# Which historical events have been most misrepresented? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 22, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288 "2015-04-22T15:05:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/21 "2015-04-23T03:43:01Z")
The execution of Yeshua bar Yosef. People have really read a lot into that event. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/22 "2015-04-23T04:16:54Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > Which historical events have been most misrepresented? The trial of Galieo certainly has to be at the top of the list, for how it’s been used for centuries as evidence of the Catholic Church being anti-science. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/23 "2015-04-23T04:28:37Z")
Battle of the Alamo. Really the Mexicans took it pretty easily and Davey Crocket didnt go down swinging. However it did galvanize the Texans into fighting back. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/24 "2015-04-23T12:18:06Z")
In more recent history, consider Woodstock. There were something like 400,000 people there. But, something like 20 million Boomers claim to have been there. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/25 "2015-04-23T13:10:06Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Heck, look at **Birth of a Nation**. Truly cringe-worthy in its depiction of Reconstruction legislatures, filled with stereotyped blacks The difference being that _Birth of a Nation_, while popular at the time, has been basically a historical artifact for ages now. _GWTW_, in both its book and movie forms, was immensely popular for decades, and probably still is. I’m sure it did a **lot** more to shape what people thought of Reconstruction during the 20th century than _Birth of a Nation_ did. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/26 "2015-04-23T13:18:08Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The difference being that _Birth of a Nation_, while popular at the time, has been basically a historical artifact for ages now. > > _GWTW_, in both its book and movie forms, was immensely popular for decades, and probably still is. I’m sure it did a **lot** more to shape what people thought of Reconstruction during the 20th century than _Birth of a Nation_ did. It is now, but Dixon’s book _The Klansman_ (on which the film was based) was immensely popular in its time, as was the film. There’s not as big a difference as you seem to think. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/27 "2015-04-23T13:32:35Z")
Neo-Nazis misrepresenting the bombing of Dresden as some kind of allied war-crime. That one’s so widely believed that I have no doubt it’s coming as news to people right now. Sorry, it’s the invention of that repulsive Hitler apologist David Irving. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/28 "2015-04-23T13:54:09Z")
I read somewhere (can someone find a quote?) that there is no trace in biblical Hebrew of any borrowings from ancient Coptic, the language of Egypt at the time. Since the Hebrews were supposed to have been enslaved there for a couple generations, this puts the whole Passover story in serious doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/29 "2015-04-23T14:07:53Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Battle of the Alamo. > > Really the Mexicans took it pretty easily and Davey Crocket didnt go down swinging. However it did galvanize the Texans into fighting back. The Mexicans could have taken it more easily if they’d waited for their heavy artillery to arrive. Or they might have been able to negotiate a surrender But Santa Ana wanted Military Glory–since his brother in law had lost San Antonio in the first place. (Of course, The General stayed far out of danger until the shooting stopped.) The assault killed far too many of his best troops–who would have been useful, later. All the evidence indicates Crockett died bravely, even if he tried to surrender first–like someone with a brain. His earlier career was more interesting than his end; it’s too bad he arrived in Texas a that time & place. Coming to History Channel this Memorial Day: _Texas Rising_! There’s an interesting cast but it will indoctrinate a brand new generation in balderdash. Like [The Yellow Rose of Texas](https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/xey01). (Brought to you by the same folks who peddled\* Sons of Liberty\*.) ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/30 "2015-04-23T14:11:25Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I read somewhere (can someone find a quote?) that there is no trace in biblical Hebrew of any borrowings from ancient Coptic, the language of Egypt at the time. Since the Hebrews were supposed to have been enslaved there for a couple generations, this puts the whole Passover story in serious doubt. The Exodus isn’t history - it is mythology. The people who believe it literally happened the way it is depicted in the Bible (or at all) do so for religious reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/31 "2015-04-23T14:13:11Z")
China’s “cultural revolution” ? That was a purge, not a mere education exercise. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/32 "2015-04-23T14:13:25Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > Plus, ya know, the whole Western genre which with very rare exeptions greatly misrepresents the actual history. That’d probably be the winner hands down if we’re just talking about sheer output of misleading media. Absolutely. Films and books have mythologized that period in American history into something almost unrecognizable. Actual things about the Old West: - There were probably only a few hundred cowboys at any one time, spread across all the vast expanse of the West. - Face to face gunfights on Main Street, a staple of Western films, were so exceedingly rare that some historians have argued there never was a single one. - The Pony Express was only a going concern for about 18 months, and was a failure. ---
**Author:** ![misling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@misling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misling)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/33 "2015-04-23T14:46:44Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > - Face to face gunfights on Main Street, a staple of Western films, were so exceedingly rare that some historians have argued there never was a single one. True, that. I wonder though, was there ONE such event that made such an impression that it got retold over and over with variations… the (single) real event that formed the basis of that Western Mythology. No real evidence of that, though. Probably a not-so-urban legend, like the kidneys and bathtub story is now. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/34 "2015-04-23T15:05:09Z")
The death of Michael Brown. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/35 "2015-04-23T15:17:59Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Battle of the Alamo. And the Texan War of Independence in general. It’s often depicted as a fight for liberty and freedom, when in fact one of the causes was that Mexico had abolished slavery and the Texans wanted to keep their slaves. Ironically, the Battle of the Alamo itself resulted in freedom for two individuals: slaves owned by Jim Bowie and William Travis. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/36 "2015-04-23T15:52:27Z")
> [@misling](#): > > True, that. I wonder though, was there ONE such event that made such an impression that it got retold over and over with variations… the (single) real event that formed the basis of that Western Mythology. > No real evidence of that, though. Probably a not-so-urban legend, like the kidneys and bathtub story is now. That would be the famous Gunfight at the OK Corral. And yes, it’s pretty much the only real-life shootout that we know of. If someone got shot in Old West, they were almost always shot in the back, by an opponent they probably never saw coming. In terms of actual crime rates, however, the true irony is that the big cities back East were far, far more dangerous places to live than any Western cow town. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/37 "2015-04-23T16:28:01Z")
The Boston Massacre. “Massacre” is a bit of an exaggeration. ---
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/38 "2015-04-23T16:31:10Z")
Since there’s so much talk in this thread about WWI, how about the [Spanish flu?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_flu_pandemic) It isn’t so much that it’s been misrepresented over the years; it’s just that _nobody talks about it,_ even though it killed more people than WWI itself. Still, it’s name is misrepresented, given that it didn’t actually originate in Spain. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/39 "2015-04-23T16:34:37Z")
> [@misling](#): > > True, that. I wonder though, was there ONE such event that made such an impression that it got retold over and over with variations… the (single) real event that formed the basis of that Western Mythology. > No real evidence of that, though. Probably a not-so-urban legend, like the kidneys and bathtub story is now. If there’s one that lends itself to it, I’d say it’s the [Hickock-Tutt](http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-gunfights3.html#Bill%20Hickok-David%20Tutt%20Shootout) shootout. They squared off and dueled from about 75 yards in the Springfield, Missouri square. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288/40 "2015-04-23T16:37:42Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It is now, but Dixon’s book _The Klansman_ (on which the film was based) was immensely popular in its time, as was the film. > > There’s not as big a difference as you seem to think. Sure there is. For how long was it popular? _Birth of a Nation_ and _GWTW_ were released as movies just 25 years apart. _GWTW_ is still deeply embedded in our culture - put Scarlett and Rhett in the same sentence, and you don’t even need to bother with last names - but _Birth of a Nation_ wasn’t like that 50 years ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-historical-events-have-been-most-misrepresented/718288.md?page=3)