你所了解的11个美国历史事实是错误的
2021-12-05 geluman 9864
正文翻译
11 facts you learned about US history that are false

你所了解的11个美国历史事实是错误的


Some things you've learned in school may havesince been proven false, and that is especially true when it comes to UShistory.Many say history is written by the winner, leaving much of the truthout. In recent years, historians and experts have been coming forward to revealthe true stories around some of America's biggest historical events.

一些你从学校所获知的东西已经被证实是错误的,尤其是当其涉及到美国历史时。很多人说由胜利者书写的历史遗漏了很多事实。近年来,历史学家和专家已经站出来披露一些有关美国最重大的历史事件的真实故事。

From the first Thanksgiving to the moon landing,here's everything your teacher may have gotten wrong about American history.

从第一个感恩节到登陆月球,以下是所有你的老师可能搞错的美国历史事件。

MYTH: Christopher Columbus discovered America.

谬论:克里斯托弗·哥伦布发现了美洲

TRUTH: As early as primary school, most of uslearned that Christopher Columbus discovered America, but that is not accurate.In fact, the Spanish explorer never even entered North America. On his fourtrips across the Atlantic, starting in 1492,Columbus explored the Caribbeanislands of the Bahamas and Cuba. He also couldn't have discovered America becauseNative Americans were already living there. In fact, Columbus is not even thefirst European to explore the Americas. That honor goes to the Norse explorerLeif Erikson who sailed to the Western Hemisphere over 400 years earlier. Thenwhy is Columbus such a notable figure in American history? It's most likelybecause he started a new age of exploration and his trips to the New World ledto colonization.

事实:早在小学时我们中的大部分人就得知克里斯托弗·哥伦布发现了美洲大陆,但这是不准确的。事实上,这名西班牙探险家从未踏上过北美大陆。自他于1492年开始的四次横渡大西洋的旅程当中,哥伦布探索了巴哈马和古巴的加勒比海诸岛。他也未能发现美洲,因为美洲土著早已经生活在这里。事实上,哥伦布甚至不是第一个探索美洲的欧洲人。这项荣誉属于挪威探险家列夫·埃里克森,早在400年前他就航行到过西半球,那么为什么在美国历史上哥伦布是一位如此值得一提的重要人物呢?最有可能的是因为他开启了一个新的探索时代并且他的新大陆之行导致了殖民。

MYTH: Christopher Columbus sailed on the Niña,Pinta, and Santa Maria.

谬论:克里斯托弗·哥伦布乘坐尼娜号、平塔号和圣玛利亚号航海

TRUTH: "In 1492, Christopher Columbussailed the ocean blue" is a common children's song most learn in school.The song also mentions his three ships, which are usually known as Niña, Pinta,and Santa Maria. However, his ships were likely not named any of thosethings.Historians know that the Santa Maria's real name was La Gallega and theNiña's real name was the Santa Clara. It is not known what the Pinta's actualname was at the time.

事实:“1492年,克里斯托弗·哥伦布航行在蓝色大洋上”是一首在学校里学的最多的常见童谣。这首歌同样提到了他通常为人所知的尼娜号、平塔号和圣玛利亚号三艘船。然而他的船可能不是它们当中的任何一个。据历史学家所得知,圣玛利亚号的真正名字是拉加尔加号,尼娜号真正名字是圣克拉拉号。目前尚不清楚平塔号在当时的真名。

MYTH: Pocahontas and John Smith fell in love,uniting two cultures.

谬论:波卡洪塔斯和约翰·史密斯坠入爱河联结了两个文明(参考动画《风中奇缘》)

TRUTH: For starters, Pocahontas wasn't even herreal name. Her official name was Amonute. Pocahontas was her nickname, whichmeant "playful" or "ill-behaved child." That's right,Pocahontas was just a child, about 11 or 12 years old, so it is very unlikelythere was any romance between her and John Smith, a grown man. In his journals,John Smith wrote that Pocahontas saved his life when her family tried toexecute him. He also wrote that during his captivity, the two became close andtaught each other their languages, but never mentioned anything romantichappening between them.

事实:首先。波卡洪塔斯甚至不是她的真名,她的正式名字是Amonute。波卡洪塔斯是她的绰号,意思是“顽皮的”或者“行为不良的孩子”。没错,波卡洪塔斯只是个孩子,大概11、12岁。因此在她和约翰·史密斯这个成人之间基本不大可能存在任何浪漫史。约翰·史密斯在他的日记中记述了当波卡洪塔斯的家人打算处决他时,她救了他一命。他还写道,在他被囚禁期间,这两个人变得亲密起来并互相教授彼此的语言,但从未提到过两人之间发生过任何浪漫故事。

MYTH: The first Thanksgiving was a peaceful andjoyous meal shared between the Pilgrims and Native Americans.

谬论:第一个感恩节是清教徒与美洲土著共享的和平而愉快的一餐

TRUTH: In school, most were taught that thePilgrims came over on the Mayflower and sought help from the Native Americansto survive in the New World. In 1620, the two groups supposedly came togetherfor a three-day feast to celebrate their relationship and new lives together.But many historians say this was not the case. The two groups had a lot ofhostile feelings towards each other. The Pilgrims viewed Native Americans assavages, and stole their farmland. They also killed more than 90% of the nativepopulation with smallpox, brought over on the Mayflower. These hostile conditions,historians believe, did not lead to a celebratory first Thanksgiving. In fact,some say the Native Americans were not even invited to the feast.

事实:在学校里,大部分人被教导清教徒乘五月花号而来,为了在新世界生存下去而向美洲土著求助。据说这两个群体在1620年聚集在一起举行了三天的盛宴来庆祝他们的友谊和在一起的新生活。但很多历史学家说情况并非如此。这两个群体对彼此抱有很大敌意,清教徒认为美洲土著是野蛮的并偷窃他们的农田。还利用五月花号携带过来的天花病毒杀死了超过90%的土著人口。历史学家相信在这些敌对的条件下不会有首个庆祝性的感恩节,事实上,有些人称美洲土著甚至从未被邀请参加过盛宴。

MYTH: Witches were burned at the stake at theSalem witch trials.

谬论:在塞勒姆女巫审判中,女巫被烧死在火刑柱上

TRUTH: While most associate the Salem witchtrials of 1692 with witches burning at the stake, the truth is that not asingle person was burned. Of the 20 people who were convicted of practicingmagic, 19 were hung near Gallows Hill and one person was tortured to death. Butthroughout history, many referenced burning witches at the stake, so it caughton. For example, a magazine in 1860 wrote, "The North ... having begunwith burning witches, will end by burning us!"

事实:尽管大多数人将1692年的塞勒姆女巫审判与被烧死在火刑柱上的女巫联系在一起,但事实是没有一个人被烧死。 在20名被判有使用魔法罪的人中,有19人被吊死在绞架岭附近,一人被折磨至死。纵观历史,很多人提到过在火刑柱上烧死女巫,因此这种说法流行起来,例如1860年的一本杂志写道“北方……已经烧死女巫,最终将以烧死我们结束!”
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MYTH: Paul Revere rode horseback through thestreets of Massachusetts yelling, "the British are coming!"

谬论:保罗·里维尔骑马穿过马萨诸塞州的街道,高喊着“英国人要来了!”。

TRUTH: Paul Revere did ride horseback to warnthat the British were fast approaching Lexington, but he was not screaming.Instead, he was much more discreet since British troops might have been hidingnearby. He also wasn't alone. He was first joined by two other patriots, with 40more joining by the end of the night. Lastly, he would never have called them"British" because many of the colonists still considered themselvesBritish. At the time, he would have used the term "Regulars" to warnpatriots about the invasion. We have Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to thank forthis misconception. He wrote "Paul Revere's Ride" in 1861 and gotmost of the facts wrong.

事实:保罗·里维尔的确骑马警告英国人正迅速逼近列克星敦,但他并未尖叫,相反地,由于英军可能已经隐藏在附近,他非常谨慎。而且他并非孤身一人。一开始有两个其他爱国者加入,等到快天亮时有40多人加入进来。最后,他绝不会称他们为英国人,因为大多数殖民者仍然视自己为英国人。在当时,他会使用术语“正规军”来向爱国者们预警这次入侵。我们有亨利·沃兹沃思·朗费罗来感谢这种误解。他在1861年撰写了《保罗·里维尔的骑行》,并将大部分事实搞错了。

MYTH: George Washington had wooden teeth.

谬论:乔治·华盛顿有木牙

TRUTH: The first president of the United States,George Washington, did not, in fact, have wooden teeth. But he did have a lotof dental issues. The former war general wore dentures made of ivory, gold, andlead. But wood was never used in dentures and it was definitely not found inWashington's mouth. No one truly knows how or why this rumor started. Somehistorians say that the ivory may have been worn down, therefore having agrainy, wooden appearance, confusing early observers.

事实:美国第一任总统乔治·华盛顿实际上并没有木制牙齿,但他的确有很多牙齿上的问题,这位前战争时期的将军使用由象牙、金子和铅制成的假牙,但木头从未被用于假牙,而且可以肯定的是在华盛顿的口中没有发现假牙。没人真正地知道这个谣言是如何以及为什么开始的。一些历史学家称象牙可能已经被磨损了,因此具有颗粒状的木质外观,使很多早期观察者感到困惑。

MYTH: The Declaration of Independence was signedon July 4, 1776.

谬论:独立宣言签署于1776年7月4日

TRUTH: While many believe we are celebrating theDeclaration of Independence's signing on the Fourth of July, it was actuallysigned in August of 1776. The confusion lies in the fact that July 4 was theday the final edition of the document was agreed upon. It was the deadline theContinental Congress gave itself and wrote down, though it wouldn't be signedfor another month.

尽管很多人相信我们正在庆祝7月4日签署的独立宣言,但它实际上签署于1776年8月。混淆在于7月4日是文件最终版本取得一致意见的日子,这是大陆会议给自身规定并写下的最后期限,不过一个月后它才会被签署。

MYTH: Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.

谬论:托马斯·爱迪生发明了电灯泡

TRUTH: In the late 1800s, Thomas Edison waswidely considered a genius after he invented the light bulb. But some sayEdison is not the sole inventor. In fact, there were over 20 inventors who hadcreated the incandescent light bulb before him. Additionally, it's rumored thathe borrowed (or stole) details from those other inventors. So, why does Edisonget all the credit? In part, he was a great salesman, and he knew how tooutpace everyone else who was working on the light bulb. Edison was luckyenough to receive the important patents he needed to be solely credited for theinvention.

事实:在19世纪末,在托马斯·爱迪生发明电灯泡后,他被人们普遍认为是一个天才。但一些人称爱迪生不是唯一的发明者。事实上在爱迪生之前有超过20个发明家已经创造出了白炽灯。此外有传言称他从其他发明家那里借(或偷)了技术细节。那么,为什么爱迪生获得了所有功劳?部分原因是,他是个了不起的推销员并且他知道如何超过每一个研究电灯泡的人。爱迪生很幸运地获得了他所需的重要专利,这是这项发明唯一的功劳。

MYTH: Slavery largely happened in the South.

谬论:奴隶制主要发生在南方

TRUTH: Many associate slavery with the South,but the truth is that slavery existed in every colony before the RevolutionaryWar. In fact, Massachusetts was the first colony to legalize slavery, and NewYork had over 1,600 slaves in 1720. Equally upsetting is the fact thatpresidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both owned slaves.

事实:很多人将奴隶制和南方联系在一起,但事实是在独立战争之前奴隶制存在于每一个殖民地。事实上马萨诸塞州是第一个将奴隶制合法化的殖民地,并且纽约在1720年拥有超过1600名奴隶。同样令人沮丧的事实是总统乔治·华盛顿和托马斯·杰斐逊都拥有自己的奴隶。

MYTH: Neil Armstrong said, "One small step forman, one giant leap for mankind," when he landed on the moon.

谬论:尼尔·阿姆斯特朗在登上月球后说过“这是人类的一小步,却是人类的一大步”

TRUTH: If you examine the famous line uttered byNeil Armstrong in 1969, you realize it doesn't really make sense. Because"man" and "mankind" essentially meant the same thing, ifhis famous line was accurate, what he basically said was, "that's onesmall step for mankind, one giant leap for mankind." Upon returning home,Armstrong clarified that he did say "one small step for a man," whichmakes much more sense. Peter Shann Ford, a computer programmer, said he foundproof that the missing "a" was actually just lost in transmissionback to Earth.

事实:如果你仔细检查尼尔·阿姆斯特朗在1969年说过的这句名言,你会意识到它实际上讲不通。因为"man"and "mankind"本质上是指的同一事物,如果他的名言是准确的,他基本上说的是“这是人类的一小步,却是人类的一大步”。回到地球后,阿姆斯特朗澄清他的确说过“一个人的一小步”,这样就讲得通了。一名叫做彼得·尚恩·福特计算机程序设计员称,他发现了证据证明缺少的“A”实际上在传输回地球的过程中丢失了。

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