Fact & Fiction

Only 1/3rd of Americans Supported the American Revolution?

by William Marina

This Fourth of July marks the the 228th anniversary of the signing of the American Declaration of Independence. Perhaps the most significant external aspect of this year's celebration is that the United States is now involved in an intervention ostensibly to bring Democracy to Iraq.Yet, many Americans, even many scholars and intellectuals, believe that the the American Revolution was itself not a democratic movement. If that is true, then it is legitimate to ask, "what exactly is it that we are celebrating on July 4th?"The most common piece of evidence cited in numerous books about the Revolution is a letter of John Adams indicating that one third of the Americans were for the Revolution, another third were against it, and a final third were neutral or indifferent to the whole affair.Oddly, this is the view of the Revolution essentially held by the British at the time. English leaders appeared to believe that only a minority of rebellious Americans, although well organized, desired independence from the Mother Country. Both times British armies ventured into the interior, it was on the assumption there were large numbers of Loyalists there who would support the King's cause.

Was the American Revolution a People’s War?

by William Marina

This is the second of two articles by Mr. Marina concerning the question of legitimacy in the American Revolution. Click here to read his first article. Today traditional military power is measured in terms of the vast technology of weaponry. Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has functioned as a hegemonic power urged on by neoconservatives and some others to act formally as an empire. Iraq, like Vietnam ea

Remember Ronald Reagan's October Surprise? It Never Happened.

by Daniel Pipes

The October Surprise conspiracy theory holds that in October 1980, Ronald Reagan conspired with the Islamic Republic of Iran to beat Jimmy Carter in the U.S. presidential elections on 4 November . The deal: in return for the Khomeini government keeping its U.S. hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran until after the election, damaging the Carter's candidacy, Reagan would reward it with armaments. The conspiracy theory endured for over a decade, from 1980-93, but has since disappeared.

Did Reagan's Military Build-Up Really Lead to Victory in the Cold War?

by Lawrence S. Wittner

In an op-ed published in the New York Times on January 5, Professor Kiron Skinner, co-editor of Reagan: A Life in Letters, repeats the familiar refrain of Republican triumphalists that Ronald Reagan's aggressive rhetoric and military policies improved Soviet-American relations and led to the end of the Cold War. This fairy tale may warm the hearts of true believers in the efficacy of military buildups and wars, but

Who Was Pocahontas?

by Alan S. Weisberg

"Virginia archaeologists say they may have found site of Werowocomoco, village that was home to legendary Algonquin Indian princess Pocahontas and father Powhatan, whose chiefdom encompassed much of coastal Virginia in early 17th century."--New York Times, May 7, 2003Once more we have taken some soil, rocks and other dated debris and found it came with a name. It is called Virginia but it was once Werowocomoco. Do we ever dig up nothing? Some archaeologists have expressed their joy in finding another missing piece of the past puzzles. They identified the location of the village as the primary residence of a once powerful American Indian, Chief Powhatan in Virginia, the father of Pocahontas. What occurred began when local resident Lynn Ripley, who has a house full of various artifacts from her farm in Gloucester County, alerted archaeologists working nearby. Bob Ripley pointed out his wife's collection of unbroken Indian items, which turned out to be more than 400 years old. Of course she had no idea of the ages of her prized trinkets. “We were blown away," one of the archaeologists said. "We thought, this has got to be the place.”The MythThere was a young daughter of a powerful chief with that name, Pocahontas, and that is fact.

Is President Bush Telling Us the Truth?

by Institute for Public Accuracy

AUTHORITY TO USE FORCEPresident George Bush, March 17: "Under Resolutions 678 and 687 -- both still in effect -- the U.S. and our allies are authorized to use force in ridding Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.... Last September, I went to the UN General Assembly and urged the nations of the world to unite and bring an end to this danger. On November 8th, the Security Council unanimously passed Resolu

Why Iraq Is Not Analogous to the Cuban Missile Crisis or the Occupation of Japan

by Michael Richards

In recent weeks, the Bush administration has frequently seized on the last refuge of the faltering debater: historical analogies. Historical analogies have their uses, but when they are faulty they only mislead. First there was the reinterpretation of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Comparing President Kennedy's action and President Bush's intentions, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said that Kennedy undertook pre-emptive action against the Soviet introduction of nucle

How Really New Is the New Bush National Security Strategy?

by Thomas M. Nichols

Last month, the Bush Administration issued "The National Security Strategy of the United States," a document required by law and produced in every presidential administration. The reaction to this report has been, in some quarters, extremely negative: critics argue it is little more than a blueprint for the arrogant establishment of an American Empire by force.And indeed, "The National Security Strategy of

Censorship in Texas

by Samantha Smoot

For decades, a handful of extreme conservative activists have dominated the process that determines what textbooks will be used in Texas schools.Led historically by local East Texas activists Mel and Norma Gabler and Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, these groups aim to re-shape books that will end up in classrooms across not only Texas but the country -- books they insist should teach more about Christianity and traditional gender roles, cut "unpatriotic" content about slavery and discrimination, and eliminate environmental issues that reflect poorly on the free enterprise system.These activists have demanded alarming changes to textbooks over the years:· Censoring a photo of a woman with a briefcase saying goodbye to her child · Criticizing a text on slavery for "overkill of emphasis on cruelty to slaves" · Insisting that the African-American family depicted in a section on 'The American Family' be replaced with Anglos.Sadly, this year's review of Social Studies textbooks is shaping up to be no different.In the first of three public hearings on proposed books, members of far-right organizations testified that:

Is Israel in Violation of UN Resolution 242?

by Judith Apter Klinghoffer

On Friday March 1, 2002 in an interview on Egyptian television National Security advisor Condoleezza Rice stated that"the definition of the borders of the Palestinian state must be decided during negotiations." With these words she reaffirmed the Bush administration's adherence to UN Security Council Resolution 242 and its rejection of the longstanding Arab demand reiterated by the"new" Saudi plan that Israel withdraw to the June 4, 1967 borders. For whether the Palestinians and their

Congressional Oversight and the Crippling of the CIA

by Stephen F. Knott

One utterly predictable response to the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington were calls by members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees to “shake-up” the Central Intelligence Agency. Some committee members want to see CIA Director George Tenet replaced, others are demanding radical changes in both the analytical and operational divisions of the agency. It would be shortsighted for the intelligence committees to place the blame for this latest intelligenc

The Bogus Lincoln Quote Kevin Phillips Fell For

by Matthew Pinsker

Editor's Note:A generation ago Thomas Bailey proposed that the history profession maintain a computer database of historical myths so that scholars could avoid repeating hoary stories their colleagues had exposed as fakes. Alas, nobody took up Bailey's suggestion (which remains a good one!) and the myths continue to pile up like a long bad car wreck.The latest writer to end up on this highway junk heap is Kevin Phillips. Just a few pages into hi

Time for the Old Left to Come to Terms with What Happened in Spain

by Ronald Radosh

For a response to this piece from Robert Whealey click here. Last summer, on the anniversary of the Spanish Civil War, Yale historian Mary Habeck and I published what we hoped would be an important new book, Spain Betrayed:The Soviet Union in the Spanish Civil War. For decades, the mythology perpetrated by the pro-Communist Left and its legions of fellow-travelers have dominated th

The Pearl Harbor Myth

by Ira Chernus

Just a week after the terrorist attack on the United States, National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice insisted that"this isn't Pearl Harbor." Despite her disclaimer, millions have used the story of Dec. 7, 1941, to interpret the attack of Sept. 11, 2001.The story of a nation aroused to fight on until the enemy is utterly vanquished has become our shared myth. But its appeal is as dangerous as it is irresistible. Clinging to it now promises only an endless cycle of conflict

It Didn't Start With Earl Warren

by Mark Kozlowski

In a recent Washington Post op-ed piece, Joseph Califano, who was Jimmy Carter's Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, and who is now a Democratic Party eminence grise, considered how closely the Senate should scrutinize President Bush's federal judicial nominees. It has long been the case, Califano argued, that the Senate has paid considerable deference to a president's choices for the federal bench, confirming vir

Arthur Schlesinger's Swipe at Ike

by David L. Snead

In a recent letter to the editor of the New York Times Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. argues that John F. Kennedy abandoned Dwight D. Eisenhower's national security apparatus because of its ineffectiveness. While the focus of the article and Schlesinger's arguments was the Bay of Pigs, Schlesinger's placing of blame for the fiasco on the Eisenhower administration raises some significant questions as to how presidents make and then follow through on decisions. Although Eisenhower's decision-m

Was Kennedy Cheered When He Announced We Were Going to the Moon?

by Alice George

Editor's Note: This article was first published in February 2004. In popular memory, President John F. Kennedy boldly declared in 1961 that Americans should race to the moon, and the nation rallied around him. Nothing like that happened when George W. Bush recently endorsed a return to the moon and a manned mission to Mars. In fact, nothing like that happened when Kennedy issued his challenge either. Like Bush, Kennedy faced valid questions in 1961 about whether it was

Did the Founding Fathers Really Get Many of Their Ideas of Liberty from the Iroquois?

by Jack Rakove

Editor's Note: On Monday July 4th the New York Times published an op ed by journalist James Mann that made broad claims about the influence of the Iroquois on American constitutional history. Specifically, he argued that the Founding Fathers were deeply influenced by Indian ideas of liberty and that our very form of government was shaped in decisive ways by Indian influences at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. True? Others have advanced this argument in the past and even convinced NY State a few years ago to adopt this view in teaching assignments. We asked Stanford historian Jack Rakove to assess the legitimacy of Mann's argument.   _______________________________________  

The RNC's Historically Incorrect History of the Political Parties

by Ed Pompeian

After the DNC Chairman Howard Dean characterized the Republican Party as a “white Christian party” a few weeks ago, Peter Kirsanow commented in the National Review. Kirsanow objected to Dean’s characterization and argued that Democrats were guilty of more “historical hostility toward minorities” than the GOP. To emphasize his point, Kirsanow credited Democrats with a variety

Kingdom of Heaven: What Parts Are Real?

by Timothy R. Furnish

My expectations upon entering the theater for Kingdom of Heaven were legion. As a movie buff, I had high hopes for another Ridley Scott film. As a historian of the Islamic world, I couldn’t wait to see the portrayal of the great Salah al-Din. As a history professor who likes to send his students to write papers on such historical movies, the chariot wreck that Oliver Stone had managed to make out of Alexander was still fresh in my mind. And as a Christian (albeit of the non-Catholic variety), I fully expected yet another two-dimensional bashing of my medieval co-religionists (may my Lutheran credentials not be revoked for saying that).Well, Scott made a better movie than Stone, but in doing so sacrificed a great deal of historical accuracy and believability on the altar of wishful thinking.