. |
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THE MYTH |
THE FACT |
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Paul Revere began printing
and selling this depiction of the Boston
Massacre in 1770
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Although Paul Revere was the
first to begin selling these color prints of the
Boston Massacre, the myth here is that it is an
accurate depiction of the events of March 5,
1770. In fact, the print is full of
inaccuracies. First of all, the print
seems to indicate the events occurred during the
day but in fact, they occurred after 9:00pm
which during that time of year would have been
dark. This print also shows the British troops in a straight line with Captain Preston behind them however eye witnesses accounts and testimony during the trial indicate they were in a semicircle with Preston in front. Also, in the print, there is no snow on the ground but in fact there was snow on the ground that night and the colonists were hurling snowballs and pieces of ice at the British Soldiers. The print also fails to depict that fact that many of the colonists were also carrying clubs. This Paul Revere print is not so much a depiction of the events on that fateful night as it is a propaganda piece. |
| Daniel Boone wore a coonskin cap. |
Many famous characters in our history become
"larger than life" due more to the stories told
about them after they have died almost unnoticed
until years after their death. That was not
the case with Daniel Boone who's first taste of
fame came in 1784 when a book was published that
included stories of his adventures. One of the most lasting impressions of Daniel Boone was his coonskin cap. In reality though Boone wore a beaver hat. It wasn't until the 1820's during a minstrel show called "The Hunters of Kentucky" that the myth began. The actor playing Boone was unable to find a beaver hat so he wore the closest thing he could find at the time, a coonskin cap. This myth was reinforced between 1964 and 1970 with the NBC series Daniel Boone where Boone always wore his coonskin cap. |
| Betsy Ross designed the first American flag |
The legend is that General George Washington
visited Betsy Ross at her shop in Philadelphia
in June of 1776 where they discussed various
flag designs and settled on seven red and white
stripes and thirteen stars arranged in a circle.
While it has has been verified that Washington
was in Philadelphia in June of 1776 there is no
mention of this in his diary. It is known that on New Year's Day of 1776, Washington flew a flag over his camp near Boston consisting of thirteen red and white stripes along with two crosses (familiar British Symbols). The earliest documentation of a flag consisting of thirteen red and white stripes and thirteen stars on a blue field was in a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. It wasn't until 1870 - almost 100 years after the fact - that the legend began when it was told by Betsy Ross's grandson William J. Canby. Supposedly, she had told him this story in 1836. While it is possible that Betsy Ross sewed the flag, there is no evidence to support the claim that she designed it. |
| Abraham Lincoln's childhood log cabin is on display in Hodgenville, Kentucky. |
There is a log
cabin on display in Hodgenville, Kentucky which
is officially registered as the "Abraham Lincoln
Birthplace Historical Site" but it is not the
original Lincoln home. This was confirmed by
Lincoln's son Robert as well as a member of a
family that later lived in the cabin. According
to that family member, the Lincoln cabin was
destroyed by fire before 1840 and the logs that
remained were used as firewood. So where did the log cabin in Hodgenville, Kentucky come from? It was actually made from salvaged parts of another log cabin in the area, then disassembled, moved and reassembled so many times that even if it were the original logs, it may not look anything like the original cabin. |
| In April of 1775, Paul Revere rode through the streets from Boston to Lexington yelling "The British Are Coming". | First of all, it's not likely
Paul Revere ever yelled out the words "The
British Are Coming" because the areas he rode
through often had British army patrols and
besides most of the colonials of the time
considered themselves British and were loyal to
the crown. The purpose
of the ride was to warn John Hancock and Samuel
Adams who where in Lexington at the time.
He did inform others along the way but not by
yelling in the streets. Also, Paul Revere was not the only rider to make the trip. William Dawes and Samuel Prescott also made the ride and in fact Prescott was the only one of the three to make it to Concord (the location of their weapons stores where they thought the British army was ultimately headed). Revere was caught and detained by a British patrol and was left horseless to walk back to Lexington. Revere was barely even known until Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his famous poem in 1863. The poem was never meant to be a "history lesson" but it's what most Americans remember. |
| The Pilgrims lived in log cabins | If you google the words "pilgrim log cabin", you will find pages of information on this topic from Pilgrim Log Cabin Playhouses to Pilgrim Log Cabin Crafts for preschool kids. The problem is, Pilgrims didn't live in log cabins. In fact log cabins weren't built in America until the late seventeenth century after they were introduced by Germans and Swedes. To learn other interesting myths about the early settlers, purchase the book below. |
| During the Civil War, Lincoln once said about Grant's drinking: "If I knew what brand he used, I'd send every general a barrel" | Actually this comment was made up by Charles Halpine for a fictional story. Lincoln himself denied saying it and besides, Grant's drinking didn't need defending. Although he did drink a lot when he was unemployed in Illinois, after he joined the Army, he was never drunk. |
| Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin | An article in the Journal of Southern History in 1965 documents that the cotton gin was invented in Asia and perfected in Santo Domingo in the 1740's, however Whitney did perfect the cotton gin to work on the slippery seeds of American cotton. |
| Christopher Columbus discovered the earth is round | The fact is, Aristotle proved the world is round by noticing that the earth casts a spherical shadow on the moon during an eclipse. The fact that the earth is round was generally accepted by the time Columbus came along. |
| Charles Lindbergh was the first man to fly nonstop across the Atlantic | The first to actually make the trip were two British pilots in 1919 and then later by both a British and German dirigible (64 passengers between the two). This made him actually the 67th to make the trip. While Lindbergh wasn't the first to make the trip nonstop, he was the first to do it solo. |
| George Washington fathered several children by his slaves | Actually Washington was known to have treated his slaves with respect and compassion and it is doubtful he could have fathered a child by one of them anyway. Although his wife Martha had children from a previous marriage, George and Martha never had children together despite the fact that George always said he wanted them. Because of this, it's reasonable to conclude that George was sterile. |
Many of the ideas for this page were discovered in the
book
"Legends, Lies, & Cherished Myths of
American History",
HarperPerennial, 1989, by Richard Shenkman.
Additional details were often added through
careful research using
various other sources. If you enjoyed this page, you
might want to purchase one of the following books:
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