For university I am studying a subject called American studies, it is based on a study on the myths that made the U. S. A. Beimg myself an Italian i don't know if thisytj are still important today or if they doesn't have a value anymore. So my question is what is the myth that, according to you, is still relevant in today American society?
The myth I am studying are the founding myth of Christopher Columbus that in 1492 discovered America, the myth of Pocahontas and the first contact between English people and native American inhabitants, the pilgrim fathers and the myth of the founding fathers.
Do you thing that this myth were important for the organization of the USA of today? Do you think they are important or there are other important myth about America?
The picture i am using are a representation of the signature of the Declaration of indipendence in 1776, it was made by John Trumbull in 1818 and can be found in Washington D. C. While the second picture is a representation of the discovery of America made by Columbus.
What do you think it's the founding myth that made U. S America?
You know schools have not been teaching the truth about US American history for the last 40 years or better
And some of the stuff you say are myths, some are really tall tale lies and some are true, but their history been twisted over the centuies being told.
You want to find the real truth, well your not going to find it online or in some modern made book.
Your going to have to find America's Books of Secrets. Going back, way back before George Washington wss even born.
Because we all have bern taught lies. Example That blacks were the only slave in the USA. Fact is, all races were used as slaves.
What race got screwed over the most in history? Not the blacks, it was the Jews
@Jaysonava so your saying there were no white slaves, no chinnse slaves, ni Jewish slaves. That there were only black slaves. Maybe you should learn the real history
But during the days of slavery in the United States, the Chinese were paid laborers and blacks were not paid laborers. In that the Chinese received money at the end of the day for their work, and the black people did not.
Jewish worker - work = $ Chinese worker - work = $ Black worker - work = 0
White slavery, Jewish slavery and Chinese slavery occurred at different periods of time and in different locations and different contexts. The Confederacy was definitely geared toward sustaining the institution of BLACK slaves specifically.
The point of slavery in the times of the confederacy was to be able to own BLACK slaves! This is abundantly clear.
During the Confederacy, the vast majority of blacks received 0 money, and the vast majority of anyone else received compensation for their work.
During other periods in other places it was different. But the confederacy was built around keeping BLACK people enslaved. Not chinese, not jewish, not white.
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The myth is that the founders of America were wonderful decent kind religious people. They were not. They were genocidal, murdering, lying sociopaths who killed off the native population for profit, and then proceeded to enslave as many black people as they could for profit, and decided that Capitalism was a good idea, again for profit. Their descendants have been starting one war after another since 1945, again for - you guessed it - profit.
The americas already existed nothing new. Columbus caused so much suffering by going back to the colony empires and that’s why the natives where nearly wiped out. Nothing new was discovered because it was already home to native Americans.
America as a “city on a hill.” This one was started by the Puritans who founded Harvard, which became the dominant ideological institution in the US. It continues to this day.
Manifest Destiny: The idea that God willed that the US should dominate North America. It almost resulted in an invasion of Canada and in the complete conquest of Mexico.
Constitutionalism: The idea that the US is governed in strict adherence to a written document. This myth is waning in influence.
Civil Rights: The idea that the purpose of America is the progressive liberation of one marginalized group after another from evil oppressors. This myth is gaining influence.
The United States Independence Day was on July 4th, 1776. It's a Federal Holiday, and we say "4th of July" for short.
Columbus Day (October 12th) is a Federal Holiday here, celebrated on the 2nd Monday of October. He's the first European to make it back to the Americas (1492) after the Vikings in the 900s.
Pocahontas was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia in the 1610s. She married a colonist from England (John Rolfe) and had a son (Thomas Rolfe).
Hope this helps some, based on the specific things you asked about in your question. 👍
None of those things are myths; they all happened as a matter of historical fact. Even Pocahontas is a verifiably real person. The mythical part comes from the national American identity of exceptionalism and tolerance; but the people and events you cited are very real.
Actually the romanticism of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is there. John adams (founding father) inspected the painting after it was created as he was still alive. He was disappointed with it. Philadelphia (the capital of the us at the time) was under British control and there is no way that all of the founders would be in one room. They were all wanted for treason and in enemy territory. Throughout the spring and summer they were filtering through Philadelphia to sign whenever they were there.
Yes what I study above law subject. It was related to it. It is like big data. So you can find the myth between English and america. And I sum up mine to find something. It was not wrong on English or america but American plant the evil seeds that make them so. So there is a right way.
Columbus did find some long lost people who wandered over an ice bridge and discovered the American continents… for the rest of the world. God knows we would still be waiting if it was the natives who had to discover Europe.
The only ''myth'' I know of is, that ''America'' is a place where losers can escape to and STILL are given a chance to live well. But... I have a feeling that you rather mean ''vision'', ''mission'', ''core values''?
I am not saying that I agree with all of this, but I am talking about something I am studying, the myth of Columbus was created some century ago, right now a lot of people cryticized this and I think they are right, Columbus didn't do nothing good
Columbus isn't a myth, the fact that he tried to make a voyage to india shows the "americas" were still covered for the old world and the world world was still covered for the americas.
Yes I know but Columbus was seen as a founding figure in the US in fact there are a lot of statue in his honor and also an holiday in is honor on October 12.
I'm well aware of that. The fact that a holiday exists doesn't mean it's accurate. Columbus should not be credited for discovering land he never set foot on. Nor can land be "discovered" when it's already inhabited.
Of course I know that America and US are two different things, I am not saying he need to be creditad for that, I am just state a fact I read in a book and how he was perceived by people fork the US in the past.
@Yanifah Of course land and people can be discovered.
You gonna hear often people saying they "discovered" a new obscure band. IE, by uncovering, IE, showing that band to you they are discovering, IE, removing the cover of oblivion.
By that metric, we can't discover new phenomena, new species, new land at all as least on earth, new elements, etc, because all existed before.
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First, your pictures are drawings, so of course they’d be after said history. But the best myth is American Exceptionalism that we’re the shining beacon for freedom in the world.
I know whay happened when he arrived in America, I used the world discovery because it was it for European people, I am not saying that he did good things there, we can find some information on Columbus' diary about that.
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