11 facts you learned about US history that are false

• Not everything you learned in school about US history is 100% accurate. 
• While many consider Christopher Columbus the discoverer of America, he actually never stepped foot in North America. 
• Many believe the Fourth of July is a day to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. They're wrong. 
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Some things you've learned in school may have since been proven false, and that is especially true when it comes to US history. 

Many say history is written by the winner, leaving much of the truth out. In recent years, historians and experts have been coming forward to reveal the true stories around some of America's biggest historical events. 

From the first Thanksgiving to the moon landing, here's everything your teacher may have gotten wrong about American history. 

MYTH: Christopher Columbus discovered America.

TRUTH: As early as primary school, most of us learned that Christopher Columbus discovered America, but that is not accurate. In fact, the Spanish explorer never even entered North America. On his four trips across the Atlantic, starting in 1492, Columbus explored the Caribbean islands of the Bahamas and Cuba. 

He also couldn't have discovered America because Native Americans were already living there. In fact, Columbus is not even the first European to explore the Americas. That honor goes to the Norse explorer Leif Erikson who sailed to the Western Hemisphere over 400 years earlier. 

Then why is Columbus such a notable figure in American history? It's most likely because he started a new age of exploration and his trips to the New World led to colonization. 

MYTH: Christopher Columbus sailed on the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria.

TRUTH: "In 1942, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue" is a common children's song most learn in school. The song also mentions his three ships, which are usually known as Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria.

However, his ships were likely not named any of those things. Historians know that the Santa Maria's real name was La Gallega and the Niña's real name was the Santa Clara. It is not known what the Pinta's actual name was at the time.

MYTH: Pocahontas and John Smith fell in love, uniting two cultures.

TRUTH: For starters, Pocahontas wasn't even her real name. Her official name was Amonute. Pocahontas was her nickname, which meant "playful" or "ill-behaved child." That's right, Pocahontas was just a child, about 11 or 12 years old, so it is very unlikely there was any romance between her and John Smith, a grown man.

In his journals, John Smith wrote that Pocahontas saved his life when her family tried to execute him. He also wrote that during his captivity, the two became close and taught each other their languages, but never mentioned anything romantic happening between them.