mythology — Bunk History

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Ralph Nader

The Myth of the “Pinto Memo” is Not a Hopeful Story for Our Time

Drawing analogies between industries can be instructive. But only if we do it right.

by Lee Vinsel via Medium on October 21, 2021

Statue of missionary Marcus Whitman in a park.

The Nomination of Chuck Sams to Lead the Park Service is Already Changing History

The NPS is working with Cayuse historians and students to correct a historical lie that shaped the West.

by Blaine Harden via Made by History on October 18, 2021

Oil cloth cape, worn to protect a firefighter’s upper body from embers and water. Likely from the Shiffler Fire Hose Company No. 32, of Philadelphia, founded in 1846.

There Was an Ashli Babbitt in the 19th Century. His Story Is a Warning.

To understand the right’s plans for Babbitt, look to George Shiffler.

by Zachary M. Schrag via Slate on September 1, 2021

Join or Die woodcut of a chopped up rattlesnake representing un-unified colonies.

The Serpents of Liberty

From the colonial period to the end of the US Civil War, the rattlesnake sssssssymbolized everything from evil to unity and power.

by Zachary Mcleod Hutchins, Matthew Wills via JSTOR Daily on August 30, 2021

Black and white photo of the 1940 Chevrolet half-ton.

The Rugged History of the Pickup Truck

At first, it was all about hauling things we needed. Then the vehicle itself became the thing we wanted.

by Jeff MacGregor via Smithsonian on August 17, 2021

A woman standing in a field.

Drug Prohibition and the Political Roots of Cartel Violence in Mexico

Until both American and Mexican police forces stop treating it like a war, the violence of drug prohibition won't stop.

by Benjamin T. Smith via HNN on August 8, 2021

Truman in car with dollar signs on eyes.

The Truman Show

How the 33rd president finagled his way to a post–White House fortune — and created a damaging precedent.

by Paul Campos via Intelligencer on July 24, 2021

Socialist deputies march with strikers on February 12 1934.

Feb 6 1934/Jan 6 2021

What do the two events really have in common?

by John Ganz via Unpopular Front on July 15, 2021

John Henry swinging a hammer, with the steam drill behind him.

John Henry and the Divinity of Labor

Variations in the legend of a steel-driving man tell us about differing American views of the value and purpose of work.

by Jake Maynard via Current Affairs on July 6, 2021

Newspaper with "Join or Die" slogan

Join, Or Die: Why Did It Have To Be Snakes?

Revolutionary Americans adopted native snakes as symbols for their cause. Why?

by J. L. Bell via Age of Revolutions on July 5, 2021

Bass Reeves

The Resurrection of Bass Reeves

Today, the legendary deputy U.S. marshal is widely believed to be the real Lone Ranger. But his true legacy is even greater.

by Christian Wallace via Texas Monthly on June 22, 2021

Drawing of the Alamo

How Racism, American Idealism, and Patriotism Created the Modern Myth of the Alamo and Davy Crockett

Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and Jason Stanford on the making of a misrepresented narrative.

by Chris Tomlinson, Jason Stanford, Bryan Burrough via Literary Hub on June 22, 2021

Old cars piled up under a bridge overpass.

New York: The Invention of an Imaginary City

How nostalgic fantasies about the “authentic” New York City obscure the real-world place.

by Yasmin Nair via Current Affairs on June 13, 2021

George Washington Carver painted in the role of George Washington crossing the Delaware, surrounded by racist caricaturess of African Americans

Robert Colescott Asks Us to Reimagine Icons of American History

Colescott satirizes an iconic painting of George Washington, and in doing so, challenges the viewer to reconsider their beliefs about American history.

by Sotheby's via YouTube on May 11, 2021

Four mysterious objects spotted in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1952.

How the Pentagon Started Taking U.F.O.s Seriously

For decades, flying saucers were a punch line. Then the U.S. government got over the taboo.

by Gideon Lewis-Kraus via The New Yorker on April 30, 2021

Rick Santorum

Rick Santorum and His Critics are Both Wrong About Native American History

The Founders terrorized and exterminated Native Americans instead of learning from them.

by Michael Leroy Oberg via Made by History on April 29, 2021

Illustration of Native Americans on horseback attacking a mail coach

How the U.S. Postal Service Forever Changed the West

A new book argues that mail service played a critical role in the U.S. government’s westward expansion and occupation of Native lands.

by Cameron Blevins, Laura Bliss via CityLab on April 21, 2021

Joe Biden surrounded by words emanating from a book.

Can America’s Problems Be Fixed By A President Who Loves Jon Meacham?

How a pop historian shaped the soul of Biden’s presidency.

by Kara Voght via Mother Jones on April 2, 2021

H.P. Lovecraft.

The Shadow Over H.P. Lovecraft

Recent works inspired by his fiction struggle to reckon with his racist fantasies.

by Siddhartha Deb via The New Republic on March 19, 2021

The Mystery of ‘Harriet Cole’

Whose body was harvested to create a spectacular anatomical specimen, and did that person know they would be on display more than a century later?

by Jessica Leigh Hester via Atlas Obscura on March 18, 2021

Illustration of Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, the likely inspiration for Molly Pitcher, stoking a cannon for the U.S. Pennsylvania artillery during the Battle of Monmouth.

Molly Pitcher, the Most Famous American Hero Who Never Existed

Americans don't need to rely on legends to tell the stories of women in the Revolution.

by Cassandra A. Good via Smithsonian on March 17, 2021

A pirate ship decorated for the Super Bowl.

The Buccaneers Embody Tampa’s Love of Pirates. Is That a Problem?

How brutal outlaws became romanticized.

by Jamie L. H. Goodall via Made by History on February 5, 2021

The ship, Jose Gaspar, in Tampa Bay during the Gasparilla Festival

The True History and Swashbuckling Myth Behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Namesake

Pirates did roam the Gulf Coast, but more myths than facts have inspired the regional folklore.

by Nora McGreevy via Smithsonian on February 4, 2021

Julian Bond

What Julian Bond Taught Me About Politics and Power

Lessons about organizing from the SNCC co-founder.

by Jeanne Theoharis via Black Perspectives on January 27, 2021

Sea Shanties and the Whale Oil Myth

Oil companies like to point to the demise of the whaling industry as an example of market-based energy solutions. The reality is much more complicated.

by Kate Aronoff via The New Republic on January 22, 2021

On the Insidious ‘Laziness Lie’ at the Heart of the American Myth

Devon Price wonders why we equate sloth with evil.

by Devon Price via Literary Hub on January 6, 2021

The Milky Way above Lanyon Quoit, a neolithic burial chamber in Cornwall, England.

What Big History Overlooks In Its Myth

Sweeping the human story into a cosmic tale is a thrill but we should be wary about what is overlooked in the grandeur.

by Ian Hesketh via Aeon on December 16, 2020

Johnny Cash poses for a portrait for a publicity shot

The Complications of “Outlaw Country”

Johnny Cash grappled with the many facets of the outlaw archetype in his feature acting debut, Five Minutes to Live.

by Kristin Hunt via JSTOR Daily on December 3, 2020

A television news reporter in a segment from the 1990s on juvenile crime

Superpredator

The media myth that demonized a generation of Black youth.

by Carroll Bogert, Lynnell Hancock via The Marshall Project on November 20, 2020

Abstract picture of Robert Johnson

The Devil Had Nothing to Do With It

“Robert Johnson was one of the most inventive geniuses of all time,” wrote Bob Dylan. “We still haven’t caught up with him.”

by Greil Marcus via New York Review of Books on November 13, 2020

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