The Europeans were able to conquer
America not because of their military
genius, or their religious motivation,
or their ambition, or their greed.
They conquered it by waging
unpremeditated biological warfare.
—HOWARD SIMPSON^3It is painful to advert to these things.
But our forefathers, though wise,
pious, and sincere, were
nevertheless, in respect to Christian
charity, under a cloud; and, in
history, truth should be held sacred,
at whatever cost... especially
against the narrow and futile
patriotism, which, instead of
pressing forward in pursuit of truth,
takes pride in walking backwards to
cover the slightest nakedness of our
forefathers.
—COL. THOMAS ASPINWALL^4OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, I have asked hundreds of college students,
“When was the country we now know as the United States first settled?” This
is a generous way of phrasing the question; surely “we now know as” implies
that the original settlement antedated the founding of the United States. I
initially believed—certainly I had hoped—that students would suggest 30,000
BC or some other pre-Columbian date.
They did not. Their consensus answer was “1620.”
Obviously, my students’ heads have been filled with America’s origin myth,