If I ask you who is Elizabeth Griscom? Most people would never guess that this is the birth name of Besty Ross. Born to parents Samuel Griscom and Rebecca James in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 1, 1752, the eighth of 17 children.

If I said tell me about Betsy Ross? You might tell me about she being the first woman to create the American Flag. Which would be a lie.

Here is the history on Betsy Ross, who married 3 times, First to John Ross, hence the last name, she was a seamstress and upholsterer. In 1870 Ross’s grandson, William J. Canby, presented a paper to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in which he claimed that his grandmother had “made with her hands the first flag” of the United States. Canby said he first obtained this information from his aunt Clarissa Wilson in 1857, twenty years after Betsy Ross’s death.  Canby’s tall-tale appealed to Americans eager for stories about the Revolution and its heroes and heroines. Betsy Ross was promoted as a patriotic role model for young girls and a symbol of women’s contributions to American history. When historians found out about the lie, they disregarded the information, and left it how it was in the history books.

Voltaire once said: History is the lie commonly agreed upon

So if we are going to just create fake moments in history, why not have a chapter in history books about Jack and Rose’s adventure aboard the Titanic.

Or let’s have history exams on how, Rafe and Danny, fell in love with the same nurse during  the time leading up to December 7.

Or how about Shannon and Joseph’s adventures to the new western frontier.

Why not the contributions that a single individual has on American culture like:

Or how about learning that a small band of US Soldiers took down Hitler and the German Reich