Sucking in the American Century

National history is supposed to be a set of agreed-upon facts, but in the history of the United States, the most entertaining facts are the disputed ones. Was the sinking of the USS Maine a remarkably convenient accident, a false-flag operation, an attack by perfidious Spain, or something else? Did Tom McLaury have a gun during the gunfight at the O.K. Corral (which, like the Battle of Bunker Hill, isn’t even named for the place where it happened)? Did Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe turn down a Nazi surrender demand at Bastogne with the word “Nuts” or something more pungent?