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Common historical fallacies: Difference between revisions
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** but even the most objectively-minded teacher has as a point of view, an underlying outlook | ** but even the most objectively-minded teacher has as a point of view, an underlying outlook | ||
== US History fallacies | == US History fallacies: general == | ||
=== George Washington did not cut down a cherry tree === | |||
* that Washington cut down a cherry tree and, when confronted about it by his father, replied, "I cannot tell a lie" has been considered a fabrication | * that Washington cut down a cherry tree and, when confronted about it by his father, replied, "I cannot tell a lie" has been considered a fabrication | ||
* Parson Weems told the story in the 5th edition of his "The Life of Washington" (1806) | * Parson Weems told the story in the 5th edition of his "The Life of Washington" (1806) | ||
** long considered apocryphal (a made up story to make a valid point), there is no evidence that Washington <nowiki>''did not''</nowiki> cut down the cherry tree | ** long considered apocryphal (a made up story to make a valid point), there is no evidence that Washington <nowiki>''did not''</nowiki> cut down the cherry tree | ||
=== contrary evidence 1: the story is plausible === | |||
** whether or not apocryphal, Weems related the story to illustrate Washington's high character | ** whether or not apocryphal, Weems related the story to illustrate Washington's high character | ||
** but the story is not implausible (unlikely): | ** but the story is not implausible (unlikely): | ||
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*** a hatchet would be a very valuable gift for a young boy and one that would certainly not go unused | *** a hatchet would be a very valuable gift for a young boy and one that would certainly not go unused | ||
*** a six-year old could plausibly chop down a small Cherry tree | *** a six-year old could plausibly chop down a small Cherry tree | ||
=== contrary evidence 2: primary source witness to the event === | |||
* Weems was told the story by an elderly woman who had been friends with the family | |||
** it is, therefore, from a primary source (a witness) | ** it is, therefore, from a primary source (a witness) | ||
** Weems did not give her name, so she remains an anonymous primary source | ** Weems did not give her name, so she remains an anonymous primary source | ||
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** https://www.nps.gov/articles/george-washington-and-the-cherry-tree.htm | ** https://www.nps.gov/articles/george-washington-and-the-cherry-tree.htm | ||
== The Declaration's "All men are created equal" only applied to white males == | |||
* the phrase "all men" logically refers to "all people" because: | * the phrase "all men" logically refers to "all people" because: | ||
** as included in the Declaration of Independence, the clause "that all men are created equal", | ** as included in the Declaration of Independence, the clause "that all men are created equal", | ||
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== US History fallacies: slavery == | |||
=== Slavery was the basis of the colonial and antebellum American economy === | === Slavery was the basis of the colonial and antebellum American economy === | ||
* here we must distinguish between slave and free economies, generally North and South | |||
* modern historians have argued that slavery was the basis for the entire US economy | |||
* this entry will look into evidence for and against that claim | |||
==== background notes on colonial slavery ==== | |||
* by 1790, Virginia and Maryland had by far the highest slave populations (w/ North Carolina following) | |||
** slavery in the Upper South was focused on tobacco planting and processing | |||
** however, with the advent of mass cotton production, demand for slaves grew in the deep South | |||
*** 500,000-800,000 slaves were sold from the Upper to the Lower southern states | |||
**** note that this movement of people constituted one of the largest forced migrations in history | |||
**** In the book, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," Harriett Beecher Stowe called it "to be sold down the river" | |||
** this expansion was significant in western portions of the South, principally in the Mississippi River valley that was part of the Louisiana Purchase | |||
*** where lands were fertile, available and inexpensive | |||
** as cotton production grew, the southern economy became focused on the slave system that sustained it | |||
*** not all slaves produced cotton (about 56% of slaves worked on cotton plantations by 1860) | |||
**** but most of those who did not produce cotton worked to support the cotton economy | |||
**** as did poor whites | |||
* sources: | |||
** http://pressbooks-dev.oer.hawaii.edu/ushistory/chapter/the-economics-of-cotton/ | |||
** https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/167224 | |||
** https://reason.com/2018/07/19/slavery-did-not-make-america-r/ | |||
** https://networks.h-net.org/node/11465/discussions/4297558/poor-whites-antebellum-us-south-topical-guide | |||
==== logical fallacy 1: slave-produced exports were the driving force of the antebellum U.S. economy ==== | ==== logical fallacy 1: slave-produced exports were the driving force of the antebellum U.S. economy ==== | ||
* while cotton represented a significant portion of antebellum exports, | * while cotton represented a significant portion of antebellum exports, | ||
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* Note that about75% of total cotton production was exported | |||
</div> | </div> | ||
[[File:Slavery in the 13 colonies.jpg|thumb|Enslaved populations in the Thirteen Colonies in 1770.[1]]] | [[File:Slavery in the 13 colonies.jpg|thumb|Enslaved populations in the Thirteen Colonies in 1770.[1]]] | ||
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**** just as an office building has a value but its economic output is measured not by its value but by the sum of its rents | **** just as an office building has a value but its economic output is measured not by its value but by the sum of its rents | ||
==== logical fallacy 4: black population growth | ==== logical fallacy 4: black population growth higher without slavery ==== | ||
* according to the decennial Census count: | * according to the decennial Census count: | ||
** only in the 1810 Census count did black population growth ''under slavery'' exceed that of non-black population growth | ** only in the 1810 Census count did black population growth ''under slavery'' exceed that of non-black population growth | ||
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</div> | </div> | ||
=== Slavery was not profitable === | |||
* in the early to mid 20th century, Confederacy apologists and "Lost Cause" historians argued that slavery was not profitable and had stagnated by the time of the Civil War | |||
** these historians argued that, as a result its unprofitability and inefficiency, slavery as an institution would have died off on its own in the American South | |||
** and that more profitable and efficient uses of labor and capital would replace slavery | |||
==== contrary evidence 1: antebellum South had highest per capital wealth ==== | |||
==== problem with contrary evidence 1: Southern wealth was tied to land and slaves ==== | |||
* the principal source of the wealth of the slave South was due to land and slave speculation | |||
** which drove up prices and thus values | |||
** as a result, | |||
==== contrary evidence 1: slavery was profitable ==== | |||
* | |||
=== Slavery | |||
=== Colonial and early Republic southern white slave owners & manumission === | === Colonial and early Republic southern white slave owners & manumission === | ||