People's History, Founding Myths, and the American Revolution
Ray Raphael - People's Historian

 

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A History of the United States
Daniel J. Boorstin and Brooks Mather Kelley
Prentice-Hall, 2002
High school

Myths Perpetuated:

81: “Sam” Adams (not “Samuel”) was “a master of propaganda and mob tactics.” See Founding Myths, chapter 3.

85. Paul Revere’s ride. “As if by magic, the countryside sprang to arms.” (No magic there, but six months of serious preparation.) See Founding Myths, chapters 1 and 4.

96: “Entire army” surrendered at Yorktown. See Founding Myths, chapter 12.

97: “Molly Pitcher” was a real person. See Founding Myths, chapter 2.

Critical items neglected, which change our understanding of the Revolution:

The first seizure of political and military authority from the British — Massachusetts, 1774. See Founding Myths, chapter 4.

Over ninety state and local declarations of independence, which set the stage for the congressional declaration. See Founding Myths, chapter 6.

General Sullivan’s genocidal expedition against the Iroquois, the only significant American campaign of 1779. See Founding Myths, chapter 13.

The winter the Continental Army spent at Morristown — far colder than that spent at Valley Forge, and the harshest in 400 years. See Founding Myths, chapter 5.

The global context for the American Revolution — why the war continued after Yorktown. See Founding Myths, chapter 12.

 
 
 
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