Don't Know Much About HistoryHarper Collins, 2009 M10 13 - 752 pages Who really discovered America? What was "the shot heard 'round the world"? Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: Did he or didn't he? From the arrival of Columbus through the bizarre election of 2000 and beyond, Davis carries readers on a rollicking ride through more than 500 years of American history. In this updated edition of the classic anti-textbook, he debunks, recounts, and serves up the real story behind the myths and fallacies of American history. |
From inside the book
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Page 19
... seat of government longer than any other state capi- tal. (Proud New Mexicans now argue that the first Thanksgiving in America actually took place in Santa Fe.) If the Spanish were here first , what was so Brave New World 19.
... seat of government longer than any other state capi- tal. (Proud New Mexicans now argue that the first Thanksgiving in America actually took place in Santa Fe.) If the Spanish were here first , what was so Brave New World 19.
Page 23
... took another fifteen years and a new monarch in England to attempt colonization once again. But this time there would be a big difference: private enterprise had entered the picture. The costs of sponsoring a colony were too high for ...
... took another fifteen years and a new monarch in England to attempt colonization once again. But this time there would be a big difference: private enterprise had entered the picture. The costs of sponsoring a colony were too high for ...
Page 24
... took their toll . Crazed for food , some of the settlers were reduced to cannibalism , and one contemporary account tells of men " driven through insufferable hunger to eat those things which nature abhorred , " raiding both English and ...
... took their toll . Crazed for food , some of the settlers were reduced to cannibalism , and one contemporary account tells of men " driven through insufferable hunger to eat those things which nature abhorred , " raiding both English and ...
Page 25
... took his head in her arms” and begged for Smith's life. The basis for that legend is Smith's own version of events, which he related in the third person in his mem- oirs, and he was not exactly an impartial witness to history. David ...
... took his head in her arms” and begged for Smith's life. The basis for that legend is Smith's own version of events, which he related in the third person in his mem- oirs, and he was not exactly an impartial witness to history. David ...
Page 26
... took them back to Europe to be sold as slaves in Spain . But his mark on the colony was indelible . A hero of the American past ? Yes , but , like most heroes , not without flaws . After Smith's departure , his supposed savior ...
... took them back to Europe to be sold as slaves in Spain . But his mark on the colony was indelible . A hero of the American past ? Yes , but , like most heroes , not without flaws . After Smith's departure , his supposed savior ...
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Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American ... Kenneth C. Davis No preview available - 2003 |
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Popular passages
Page 605 - The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice President, shall be the Vice President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice President ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two thirds of the whole number of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office...
Page 453 - I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.
Page 434 - In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
Page 213 - I do not expect the Union to be dissolved, I do not expect the house to fall, but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction ; or its advocates will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new, North as well as South.
Page 139 - Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you, in the most solemn manner, against the baneful effects of the .spirit of party generally.
Page 616 - If the Congress, within twentyone days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office...
Page 125 - It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean George Washington themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.