Thanks to Sarah Josepha Hale, Thanksgiving became a national holiday in 1863. She persuaded Abraham Lincoln to set it for the final Thursday of November. But a letter written by a man named Edward Winslow shows the first Thanksgiving was originally a harvest festival that took place over three days in late September or early November.

They say the Puritans were not shy about punishing intimacy before marriage, adultery, self-pleasure, and homosexuality. The Puritans did view intercourse primarily as a means of procreation but the idea that they viewed the act itself as shameful couldn’t be further from the truth. They actually saw the passionate consummation of love as an important marital duty.

Freedom of religion is a cornerstone of the Bill of Rights. So it’s true that the Puritans were fleeing persecution, but they were far from tolerant when they arrived. Establishing an oppressive theocracy that crushed alternative religious viewpoints, many people were banished for their beliefs. Four Quakers returning to Boston after being banished between 1659 and 1661 were hanged.

The British government considered suppressing the colonists as early as 1774, but as tensions rose, pro-conflict sentiments in the government began to gain traction. Claims that colonists were unable to resist the might of the British Navy arose, but then there were also those who pointed out the challenges in fighting nearly two million colonists across densely wooded territory. It would be difficult wielding the Navy across 1,000 miles of coastline.

Washington wore dentures that were made from a combination of ivory, metal alloys, and maybe even teeth from other humans. In those days, it was common for people to sell their teeth for money or extract teeth from lifeless bodies. Washington’s dentures could possibly have had teeth taken from slaves.

The Continental Army, despite one or two moments of guerilla-style tactical brilliance, fought largely as European-style armies. Both sides faced each other in ranks and took turns firing at their opponents. Smoothbore muskets could be loaded relatively quickly but since they were inaccurate, it was more effective to fire as part of a giant cluster.

John Trumbull’s Declaration of Independence was only meant to show the presentation of the document to John Hancock for approval. The founders signed the document over the course of several months. Some delegates were even hesitant before signing.

The truth is America was far from untouched when the Europeans arrived. Native American tribes practiced agriculture for centuries to the point of changing the climate of the northeast. Large tribes practiced controlled burning of forests as well as clearing operations to create land for farming.

Revere never shouted, “The British are coming!” But he did shout, “The Regulars are coming out.” What’s more, Revere never made it to Concord. He was captured and interrogated on the way to Lexington before being forced to walk to the city to give his first official warning.

Native American and frontier cultures often intermingled with constant interchange between them. Many settlers found the Native communities attractive to the point of joining Native villages. The pilgrims did ban the wearing of long hair by men, fearing it might lead to “Indianization.”

America was not free until the Revolution was over and the Treaty of Paris was signed September 3, 1783. Neither was the Declaration of Independence signed on July 4th. Thomas Jefferson drafted the document between June 11th and June 28th, 1776. Congress merely approved the final version on July 4th, but the signing ceremony did not occur until August 2, 1776.

Technically, there were only 12 colonies that rebelled against the British. Delaware was a part of the Pennsylvania colony until declaring itself an independent state on June 15th, 1776. Delaware did have a separate Assembly, but was under Pennsylvania governorship. They did earn bragging rights as the first state to ratify the Constitution, doing so on December 7, 1787.

Seamstress Betsy Ross was commonly believed to have been asked by George Washington to help design and sew the first American flag. It was 94 years after the supposed event when her grandson, William J. Canby, clarified facts in a paper written for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1870. However, there is no historical evidence or documentation to support this account.

The story is that young George was very fond of his hatchet. One day, he chopped down a cherry tree in the garden. When his father found the tree cut down and asked him about it, young Washington admitted to cutting the tree. The tale is attributed to Mason Locke Weems, who wrote the book “The Life of Washington” shortly after the president’s death. However, there is no proof of the tale ever happening.

Legend says that the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights were all written on hemp paper. Although it is true that paper at the time was commonly made from hemp, all three documents are written on parchment, which is treated animal skin.

This story is often credited to writer George Lippard from his book “Legends of the American Revolution” written in 1847. It is possible that the Liberty Bell was rung on July 8th when the Declaration of Independence was read to the public for the first time. The bell was not called the Liberty Bell until the 1830s. Abolitionists adopted it as a symbol of the anti-slavery movement.

When the British Army marched out of Boston, men throughout America took up arms and it seemed to the British that every able-bodied American male had become a soldier. But when emotions faded and the reality of war set in, most men stayed at home so Congress mandated that men who enlisted must sign on for three years or the duration of the conflict.

Accounts of soldiers battling hunger for days and surviving on what they could find may be true but Washington also ensured his men were supplied with their needs. Washington was even compelled to locate storage facilities for his surplus.

Witch persecutions in Europe between the 1400s and 1700s saw women burned at the stake. But in Colonial America where 20 people were executed during the trials, 19 perished by hanging. No one was burned at the stake.

Washington himself revealed failings as a strategist. On the eve of the New York campaign in 1776, he confessed to Congress his “want of experience to move on a large scale” and his “limited and contracted knowledge . . . in Military Matters.” Washington’s nearly fatal inability to make rapid decisions resulted in the November losses of Fort Washington on Manhattan Island and Fort Lee in New Jersey. He would often make catastrophic decisions and not even Congress was aware that the French, not Washington, had formulated the strategy that led to America’s triumph.