"The Dangerous Lies We Tell About America’s Founding" Topic

"When it comes to the Founding Fathers and the American Revolution, we can tell a lie—and we have been, ever since before the musket-fire stopped. We tell lies of exclusion, of exaggeration, of complete fabrication. Scholars tell them to our young people in textbooks; politicians tell them to adults in an unending stream of rhetoric. Such mythologizing is not surprising. Especially when it comes to origin myths, we humans love stories with clear heroes and villains and neat endings. But as two new books published for Independence Day show, it is dangerous. If we get lazy about our historical facts, we risk accepting at face value the interpretations of those facts we're being fed…"

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Armand

Pretty far left interpretation, IMHO. The article drips with disdain for the traditional story of the American Revolution. The authors argue that such myths as they have identified mean that the entire foundation of the US is bogus. For example, they say a myth is that the war was over with the English defeat at the battle of Yorktown, since there was fighting after that. True, but kind of missing the forest for the trees. Of course, YMMV.

How about these lies?

"The American Civil War was primarily about slavery."

"Rev Martin Luthor King was a member of the Democrat Party."

"The Ku Klux Klan was founded by Republicans."

"All slave owners in America were white."

"The Native Americans were a peaceful people who never murdered, pillaged or raped and never sided with settlers to wipe out their rival tribes."

The American Civil War was primarily about slavery. Hmm, yes. it was. completely. Read the secession documents and you will see why the South left and what caused the war. The rest I agree with you on.

"The Native Americans were a peaceful people who never murdered, pillaged or raped and never sided with settlers to wipe out their rival tribes."

Which doesn't take away from the fact that the government lied, cheated and broke every treaty it ever signed with the tribes. I have experienced racism as a Native American, have you? No? But hey, if it helps you sleep better at night.

Glup!

Armand

Grattan – the secession documents reject federal control in general, not just ending slavery. I would argue the ACW was about States' rights over federal central control.

Choctaw – No I haven't but I've certainly experienced racism for being Irish Catholic a few times in Australia. I've also experienced racism for being non-Japanese when I lived in Japan for 7 years. Irish people were historically violent and criminal alcoholics, I don't deny it. You apparently don't deny Native Americans were ruthless historically either.

However, if it helps you sleep better at night, then just keep on believing that you're the only true special victim in America or the world because your media tells you every day to have a chip on your shoulder and not advance your own life, just stay a victim and blame anything wrong in your life on other people.

No, they list the reasons why they are seceding. Slavery is in virtual every reason that they gave. The idea of state rights as a reason really didn't develop until the Lost cause.

The idea of state rights as a reason really didn't develop until the Lost cause.

Not true. One of my ancestors named his son "States Rights Haney"* – in 1860! The father was born in Pennsylvania, later lived in Missouri, and became very pro-South. Went down the Oregon Trail in 1863.

* later renamed after a Confederate general

"Rev Martin Luthor King was a member of the Democrat Party."

While a family member claims he was Republican, there are no existing records to prove either way. He said he voted Democratic in the '64 election.

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Grattan, that statement is very incorrect. SR goes back to before the Constitution, and was endorsed by Jefferson and Madison in the Ky and Va resolutions in 1798. See the Tenth Amendment.

"No, they list the reasons why they are seceding."

We have been through this recently, in a very recent topic here and others.

Slavery was the "cause" of secession, but slavery was a catalyst of the Civil war. There were many catalysts, slavery being the main. secession was the cause of the Civil War, unless you want to get very technical and say the firing on Fort Sumter was the direct cause and the call for 75,000 troops.

Slavery could exist without war, and had existed for hundreds of years prior without war.

No where do I see anyone fighting for the Dolphins!

Consider, we have abused, destroyed, and completely driven their race to extinction.

We continue to subject them to concentrated pollution and force them to swim in seas filled with chemicals and absent enough fish to eat!

My god, we are responsible for racial genocide.

As a result, I believe we must immediately apologize and cease all commerce by sea. Further, we should offer reparations in the form of repopulating the oceans with enough fish and cease all fishing as a result.

Dolphins must be given their rights!

But why should we feel sympathy for the Dolphins. They have subjected others to being eaten alive?

"Dolphins are carnivores that feed mostly on fish but will also eat squids, crustaceans, and jellyfish. Some larger species of dolphins will even feed on marine mammals such as seals and sharks!"

They are heartless barbarians!!

B.A.D
Ban All Dolphins
😉

The Dolphins are a mediocre football team that started off well in the 2023 season and then went flat. If we are going to show some sympathy, how about the Detroit Lions.

Ha!…

Armand

Luther. BTW, Article IV, Section 2 of the Confederate Constitution prohibited states from interfering with slavery. So much for states' rights…

Secession was the radical Southerner's answer to EVERY form of "Federal Tyranny". Go read about the Nullification Crisis of 1832. Lots of talk about secession, but nothing about slavery.

Get KNOW-ledge. Word up Tacitus, WOrd up rmaker. Make R, Tac ITUS. Bad ass. Amazing. Slaves. Good spelling. Luther, not LUTHOR like LEX LUTHOR, that's dumb. I'M dumb. FANGS TACITUS. Scession does not equal SUCK-SESSION. It's different. FANGS. Good Poins Rmaker. Ferral Trynny was it IMO too. I read Nullcirsis 1892. Fangs. Nope, no slave talk. Eggselent. Fangs.

Let the dead bury the dead…