RATED TEXTBOOK

United States History: Beginnings
Michael J. Berson et al.
Harcourt/Horizons, 2003
Elementary school

Myths Perpetuated:

289: Samuel Adams “set up” the Boston Committee of Correspondence, with no help from his friends. See Founding Myths, chapter 3.

290: Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death” speech. See Founding Myths, chapter 8.

291: Paul Revere’s ride, slightly modified. See Founding Myths, chapter 1.

295: “Do not fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” See Founding Myths, chapter 9.

302: 500,000 copies of Common Sense sold in three months. See Founding Myths, chapter 6.

303-305: Thomas Jefferson’s creative genius gave us the Declaration of Independence. See Founding Myths, chapter 6.

304: The July 4 “Unanimous” Declaration of Independence. (This is a doctored version.) See Founding Myths, Conclusion.

310: Patriotic slaves believed in the Declaration of Independence; more slaves sided with the Americans than with the British. See Founding Myths, chapter 10.

318-319: “Molly Pitcher” was a real person. See Founding Myths, chapter 2.

319: The war of conquest in the West was a defensive maneuver to “defend” and “protect” settlers. See Founding Myths, chapter 13.

326: “It was clear that the war had been decided at Yorktown.” See Founding Myths, chapter 12.

Critical items neglected, which change our understanding of the Revolution:

The first seizure of political and military authority from the British — Massachusetts, 1774. See Founding Myths, chapter 4.

Over ninety state and local declarations of independence, which set the stage for the congressional declaration. See Founding Myths, chapter 6.

General Sullivan’s genocidal expedition against the Iroquois, the only significant American campaign of 1779. See Founding Myths, chapter 13.

The global context for the American Revolution — why the war continued after Yorktown. See Founding Myths, chapter 12.