The idea of "fake" news "is relatively new. But lies and myths are not new at all. America was based on myths. Below is a debunking of the most enduring myths in American history.
History or lies?
1. Young George Washington "Couldn't Lie."
When George Washington was six years old, he broke his father's cherry tree. Then he confessed everything, saying: "I can't lie." But this story was first invented by a Washington biographer in 1806.
2. Baseball was invented in Cooperstown.
Any American baseball fan will tell you that this game was born in Cooperstown, New York. But this story was invented in 1907. Games like this have existed since the 18th century.
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3. Columbus discovered America.
America was discovered by the Indians who came there first. The first European to come to America was the Norwegian navigator Leif Erikson, who arrived there in the 10th century.
4. Salem witches were burned at the stake.
From February 1692 to May 1693, 200 people in Salem, Massachusetts were charged with magic. Among them were old people and even a four-year-old girl. Most of them were imprisoned, and 19 people were hanged. But nobody was burned.
5. Revere's warning.
Paul Revere hardly shouted "The British are coming!" during the revolution. Then the United States was a British colony. Most likely, he sounded the alarm to warn the residents of Boston about the approach of the regular army.
Fiction about famous people
6. Benjamin Franklin believed that the turkey should be the national symbol.
Benjamin Franklin was unhappy that the United States wanted to make the eagle the national symbol of a thieving bird with a "bad temper." He just joked that it would be better to choose a turkey, which is a more manly bird.
7. Walt Disney invented Mickey Mouse.
Walt Disney didn't actually draw Mickey Mouse. His image, known to all the children of the world, is the creation of his favorite Disney artist.
8. Cowboys wore cowboy hats.
Cowboys did not wear wide-brimmed hats, and the bowler hat was the most popular headdress in the 19th century.
9. The Declaration of Independence was signed on 4 July.
The US Congress voted for independence and prepared a Declaration on July 2, it was approved on the 4th, first made public on the 8th.
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10. The fall of the stock market in 1929 caused many suicides.
There is a lot of talk about the fact that on October 24, 1929, ruined financiers jumped from the windows of skyscrapers. In fact, there were only two such suicides.
11. Richard Nixon was an environmentalist.
The 37th President of the United States has passed quite a lot of environmental laws. But he spoke negatively about environmentalists, saying they want to destroy the state.
12. Pocahontas fell in love with John Smith.
Young Indian Pocahontas really made friends with the Englishman John Smith. But she was only 12 years old, and it was unlikely that she could have a romantic relationship with a 28-year-old boy.
13. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.
Many of Edison's inventions did not belong to him. He was just stealing other people's ideas. The light bulb was invented by Warren de la Rue, a British astronomer and chemist, 40 years before him.
14. The War of the Worlds caused mass hysteria.
An Orson Welles radio broadcast in 1938 reported the Martian invasion as if it were happening in the real world. But a couple of dozen people believed him.
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15. Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag.
The real creator of the flag was Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey. Betsy only suggested five-pointed stars instead of six-pointed ones.
16. Thanksgiving Day.
Almost all stories about the first Thanksgiving, when settlers allegedly shared food with the Indians, are not true. In fact, the settlers simply stole food from the Native Americans.
17. Cars were invented in America.
The first car is not a Henry Ford model at all. The first horseless carriage was invented in the 19th century by European engineers - Karl Benz and Emil Levassor.
18. Lincoln was opposed to slavery.
Abraham Lincoln, in one of his letters from 1862, admitted that if he could save the country without freeing the slaves, he would have done it. He, of course, freed the slaves. But he was also ready for the "B" plan.
19. The Founding Fathers were Christians.
Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were deists, which means that they believed in God, but not in Christian books and commandments. George Washington didn't even invite the pastor to his deathbed.
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20. Einstein was not good at mathematics.
Einstein has always been a genius, even at school age. This story was invented by newspaper people in the 30s.
21. The battle for the Alamo was fought for freedom.
In fact, the 250 Americans who died in the Alamo did not fight for freedom. In those days, Texas was part of Mexico, and when slavery was prohibited there, the Texans wanted to keep it.
22. Feminists burned their bras.
At a women's demonstration in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the 1968 Miss America pageant, bras were thrown into the trash can and burned. But that was only once.
23. America defeated Hitler.
The US contribution to the defeat of the Nazis in World War II is undoubtedly great. But the Soviet Union played a big role here. The United States then lost 1.3 million people, and 25 million died in the USSR.
24. The Puritans came to the New World for the sake of freedom of religion.
In 1593, the Puritans emigrated to Holland from England. But from their point of view, Holland was too tolerant. So they boarded the Mayflower and went looking for a new world.
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25. Charles Lindbergh was the first to fly across the ocean in an airplane.
Charles Lindbergh made a solo flight between New York and Paris in 1927. But back in 1919, another plane, piloted by British aviators Alcock and Brown, flew from Newfoundland to Ireland.
26. In the Wild West, banks were constantly being shot, killed and robbed.
In fact, from 1859 to 1900. in the whole so-called Wild West there were 12 bank robberies and 1.5 murders a year.
27. "Star Banner" is a song created in the USA.
The lyrics were written in the United States by the poet Francis Scott Clue. But the anthem music is old 18th century British drinking.
28. The Martini was invented by a gold digger.
During the Gold Rush, an unfortunate gold digger asked for a drink at a bar in Martinez, California, to calm him down. This is how the classic cocktail was born. It's actually a collective invention.
29. Johnny Appleseed is just a myth.
This supposedly fictional character planting apple trees for the settlers was a real guy named John Chapman. In his homeland (Leominster, Massachusetts), a granite board is even installed.
Beautiful fairy tales
30. "Houston, we have a problem."
This is a good phrase, but it is wrong. It actually said, "Houston, we had a problem."
31. The revolution began with a shot.
As legend has it, the first shot from a musket marked the beginning of an armed conflict between the colonies and the British. But even a year earlier, in 1774, farmers had organized riots against the British troops.
32. Walt Disney's body is frozen.
There is a myth that after Walt Disney's death in 1966, his body was frozen. In fact, Disney was cremated.
33. When the US gained independence, piracy disappeared.
Pirates were still in operation in the 19th century.
34. The United States emerged from 13 colonies.
There were 12. The state of Delaware was not officially a colony before the revolution, it was part of Pennsylvania.
Debunking myths
35. The Supreme Court has always had 9 members.
When the US Supreme Court was founded in 1789, it consisted of 6 judges. In 1807 there were 7 of them, and only after 30 years the number of judges increased to 9.
36. The Liberty Bell cracked on July 4, 1776.
Historians have established that the first crack in the famous bell appeared before the 1750s, and the largest was the result of wear and tear.
37. William Taft is stuck in the bathroom.
William Howard Taft, 27th President of the United States, weighed 350 pounds. But for him, they simply made a very wide bathroom that could fit four men.
38. You cannot burn the flag.
This was until 1989. Then the US Supreme Court ruled that such an action is a manifestation of freedom.
39. Washington has always been the capital of the United States.
The first capital of the country in 1774 was Philadelphia. Then the main cities were made by others - Baltimore and New York. Washington only became the capital in 1819.
40. George Washington was the first President of the United States.
Several other people were elected by Congress during the American Revolution. The first of these was Peyton Randolph. George Washington was the first President elected by the people.
Varka Svetlana Gennadievna
