HISTORIC LITERATURE IS FILLED WITH MANY MYTHS THAT ARE SIMPLY NOT TRUE

Yes, history is filled with many myths. We all have learned them, and most of us believe them if we hear them often enough. This is certainly true in our own American history.These myths begin in many places. Sometimes they are political in nature, other times they are for financial gain. In a delightful book titled “33 QUESTIONS ABOUT AMERICAN HISTORY” Author Thomas E. Woods Jr. debunks a number of myths we hold true. In one instance the author tells us about the violent Wild West. Even in the absence of serious government, the old West was far less violent than most American cities even today. Frontiersmen developed private mechanisms to enforce laws and define and enforce property rights.

Another myth is that the Pilgrims flourished in the colonies because of teachings by the local indians. In actuality American Indians simply didn’t originally use fertilizers and thus their crops were poor. However the great indian chief Squanto later used and taught fertilizing techniques he had probably learned from Europeans he encountered. 

Was the New Deal developed by the FDR government what saved the American people from the Depression? A growing body of scholarship shows us the New Deal actually prolonged the Depression and even crippled American capitalism. Finally in one of Woods’ Truths he answers the question about the role of the jury in trials. The myth is that the role of juries is to determine the facts of a case, not whether the relevant law is just. In reality The Founding Fathers frequently argued that juries had the right to decide both fact and the law itself.  So there you are. This book should should promote a little questioning and lots of fun.