Common Lies About America's History That Most People Still Believe

We all remember cracking open those history textbooks on the first day of school and delving right into the thousands of facts we eventually needed to regurgitate when test time arrived. But as it turns out, there's an alarming amount of stuff we all crammed into our brains that didn't actually happen. Over the years, truths get twisted, events are misrepresented, and unfortunately, many kids today are still memorizing this misinformation.

40. Paul Was Misquoted

Everyone who learned the poem of Paul Revere had it in their heads he shouted "The British are coming!" However, he actually said, "The regulars are coming" because citizens of Massachusetts at the time still considered themselves British.

39. 1700s-era Vaccinations

One of the most common causes of death during the Revolutionary War wasn't warfare, but disease. It took much secrecy and strategy for George Washington to inoculate his troops against smallpox, since the vaccine put his men out of commission for a few days. It was worth it: Smallpox deaths decreased from 17% to 1%.

38. Sorry, Nic!

Although many portraits imply all the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence at the same time, it was actually signed over the course of several months by all the men. Also Nic Cage never actually stole it, but you already knew that.

37. Hypocritical Puritans

Loads of kids are taught the Puritans were suffering religious persecution, and when they finally escaped to America, they preached religious freedom. However, they were actually incredibly close-minded and banished people who didn't believe what they did.