Before we can examine if there are myths surrounding the Declaration of Independence we need to examine under what circumstances Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration (After the Fact pg. 75). By the spring of 1776, the patience of many congressmen had been sorely tried by bitter wrangling over the question of whether or not to declare independence. Many of the legislators thought it nonsensical to fight a war for any purpose other than independence, yet others disagreed. They held out hope for a resolution with England. For month after bloody month Congress had sat on its hands unable to offer a resolution, this angered many including John and Sam Adams of Massachusetts (After the Fact pg. 77). They felt that America was fighting a war it could not win unless it declared independence from Britain.

The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 brought the world close to a nuclear confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. The political positions adopted by both sides nearly prevented a resolution, but at the last moment, a compromise was found and nuclear war averted.Putting ballistic missiles equipped with nuclear weapons into Cuba salved the insecurities of two men. Although John F. Kennedy had claimed that the U.S. lagged behind the Soviet Union in nuclear capabilities when he campaigned for the presidency, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev knew otherwise. By the summer of 1962, Khrushchev also was certain that the Americans knew the same thing. Soviet missiles could reach Europe, but American missiles located in Turkey could strike almost anywhere in the Soviet Union. Khrushchev feared that the imbalance would tempt the U.S. to launch a first strike.