A Lie, a Truth, and a Speculation
Exploring Lies, Hidden Truths, and What-Ifs in American History
"A lie can travel halfway across the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." - Mark Twain
Donald Trump during the Presidential Debate in 2024 claimed that the immigrants in Ohio were “eating the dogs, eating the cats.... eating the pets”. His baseless accusations spread like wildfire across the world through news channels and social media.
A lie gained credence, while a truth remained hidden in the annals of American history. A truth more horrific and stranger than fiction.
"Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn't." Mark Twain
History enthusiasts would be tempted to remind Trump about the American Pioneers of the Donner-Reed Party who were "eating the men, eating the women". And, "eating the Native Americans".
The Donner-Reed Party or Donner Party was part of the mid-19th century westward expansion, driven by the idea of Manifest Destiny, which held that Americans were destined to spread across the continent. A group of nearly 90 pioneers set out for California in 1846, aiming to take a shortcut through the Sierra Nevada mountains. Delayed by harsh terrain and snowstorms, they became trapped and ran out of food. In a desperate attempt to survive, some members resorted to cannibalism, consuming the bodies of those who had died from starvation and exposure. Two Native American guides were murdered and eaten in a gruesome incident. Despite multiple rescue attempts, only 48 of the original group survived. The ordeal has since become a tragic symbol of American westward expansion.
“Counterfactual history is history that’s ‘mighthavebeen’; it reminds us how thin the thread is that connects past to present, how easily it might have been cut.” — Niall Ferguson, Historian
One of the survivors of the Donner Party was James F. Reed, a businessman who contributed to early Republican support in the state of California during the Civil War era. Abraham Lincoln declined Reed's invitation to join the journey to California. His decision to run for the Congress from Illinois that year spared him from a possible tragic fate. Without Lincoln's leadership during the Civil War, American history would have been drastically different.
A viral lie, a hidden truth, and a present that could have been different.