DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HISTORY? HERE ARE THINGS THAT MOST PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW ABOUT HISTORY
They say the world has become a global village because of the advancement of modern technology. The statement could be very true to some aspect. But on the other hand, there are dozens of facts that are hidden to many people. History could be explained as the whole series of past events connected with someone or something, its something that is best shared with others, debated and endlessly discussed. You will not be surprised to find out that what you have spent your entire time believing as the truth is the complete opposite. That’s exactly what defines history and gives it the power to make it alive.
There are lots of events that occurred in the past, and at that time, no one knew what we are told about them today. They are history. Some of these ancient facts have been revealed below.
The first hidden history we will look at was about Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving day was not originally intended to be a holiday as it is today. The original proposal was to give thanks, particularly to the constitution. The proclamation that was made in 1789 by George Washington was for a day of prayer to observe by acknowledging with great hearts the many signal favors of the Almighty God especially by giving them an opportunity to establish a government for their safety and happiness. It was intended to be a holiday of celebrating multi-cultural togetherness, the ritual observance of overconsumption and James Bond marathon, as it is used today.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s real first and middle name was not Martin Luther. This is some fact that very few know about. His first name was actually Michael. His father also had the same name. They both changed their chosen names after a trip to a place called Nazi in Germany. They both lived and died under the name Michael King Jr., which was their legal name. His doctorate degree later after his death came under scrutiny when Boston University concluded that he had plagiarized most of his doctoral dissertation. The doctor’s title was not scrapped though because after all, he had done so many nice things to balance that title.
Although Jamestown is most of the time credited as the first British colony, this could not be true, and Jamestown could just be the first town as far as the British were concerned. The Spanish had beaten them by close to a century and ended up setting St. Augustine in Florida in the year 1565. It’s well known that Vikings settled at a place called Newfoundland, the name tells it all around 1001 CE. And another important fact that is today recorded in a wrong way is that Vikings never wore horned helmets. This is a myth that was just created; given the fact that someone would think Vikings were warriors.
Today, we might tend to think that our dirty politicking is a new trend, that’s not true. Our negative campaign ads can’t beat the ones that existed in the past. There was an attack ad on FDR that claimed, “If he became convinced tomorrow that coming out for cannibalism would get him the so sorely needs, he would begin fattening a missionary in the white backyard come Wednesday”. Opponents decided to go for Lincoln’s face when they were fighting him.
It is also known that Disney and elementary school lied about that whole Pocahontas thing, what is not known is just to what extent the lie went. Well, this is the fact that is partially told, she was twelve when Smith and his compatriots first embarked on their whirlwind new world adventure. This would mean there was no tasteful romance with John Smith. She probably did not paint any of the colors of the wind and she didn’t save her life.
It is known by many that one person called Edison invented the light bulb. The fact is that Edison invented so many things that included the phonograph, the mimeograph, the carbon microphone, and moving pictures, but technically the light bulb is not his to claim. What Edison did was to develop the technology concurrently with Joseph Swan, a Briton who worked independently of Edison. Swan is the one who holds the authorship though most people credit Edison for inventing it.
Many believe that Abraham Lincoln might have been the first gay president of the United States of America. This is attributed by the many ballyhooed pillow talks that are with Joshua Speed to whom Lincoln shared a bed for many years. But such was a common practice of the era and doesn’t necessarily prove hanky-panky.
The civil war was a little more complicated than it was taught. It is recorded that the North and the South fought over the issue of slavery; the reasons are also far more mundane. The rebel south was seen as an insurrectionary state and a potential competing power that needed to be stopped. In truth, many northerners fighting didn’t care about slavery and the southerners enlisted were too poor to actually afford slaves.
The Korean War that was known as the forgotten war never actually ended. The United States and North Korea agreed to a ceasefire on July 27th, 1953 until the two sides could reach a final peaceful settlement. This settlement never happened and an actual peace treaty never signed. Many of the same battles are still fought today.
It is also recorded in history books that witches were burned at the stake during the Salem Witch Trials. This, however, is not wholly true. The main reason why this story is told is that of the fact that burning witches can be a good story to hear. The truth is that nobody actually got burned. During the notorious witch-hunt, nineteen accused practitioners of the dark arts were hung and one defendant was crushed to death with stones.