Recently in History Category
Most Americans believe in a constitutional right to privacy -- but does it really exist? The answer is yes, but it's not as clear-cut as most people think.
In early 2003, Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania announced his belief that no American has a Constitutional right to privacy, a shocking assertion to hear from a high government official. Because this was inserted as an aside in a more controversial statement, it was mostly overlooked -- but not entirely.
Pundits have been weighing in the subject sporadically ever since. The dismaying fact is, Santorum was right -- to a certain extent. There's no specific mention of the word "privacy" anywhere in the U.S. Constitution. But that doesn't mean that the subject isn't covered there, and it's time that myth was busted.
If there's one subject we can count on to provide us with abundant misperceptions, it's history -- which is why we're returned to take another look at history myths.
Why are there so many history myths? Probably because as kids, we tend to accept whatever our teachers tell us as gospel. While teachers don't usually mean us harm, they've been known to pass on the occasional, accidental morsel of misinformation. Some myths get passed down this way for centuries.
The upshot is that some things we know to be true simply aren't, and history seems to offer more examples than most fields of study. That's why we've come back to the subject for this episode of Mythbusters. Here are three more popular myths we've ferreted out, along with the truth about each.
Still got the history blues? Maybe the truth about these three history myths will help.
It's been said that we teach our children our history myths, not our actual history. Maybe that's true, because there's no shortage of myths about the historical record. In Part I.html of this article, we looked at four such myths, covering everything from Napoleon's stature to Betsy Ross; in this half, we'll take on three more myths.
Don't know much about history? Then you'll be happy to see these history myths fall by the wayside.
Some scholars spend their entire careers trying to set the facts straight about history myths. And yet these myths persist, probably because they're bite-sized ways to make history simple and interesting.
This is no surprise, really, since there's so much history to learn about, and it tends to be so complex -- and, ultimately, so mundane. But that doesn't mean we can't keep trying! In this two-part article, we'll introduce you to the reality behind some common myths about history. Let's get right to it, shall we?
