Editing Pseudohistory (section)

==== Historical revisionism ====
The [[Shakespeare authorship question]] is a [[fringe theory]] that claims that the works attributed to [[William Shakespeare]] were actually written by someone other than William Shakespeare of [[Stratford-upon-Avon]].<ref>Hope, Warren and Kim Holston. ''The Shakespeare Controversy'' (2009) 2nd ed., 3: "In short, this is a history written in opposition to the current prevailing view".</ref><ref>Potter, Lois. "Marlowe onstage" in ''Constructing Christopher Marlowe'', James Alan Downie and J. T. Parnell, eds. (2000, 2001), paperback ed., 88–101; 100: "The possibility that Shakespeare may not really be Shakespeare, comic in the context of literary history and pseudo-history, is understandable in this world of double-agents . . ."</ref><ref>Aaronovitch, David. "The anti-Stratfordians" in ''Voodoo Histories'' (2010), 226–229: "There is, however, a psychological or anthropological question to be answered about our consumption of pseudo-history and pseudoscience. I have now plowed through enough of these books to be able to state that, as a genre, they are badly written and, in their anxiety to establish their dubious neo-scholarly credentials, incredibly tedious. … Why do we read bad history books that have the added lack of distinction of not being in any way true or useful …"</ref><ref>Kathman, David. [http://shakespeareauthorship.com/harpers.html Shakespeare Authorship Page]: "... Shakespeare scholars regard Oxfordianism as pseudo-scholarship which arbitrarily discards the methods used by real historians. ... In order to support their beliefs, Oxfordians resort to a number of tactics which will be familiar to observers of other forms of pseudo-history and pseudo-science."</ref>

Another example of historical revisionism is the thesis, found in the writings of [[David Barton (author)|David Barton]] and others, asserting that the United States was founded as an exclusively [[Christianity|Christian]] nation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Specter |first=Arlen |author-link=Arlen Specter |date=Spring 1995 |title=Defending the wall: Maintaining church/state separation in America |url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/content/article/1027400469.html |journal=[[Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy]] |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=575–590}}{{dead link|date=November 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Leopold, Jason |author-link=Jason Leopold |date=14 January 2008 |title=House Passes, Considers Evangelical Resolutions |url=http://www.baltimorechronicle.com/2008/011508Leopold.shtml |access-date=30 April 2019 |website=www.baltimorechronicle.com}}</ref><ref name="Pierard">[https://web.archive.org/web/20090317021107/http://www.bostontheological.org/publications/pdf/2004-2005/jan252005.pdf Boston Theological Institute Newsletter Volume XXXIV, No. 17], Richard V. Pierard, January 25, 2005</ref> Mainstream historians instead support the traditional position, which holds that the American founding fathers [[Separation of church and state in the United States|intended for church and state to be kept separate]].<ref name=":1">[[Rob Boston|Boston, Rob]] (2007). [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Dissecting+the+religious+right%27s+favorite+Bible+Curriculum.%28Church+&...-a0170729742 "Dissecting the religious right's favorite Bible Curriculum"], [[Americans United for Separation of Church and State]], American Humanist Association. Retrieved on April 9, 2013</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web |last=Harvey |first=Paul |date=10 May 2011 |title=Selling the Idea of a Christian Nation: David Barton's Alternate Intellectual Universe |url=http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/4589/selling_the_idea_of_a_christian_nation%3A_david_barton%27s_alternate_intellectual_universe |access-date=April 9, 2013 |work=[[Religion Dispatches]] }}{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Confederate revisionists (a.k.a. Civil War revisionists), "[[Lost Cause of the Confederacy|Lost Cause]]" advocates, and [[Neo-Confederate]]s argue that the [[Confederate States of America]]'s prime motivation was the maintenance of [[states' rights]] and limited government, rather than the preservation and expansion of [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]].<ref>{{cite web |author=David Barton |date=December 2008 |title=Confronting Civil War Revisionism: Why the South Went To War |url=http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=92 |access-date=30 December 2013 |work=Wall Builders |archive-date=31 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231075954/http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=92 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Barrett Brown |date=27 December 2010 |title=Neoconfederate civil war revisionism: Those who commemorate the South's fallen heroes are entitled to do so, but not to deny that slavery was the war's prime cause |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/dec/26/american-civil-war-usa |access-date=30 December 2013 |work=TheGuardian.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=June 15, 2011 |title=Howard Swint: Confederate revisionism warps U.S. history |url=http://www.charlestondailymail.com/Opinion/Commentary/201106140917 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231094729/http://www.charlestondailymail.com/Opinion/Commentary/201106140917 |archive-date=31 December 2013 |access-date=30 December 2013 |work=Charleston Daily Mail}}</ref>

Connected to the Lost Cause is the [[Irish slaves myth]], a pseudo-historical narrative which conflates the experiences of [[Irish indentured servants]] and [[Atlantic slave trade|enslaved Africans]] in the [[Americas]]. This myth, which was historically promoted by [[Irish nationalism|Irish nationalists]] such as [[John Mitchel]], has in the modern-day been promoted by [[White supremacy|white supremacists]] in the United States to minimize the mistreatment experienced by [[African Americans]] (such as [[Racism in the United States|racism]] and [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregation]]) and oppose demands for [[Reparations for slavery in the United States|slavery reparations]]. The myth has also been used to obscure and downplay Irish involvement in the [[Atlantic slave trade|transatlantic slave trade]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Linehan |first=Hugh |title=Sinn Féin not allowing facts derail good 'Irish slaves' yarn |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/sinn-f%C3%A9in-not-allowing-facts-derail-good-irish-slaves-yarn-1.2644397 |access-date=2021-03-30 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kennedy |first1=Liam |title=Unhappy the Land: The Most Oppressed People Ever, the Irish? |title-link=Unhappy the Land: The Most Oppressed People Ever, the Irish? |date=2015 |publisher=Irish Academic Press |isbn=978-1785370472 |location=Dublin |page=19 |language=en}}</ref>