6 Things American Schools Teach You About History (That Are Total Bullsh*t)

What I was Taught:

This one is unique to the American south east. What everyone else calls the American Civil War, many in the South still call the War of Northern Aggression. That is absolutely what one teacher in high school called it, and it's an easy way to pick a racist out during a discussion on history. As well as that, the same people who call it the War of Northern Aggression insist that slavery had nothing to do with that particular war, and that it was only fought over states' rights. That claim is accurate, in that the particular right the states were defending was the right to own slaves.

To be more clear, the claim here is that the south seceded from the overall United States, creating the Confederate States of America, because they believed their rights to self-govern were being infringed upon. Therefore, they basically pulled a mass Brexit.

The Truth:

South Carolina seceded from the union the month after Abraham Lincoln was elected. He hadn't even been sworn in yet, let alone had time to start infringing on anyone's "rights." Lincoln "felt a sacred duty to uphold the union" of the states, and made an impassioned speech to the ones who had already left said union. Instead, they attacked Fort Sumter, located in Charleston South Carolina. Every move made was made by the Confederacy, first, with little to no true provocation.

Of course, that doesn't stop Southerners today from claiming "them damn yankees" wanted to destroy our rights, and that "the South will rise again."