W1: Myths of American History
Frankly, many popular stories and grade-school lessons about U.S. History are myths that Americans have perpetuated throughout the centuries. In some cases, they may be half-truths, while in others, they just never happened. How many of us learned about George Washington chopping down a cherry tree, and his being unable to lie about it? It is possible that some of these stories have remained fixed in our culture because they produce good citizens, while in others, we relieve our guilt for real or perceived past transgressions. Whatever the case, these myths exist in great measure.
For this discussion, you will need to Google “U.S. history myths” and choose a particular myth. Try to mix it up a little bit — if your peers have examined George Washington’s teeth a number of times, choose something different. Introduce your myth and the reality, then explain why you think this it has been immortalized in the American consciousness. For this last part, there is no wrong or right answer. More than anything, I am looking for your opinion.
Please, no myths past the timeframe of HIST 101 (i.e. past the year 1877). Also, try to avoid conspiracy theories, such as those involving the Freemasons, the Illuminati, or “Jewish space lasers.” History relies on facts.
You are allowed to use any of the citation formats in this course (APA, MLA, Chicago), but for those of you new to the Chicago Style citation format, I wanted to share a couple of references where you can learn more about when and how to cite, using the Chicago Style format. It is different from MLA and APA, so please take the time to review the rules and requirements. The biggest structure is that you use inline numerical citations where you need to give credit to a reference, and then include a corresponding footnote on the same page as the citation.
This first site gives a total breakdown of when and how to use Chicago Style cites:
This second site provides a quick, easy to review chart of the Chicago Style format:
And also:
