The Real Story of America

By Jerome R. Singer Ph.D.

American history begins in Europe where the Roman Constantine the Great replaces the gods Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Apollo, with Jesus Christ. As the Roman empire fell, the pope rose to dominate Europe. But the great expense of building the church of Saint Peter resulted in the rise of Luther and Calvin. The Protestant reformation led to the very bloody thirty years war with the Catholics. Henry VIII of England was frustrated by the refusal of Pope Clement VII to grant him a divorce, and Henry switched England to the protestant religion. That resulted in free thinking preachers who led their flocks to America. As a result, America became a nation of rebels. American leaders were outraged at George III when he treated them differently from English citizens, and the revolutionary war commenced. Benjamin Franklin convinced the French king Louis XVII to provide troops, funds, and naval support. We fought many battles for seven years, and finally won with our victory at Yorktown in 1781.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Jan 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781483479156

Book preview

vigilant.

Chapter 1

PREAMBLE

S TORIES ENTERTAIN; THEY ARE ENJOYABLE. History stories are supposed to be factual, but they are prevarications, including illustrations. Cave art 15,000 years ago, and early Egyptian art set the world standard for bragging rights. Their stories declared: I am a great hunter, I am a great warrior. Look at my works. Pharaoh’s statues were 70 feet tall, so were Stalin’s. To our credit, American statues depict leaders only after they die.

Most history books limit knowledge of our world because facts are buried in a sea of inconsequentialities. Does it help us understand our present world if we know all about the wars won by Ramses II in Egypt? Or of the result of wars between Sparta and Athens? They are fascinating reading, yes, but we want to concentrate on the flow of history; on how past events lead to our present state.

How did America become the New Rome? When did large institutions dominate government? History books are composed by re-compiling writings in prior history books which are generally half-truths, and even quarter-truths or less. Napoléon said: History is a set of lies agreed upon, and that is somewhat true, but we inherit the results of our forebears, so history, when stripped down to the essentials and pertinent, is important. Truths enable wise decisions and enable progress forward. Myths engender stupid and disastrous decisions. There are many villains; civilization is besieged by barbarians.

Many times, in history, a single individual determines a future of progress, a future of disaster, or a descent towards hell. A few examples are Constantine, Henry VIII, Martin Luther, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Winston Churchill, and Mao Zedong. Some are monsters, some are saviors, and some are unmitigated fools.

America’s history started in Israel thousands of years ago because the Israelis invented our religions. How did that happen? Back then, there were only a few occupations. Young people could become a soldier, a shepherd, a farmer, a cook, a baker, a bookkeeper, a politician, a teacher—(which was called a rabbi), a preacher, or a writer.

Drawing and writing are the greatest inventions. They developed over many thousands of years. The Egyptians developed hieroglyphs–picture writing–which was used to form beautifully colored depictions of wars, farming, hunting, and cooking. With even this early form of writing, laws could be set, information could be transferred, and civilized rules could be established.

Other nearby groups developed, pushed onward, and invented abstract symbols which gradually led to writing as we know it. Writing and drawing enables the wisdom, skills, and hard learned lessons to accumulate over centuries and increase possibilities, abilities, and inventions. However, it also enables fiction and falsehoods to influence us.

Writers could choose to join any one of dozens of writing groups. Back then writing was expensive because paper wasn’t invented, therefore writing was on dried sheepskin. It was an important advantage if you started out by owning some sheep. Each group had a field of specialization such as history, romance, cooking, military exploits, exploration, fish stories, and religion.

Religious writers became infused with enthusiasm, and often promoted their writings by becoming preachers. To become a preacher was simple; observe successful preachers and learn. Then improve on them. Talent trumped all– dramatic, charismatic preachers commanded large crowds. Contributions from many followers add up to wealth and prosperity. For charismatic and persuasive orators, preaching was a highly paid profession. It remains so even today. Preachers call themselves: Preachers, Ministers, Priests, Rabbis, Imam, Muezzin, Prophets, etc. With or without endorsement, they assume titles, and sometimes claim to have a special key to heavenly gates. However, as with all professions, most survive, only the very talented prosper.

To become a believer, listener, follower, a member, a contributor, one must suspend logic, and believe the imaginative. We all do that when we read books or watch movies, and carry on as the poet Samuel Coleridge proposes: A willing suspension of disbelief.

Preachers of religious stories affect our history more than any other factor. Our presidents are elected based upon their trumpeted beliefs. Differences over religions promoted emigration to America. And looking back, half of Europe was wiped out by the thirty years war between Catholics and Protestants. Present day terrorists carry out murders based on fervent beliefs. Throughout the past and the present, despots are elected by displaying fantasy beliefs. Of course, egomaniacs contribute; they instigate the concept of themselves as demigods.

Preachers profit by selling a guaranteed product. So far, no one has returned to complain that heaven is boring or not nearly as delightful as advertised. If anyone ever should, they would be very lucky to get a refund.

Many Israeli stories were compiled into a book called The Old Testament. The first story is about the first people on our planet, Adam and Eve. In the Old Testament, God establishes the Sun and the earth. He puts the first man in a wonderful fruitful garden called Eden. Later, he takes a rib from Adam, and creates Eve, the first woman. The animals all speak, and a snake, which has legs, speaks to Eve, and persuades her to eat the forbidden fruit, the fruit of the tree of knowledge, an apple. She then convinces Adam to eat an apple. The two of them then become knowledgeable about the procedure for reproduction. (It does seem amazing that our earliest ancestors figured out how to make children!)

God is very annoyed at having his rules ignored, and sends the two out of Eden and into the world. God also removes the snake’s legs; in the story, snakes are then condemned to crawl. Then Adam and Eve have many children, and Adam dies when he is 930 years old. Many of his sons lived to be more than 900 years old. Methuselah was the oldest; he died at the age of 969 years.

The Old Testament continues with wonderfully amusing stories. Some are questioned. For example, Bertrand Russell, a mathematician, naturalist, and philosopher, posed a pertinent question: Why did God make trillions of beetles? During the civil war Mark Twain asked, Why did God make flies? They land on soldiers’ wounds and cause infections. Others ask: Why is eating apples from the tree of knowledge forbidden? And why did He make trillions of trillions of microbes and viruses?

In their history stories, Joshua was a great general, and led the Israelites in many successful battles. The city states of Israel were dominant in their region, but conflicts continued. Every city state was subject to invasion, and all male citizens learned to carry on warfare for both defense and offense. Their best general would usually become their king, but sometimes their king was the wisest person, and respect for both wisdom and strength was paramount. In order to survive, the Israelis fought wars with the Philistines, the Phoenicians, the Assyrians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans over thousands of years. Several times when an Israeli tribe lost, their citizens would be driven out of Israel or enslaved which resulted in Jewish populations in Persia, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and throughout Europe and India.

Every group fought; it was natural to mankind. They fought because they wanted dominance and other peoples’ stuff. Stealing came naturally to mankind. Most leaders were egomaniacal, they were never sated, they wanted more and more subjects, and more and more wealth. Perhaps this sounds like current leaders; the nature of leaders remains constant. Money, power, fame, egomania, imagination, and stupidity provide us with fascinating history.

Old Testament stories are allegorical. For example, Sampson, a mighty warrior, tells his wife that the secret of his strength was his hair. She is from an enemy organization, so she cuts his hair while he sleeps. He loses his strength and is captured and humiliated by the enemy. Later, his hair grows back and his great strength returns, so he destroys their temple by pushing two supporting pillars apart. Many of his enemies are killed by the temple collapse, and he dies in the wreckage. There are two lessons: One, do not marry enemies of your tribe. Two, do not confide all your secrets to your spouse.

Adam, the first man, and Eve the first woman had two sons, one was named Cain who was a farmer, and one was named Abel, who was a shepherd. They each brought their products to God as a present. Cain brought his grains, and Abel brought a sheep. God accepted the sheep with grace, and ignored the gift of grain. This caused Cain to be quite annoyed, and he killed his brother. However, after some consideration, God forgives the murder. This story is an example of competition, and is the first story about murder. The story provides an insight into the possibility of an acquittal for a terrible crime. Did Cain have a superb lawyer?

A fish story tells about Jonah being swallowed by a large fish, perhaps a whale. Jonah continues to soldier on, and he escapes when the fish has indigestion. The lesson is that no matter how bad things look, don’t ever give up. And another story tells about a wise judge who needs to decide which of two women, each of whom claimed to be the mother of a child, was the true mother. The judge offers to cut the child in half and give half to each. Of course, the true mother was horrified, and said that the other women could have the whole child. Then the judge realizes that the second woman, (who seems to be content with half a child), was not the true mother, and he awards the child to the first woman. In the story, the judge appears to be wise, but it also appears, rather fortunately, that the second woman was extremely mean spirited.

The Old Testament continues with very entertaining episodes. It describes the unification of their twelve tribes to defend themselves by fighting together. (That provides an excellent pattern for cooperation.) It forbids eating pork because pigs carried diseases, and it suggests that males be circumcised. In one episode, the general, (and king), Joshua attacks the city of Jericho. His army encircles the walled city. Then he plays a tune on his trumpet, and the walls fall down, so he captures the city. Clearly, the author was carried away by his love for music.

All of history, and in fact, all stories are condensations, and if they are to be extremely interesting, are gross exaggerations. The many authors of the Old and New Testaments were among the most imaginative writers that ever lived. These stories brought fame and adulation to their writers. Sadly, they never received royalties or they would be billionaires.

Why are they relevant to Americans? Preachers embellish stories, and perform using dramatic shouts, by gesticulating wildly, and by inventing new stories. They performed that way thousands of years ago, and continue today. America’s rulers pay homage to the preachers. Do billionaires believe preachers? Likely no more than Henry VIII believed in the holiness of the pope when he decided to become a protestant and appoint himself to head up the church of England.

Israel developed a set of rules for maintaining peace in a community; the Ten Commandments:

I. Thou shalt not have any other Gods. (Is that why Rome declined? Gibbon thought so in his world history.)

II. Thou shalt not worship images. (Seems reasonable.)

III. Thou shalt not take the name of the lord in vain. (Who has not said, God Damn it!)

IV. Remember the Sabbath. (Always. We love the fact that it is a holiday.)

V. Honor thy father and mother. (No argument.)

VI. Thou shalt not kill. (History provides reasonable exceptions.)

VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery. (That can be tough at times.)

VIII. Thou shalt not steal. (Let’s relate that to bankers and pharmaceutical companies.)

IX. Thou shalt not lie. (That may be very trying at times. Do white lies count?)

X. Thou shalt not covet stuff belonging to your neighbor. (A little coveting may be o.k., but don’t carry it too far.)

These commandments provide a basis for moral behavior; they are the fundamental rules for peace and prosperity. Practically all groups of people adopt these or very similar rules. History provides examples of peaceful interactions between groups, but also provides many examples of murder, theft, rape, and pillage among neighbors.

The commandments set up a border encircling a specific community or a whole country. Within the country, justice systems enforce the rules. Outside, enemies lurk. We carry a mantle of goodness, but are ready to attack external groups. It is standard procedure since early man. Consider Rome. It prospered by stealing from all the neighboring countries and even enslaving their citizens. Within, laws ensured peace.

In World War I, German soldiers were sent out to murder and steal from their neighbors. They wore belt buckles and helmets engraved with the words, Gott Mitt Uns. God was called upon to help them murder their neighbors.

The Center of Power Shifts from the Middle East.

CHAPTER 2

GREECE

N EW CITY STATES GREW UP in Greece. Greece is mountainous with many rivers. Four of the city state centers were Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Macedonia. Athens was the most advanced, and was very well organized. Spartans were devoted to muscularity; physical development and the military. Youths would be intensely trained for physical strength. Athens was also a military center devoted to physical training, but was also a center for intellects. Macedonia was similar. Throughout Greece, wars between the city states were periodic. At the same time, there was great art, great intellectuals, and great architectural achievements.

Religion was very serious. God stories were described by itinerant poets, and grew over thousands of years. There were twelve gods, Zeus, the god of weather and lightening, Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom, Poseidon, the god of sea and horses, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, Dionysus, the god of wine and drama, Hermes, the god of messengers. And another half dozen, all very interesting. The gods interacted with jealousy, arguments, fights, intercourse, and interference with humans. Stories of the actions of these gods were very interesting; they would murder, steal, fornicate, and frequently behave like hoodlums.

Temples were dedicated to one or another of their twelve gods, and more than forty of these temples still stand in Greece and in Turkey. They are enormous beautiful structures of stone, carefully crafted with fluted columns. Each temple would take years to construct with hundreds of skilled stone workers.

To predict the outcome of a war, one could consult a seer at the temple of Delphi who supposedly could predict the future. The Oracle at Delphi is entertainingly depicted in a movie called The Wizard of Oz in which the actor Frank Morgan stands behind a curtain and, when visitors yell out questions, he shouts out the answers.

The Athenians employed thousands of workers to build their beautiful temples. A large hill dominates Athens. On the plateau at the top, there still sits many such temples. In the largest of the temples, the Parthenon, there was a seventeen-foot high statue of a goddess named Athena. Today, that statue is missing, but the beautiful Parthenon still stands though it has been substantially damaged by many wars throughout twenty centuries. Today, the architecture of bank buildings closely resembles the Parthenon.

Greek language was a great improvement over the existing languages, and Greece was a major trading partner with a great deal of intercourse with other Mediterranean nations. Consequently, other nations gradually modified their language to encompass the Greek language. For example, the Greek alphabet starts out as alpha, beta, gamma, delta. The Hebrew alphabet starts as aleph, bet, gimel, dalet. And of course that leads to our English a,b,c,d. Greek stories and plays remain wonderful. The story of the adventures of Ulysses fascinates us. Many of the Greek plays are performed today.

In 507 BC, the leaders of Athens introduced democracy—the rule of the people. Voting was limited to adult males who owned land. The population of the city and environs was more than 300,000, but only about 50,000 qualified to vote. Courts were established to interpret laws. It was not the democracy of modern times, but it was the start of a wonderful invention; an important beginning. Their democracy was fragile, and was overthrown several times by aggressors, just as happened many times in history, even in the twentieth century, and even today.

In a certain sense, democracy has always influenced history. Leaders cannot long serve who cannot gain popular support. In 325 A.D, when Roman emperor Constantine gathered together 350 scribes to write 50 New Testaments which were designed to set holiday dates and devise a uniform story for the practice of Christianity, he bowed to the desire for public support and political advantage. (At that time, there were no printing presses, books were hand written on sheepskin.)

Mathematics developed wonderfully in Greece. The greats, Pythagoras, Plato, Archimedes, and Euclid developed geometry. Euclid compiled his book on plane geometry which stands as a model of exposition and is instrumental in education even today. Art, particularly sculpture, achieved a new level of greatness. Statues of extreme beauty were produced. And important for future civilization, citizens learned to vote; democracy was invented. To give an example of their intellect, one of their geometers, Erasthenes accurately measured the circumference of our planet.

Erasthenes assumed that the earth was round. That was obvious to him because any view from a small mountaintop will provide a picture of the curvature of the horizon. Then he observed that when the sun was directly overhead in the city of Syene, (by observing that there was no shadow), and at the same time, he had a colleague observe the length of the shadow of a column in Alexandria. The length of the shadow relative to the height of the column is readily converted into the angle of the sun. Since the total angle for the sun’s journey around the earth is 360 degrees, the shadow angle and the distance between Alexandria and Syene, enables a simple calculation of the circumference of the earth because the shadow angle relative to 360 degrees is proportional to the distance that the sun travels between Alexandria and Syene so that the sun covers that angle for that distance. Therefore, the shadow angle is to 360 degrees as that distance is to the distance around the earth. Amazingly, his calculation for earth’s circumference was within three percent.

While the Greek mathematicians are legendary, some of their concepts in science were purely imaginative. For example, their basic elements were stated to be earth, water, fire, and air. They conceived the idea of atoms, though there were no experiments in that direction. Archimedes is credited with the concept of determining the purity of a gold crown by finding its volume by measuring the amount of water that it would displace, and then dividing that volume into its weight to find the density of the crown. The measured density was then compared to the density of pure gold. Any substantial difference would then show up the crown as being not pure gold.

SOLDIERING, CONQUERING THE WORLD

The Greeks fought a lot. The best way to prepare a soldier for war is to send him into a war. The fundamentals of developing a successful army and winning wars are:

1.Superior weapons. 2. Very well trained motivated troops. 3. Logistics—supplying food, shelter, water, clothing, shoes, medicines, replacement weapons, arrows or ammunition, and all of the needs of the soldiers. 4. Intelligent well-planned leadership—use of surprise for attacks. 5. Long range preparation and planning.

In the novel, War and Peace, Tolstoy ruminates that a soldier with the most determination to win will maintain his position with utmost passion, and his side will win the battle. That is a sound consideration providing all other matters are equal. In World War II, Russian soldiers were extremely determined and often fought until they were dead. They were motivated by the brutality of the Germans.

One of the most important part of every invading army is devoted to logistics. That part would be charged with obtaining food, water, shelter, shoes, and clothing from the populace in the course of the army’s advance. Foraging would consist of stealing from farmers, shepherds, and food stored in towns. Mercy was not part of their makeup. Like locusts, they would clean the countryside of every edible item. To be living somewhere in the path of an army was to invite starvation, or death. Even those farmers who were on the side of the defending nation were endangered because often their crops would be burned and their grain stores and livestock would be stolen by their own authorities to try to starve the invaders.

In Greece, there were many wars between Athens and Sparta. In addition, the Persians, who had a much larger population, and many more warriors, would periodically attempt invasions of Athens. There were many naval battles between them. In the course of their many years of battles, weapon inventions flourished. For each army, there were thousands of armorers, and they were constantly improving designs and production lines. There were thousands of people who mined bronze and iron ores. And there were thousands of smiths who forged weapons. The production line for thousands of weapons was constantly improving. More than any other factor in war, greatly superior weapons will win the battle. War against an enemy is a crucial test for weaponry. Whenever a battle was lost, weapon inventors were spurred to improve their designs. Today, there are many people with the names Smith and Schmidt. The origins of these names are due to their forefathers working as weapons makers or armorers.

Military tactics are simple: surprise the enemy. Perhaps the most important battle ever was won was led by George Washington. He crossed the Delaware River at night, and on December 26 attacked the well-trained mercenary Hessian Army which was paid by the British. The Hessians were asleep and drunk on the morning after celebrating Christmas. Practically their entire army was killed or captured. Washington’s battle casualties totaled five wounded men. When news of the battle reached France, they became convinced that the Americans were on a path to victory, so they lent troops, money, and the use of their navy. France’s alliance enabled the United States to win the war and become a model for democracy.

Not every battle can be one of complete surprise. However, attacks are very formidable. The attacking army has specific plans and objectives. The defending army is generally reactive, uncertain about planning, and unprepared. History provides many examples of successful initial blows, however, it was often followed by losing the war in the end. In Clausewitz’s book on the art of war, he stated that once started, the outcome of a war cannot be predicted. Parenthetically, Clausewitz participated in Napoleon’s march to Moscow, and advised, Never march on Russia. He pointed out that Russia was so large that defense of an army’s rear was impossible. World war II provides an example of the extreme stupidity of some generals. After France and Britain declared war on Germany, their generals camped and waited for eight months to be attacked. When the German attack occurred, it was at their rear, and it cut off their supply lines. Then they ran for Dunkirk to save their lives.

GREECE, WARS

In Greece, Philip II, ruler of Macedonia, the Northern area, was devoted to war. He developed superior weapons, superior tactics, and superior training for his soldiers. He fought many battles with the other city states of Greece. He avoided battles with Sparta which had very devoted, tough, and well-trained soldiers. With his victories, Greece was united under his leadership. In addition, he was an excellent negotiator, and signed treaties with some of the city states. He even attacked regions of Persia, a much larger country than Greece. However, when he was 46 years old, in 336 BC, he was assassinated by his personal bodyguard. His son, Alexander III, who was then twenty years old, became the new king.

Alexander, from his early teens, had been taught battle tactics. Philip had brought up his son with the idea of becoming a general. He also had a liberal education by studying with Aristotle. The Greeks had suffered numerous invasions by the Persians. Sometimes they won and sometimes they lost battles. There was a deep-seated hatred of the Persians and the Greeks wanted revenge.

At this time, due to all the wars in Greece, weapon invention had progressed dramatically. Philip II developed special tactics to utilize these weapons. A major advance was the development of 18 foot-long spears. These spears had a spike at both ends so that they could be easily planted in the ground to be fixed for defending against cavalry. The army was trained to hold ranks in rows. The first row had their spears projecting forward about 18 feet. The second row would have spears projecting a few feet less than the first row. Likewise, the third row would also have spears projecting forward a few feet less. From an enemy’s view, there would be a forest of sharp spears in their faces. To protect themselves from arrows, Philip’s troops would carry a shield. The troops were trained to wheel about rapidly to face the enemy with all spears pointing at them. In addition, there was a well-trained horse cavalry. It was the most formidable army of that time.

Soldiers were not paid well, but there was a bonus. They were encouraged to rape and pillage. Cities that were invaded fought hard knowing that they could be enslaved. Battles were brutal. Young men want adventure and the spoils of war. Many welcomed the idea of soldiering as a career. Usually they would serve for twenty years or more. Sometimes war was a route to wealth, but of course, it had its risks. It remains a well rewarding profession. Many young men rise to become generals and are rewarded well. These days, they can be elected to be presidents.

When Alexander succeeded Philip, the city states of Greece rebelled. They decided that they would not pay taxes to Alexander of Macedon. Alexander than led his army against them, and succeeded in conquering them. The young Alexander had learned the art of war very well. He then decided that he would attack Persia. Persia had attacked Greece many times, sometimes successfully, and sometimes they lost.

To get to Persia, Alexander would have to cross the Hellespont, a narrow strait, (now called the Dardanelles). For the crossing, he would use about a hundred large ships, triremes. Greece was a great naval power; they developed ship building. They had many large ships with rowers on three decks, their triremes. He set out with about 25,000 soldiers. The Persian army was very large and well equipped. They had swords, spears, armor, horse cavalry, archers, and were well trained. However, Alexander had the advantage of a surprise attack with superior weapons and well-seasoned troops. And he won battle after battle. Attacks are superior to defense. They pursue a definite plan. Defenders are uncertain—where would be the locale? would cavalry be used?, how many enemies?, what weapons?, what direction? Defenders almost always lose.

Alexander won, he negotiated a peace, and increased his army by recruiting Persian soldiers. He then marched on to invade other countries and won many more battles. Many of these battles are described in detail, though how their authors could know these details is a mystery since the authors first wrote about them twenty or thirty years later. Soldiers in any battle cannot describe the whole battle, no matter how they might try. Lots of battle stories now called history should be re-classified as fiction, or at the least, semi-fiction.

Alexander invaded Israel, and their leaders negotiated to pay