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Portage Lakes, Ohio —
OKAY EVERYONE… students too. It's time for history lessons. Now before your teacher accuses me of being a few eggs shy of an omelet, I'll assure you the following is documented. It's just we've been taught the more popular renditions of these historical incidents, rather than what actually happened.
For example, the story of Paul Revere riding into Concord warning the citizens “the British are coming,” is known to all. Revere was immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, “The Landlord's Tale: Paul Revere's Ride.” The only problem was it never happened. Longfellow wrote a poem, not history. Revere never made it to Concord. He did ride into Lexington April 17, 1775 warning, “The regulars,” as the British army was called, “are coming.”
The next day William Dawes, a cobbler, and Dr. Samuel Prescott joined Revere heading for Concord to warn citizens of British troop movements. After the three were captured by a British patrol, Revere was questioned and detained. Released, Dawes headed back to Lexington. But it was Prescott who warned the colonists. Revere was freed the next day and since the British kept his horse, he hoofed it to Lexington on foot. Thus it was Doctor Prescott who made the immortal ride into Concord, not Paul Revere. Perhaps Longfellow found the name Revere easier to rhyme than Prescott.
Here's another fable we're all taught. The first capital of the United States was New York City, Right? Wrong! The first capital was Philadelphia with Baltimore number two.
With the British advancing on Philadelphia in late 1777 the Continental Congress traveled west to Lancaster (#3) and then crossed the Susquehanna River at Columbia into York County. From there they continued west to the colonial village of York, PA (#4) where they held Continental Congress until June 1778 before returning to Philadelphia. Because York was the birthplace of the Articles of Confederation, city fathers claim it to be the first capital. Other capital cities were Princeton, NJ (#5), Annapolis, MD (#6) and Trenton, NJ (#7). New York City finally comes in at number eight followed by Philadelphia again and then D.C.
And speaking of presidents, I suppose you think George Washington was the country's first. Nothing could be farther from being accurate. How about the eighth?
Think about it. Washington wasn't elected under the new constitution until 1789. So who then led the nation those first 13 years? Well, the Revolutionary War took up most of the Founding Fathers' time. The country, run by Continental Congress, was led by John Hancock. But it wasn't until 1781 when the first president was elected under the Articles of Confederation. His name was John Hanson and he served for one year. The second prez was Elias Boudinot, followed by Thomas Mifflin, Richard Henry Lee, Nathan Gorman, Arthur St. Claire, Cyrus Griffin and in the eighth spot, good ol' George Washington. While Washington served two four year terms under the new constitution, the first seven served one year each.
OKAY EVERYONE… students too. It's time for history lessons. Now before your teacher accuses me of being a few eggs shy of an omelet, I'll assure you the following is documented. It's just we've been taught the more popular renditions of these historical incidents, rather than what actually happened.
For example, the story of Paul Revere riding into Concord warning the citizens “the British are coming,” is known to all. Revere was immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, “The Landlord's Tale: Paul Revere's Ride.” The only problem was it never happened. Longfellow wrote a poem, not history. Revere never made it to Concord. He did ride into Lexington April 17, 1775 warning, “The regulars,” as the British army was called, “are coming.”
The next day William Dawes, a cobbler, and Dr. Samuel Prescott joined Revere heading for Concord to warn citizens of British troop movements. After the three were captured by a British patrol, Revere was questioned and detained. Released, Dawes headed back to Lexington. But it was Prescott who warned the colonists. Revere was freed the next day and since the British kept his horse, he hoofed it to Lexington on foot. Thus it was Doctor Prescott who made the immortal ride into Concord, not Paul Revere. Perhaps Longfellow found the name Revere easier to rhyme than Prescott.
Here's another fable we're all taught. The first capital of the United States was New York City, Right? Wrong! The first capital was Philadelphia with Baltimore number two.
With the British advancing on Philadelphia in late 1777 the Continental Congress traveled west to Lancaster (#3) and then crossed the Susquehanna River at Columbia into York County. From there they continued west to the colonial village of York, PA (#4) where they held Continental Congress until June 1778 before returning to Philadelphia. Because York was the birthplace of the Articles of Confederation, city fathers claim it to be the first capital. Other capital cities were Princeton, NJ (#5), Annapolis, MD (#6) and Trenton, NJ (#7). New York City finally comes in at number eight followed by Philadelphia again and then D.C.
And speaking of presidents, I suppose you think George Washington was the country's first. Nothing could be farther from being accurate. How about the eighth?
Think about it. Washington wasn't elected under the new constitution until 1789. So who then led the nation those first 13 years? Well, the Revolutionary War took up most of the Founding Fathers' time. The country, run by Continental Congress, was led by John Hancock. But it wasn't until 1781 when the first president was elected under the Articles of Confederation. His name was John Hanson and he served for one year. The second prez was Elias Boudinot, followed by Thomas Mifflin, Richard Henry Lee, Nathan Gorman, Arthur St. Claire, Cyrus Griffin and in the eighth spot, good ol' George Washington. While Washington served two four year terms under the new constitution, the first seven served one year each.
And George Washington could not have thrown a silver dollar across the Potomac River. The first dollar wasn't minted until 1794, five years before Washington's death at age 67. Not to mention at its narrowest point the Potomac River is one half mile wide.
Most of us know Abraham Lincoln was a great president, so it only stands to reason that he must've developed his greatness from previous positions. But let's take a look at his past.
In 1832 Lincoln ran for the Illinois state legislature and not only lost the race but also lost his job. The following year his grocery business failed. Lincoln worked for the next 15 years paying off the debt. It was later when he was finally elected to the state legislature but lost races for the Illinois House Speaker's position in both 1836 and 1838.
In 1843 Lincoln ran for the United States Congress and lost. Then in 1846 he won the congressional seat but lost re-election two years later. In 1849 he lost a race for land officer. The U.S. Senate race in 1854 was his next loss and two years later he lost a bid for the vice-presidency of the United States.
In 1858 Lincoln again lost a bid for the U.S. Senate seat but in 1860 he won a three-man race for the U.S. Presidency and was re-elected four years later. History correctly tells us how well that worked out.
Finally, contrary to what we've been taught, in 1898 the United States did not initiate the war on Spain. On April 24, Spain declared war on the U.S. to start the Spanish-American War. America answered, declaring war on Spain the very next day. But not wanting to be upstaged by the Spanish, they had the date of their declaration moved back to April 21.
Comments may be emailed to: Frankweaverjr@aol.com
