Inaccuracies a common theme
Growing up, we learn about U.S. history. We learn the Fourth of July is a celebration of America’s independence, and Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation. But are these widely accepted facts actually true? The surprising answer is no.
For example, Ulysses S. Grant’s full name was Hiram Grant, and the middle initial in his name did not stand for anything. Thomas Edison gets credit for creating the light bulb, but Joseph Swan, a British inventor, filed a patent for the same design a year earlier. Similarly, Christopher Columbus did not discover America – Vikings found the continent hundreds of years earlier.
There are some historical inaccuracies that stand out more than the rest.
Fourth of July is a holiday celebrated around the nation. Most people believe it celebrates the anniversary of the day Americans declared their independence from Great Britain with the Declaration of Independence. That isn’t completely true.
The first time someone petitioned the Second Continental Congress about independence was June 7, 1776. At the time, many delegates were not yet prepared for such drastic measures, so they postponed the issue until they finally could not tolerate Britain’s actions any longer. When they decided there was no chance of reconciliation with King George, they brought the idea of declaring independence up for a vote. It unanimously passed July 2, 1776. That was the date people at the time thought would become a holiday. John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, “The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable in the history of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the Great Anniversary Celebration.” Adams would probably be shocked to see how our society doesn’t acknowledge July 2, but instead celebrates two days later.
If you skip ahead a few chapters in a history book to the Civil War era, you will certainly find mentions of the Emancipation Proclamation. Supposedly, this document freed the slaves in America. While Lincoln did indeed issue an Emancipation Proclamation, he did not exactly put an end to human bondage in America.
The southern states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. These states considered themselves an independent nation, with their own government, president and laws. They weren’t abiding by laws suggested by the Union. So, when Lincoln attempted to free the slaves in the south, he was merely attempting to free slaves in a nation he did not control. He could have freed the slaves in the border states – Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware – but he chose not to. He decided to only free slaves in the south, though southerners no longer considered him to be their president. Ultimately, the Emancipation Proclamation officially freed no slaves. It would take the 13th Amendment to put an end to the peculiar institution of slavery in America.
While some of what we’ve all learned in history class is indeed true, some of it is simply inaccurate. Though the nation will certainly continue to go on celebrating Independence Day two days late and giving credit to Abraham Lincoln for freeing the slaves, these things are untrue. To be honest, there are many things people do not know about America’s history.