Madison Cawthorn, self-described 'big history buff,' keeps getting historical facts wrong

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a freshman Republican from North Carolina, has called himself a "big history buff" and a "lover of history."

But Cawthorn -- who, at age 25, is the youngest member of Congress -- keeps getting historical facts wrong.

Cawthorn also has a record of other false claims. Here's a look at some of the inaccurate assertions he has made about the American past in particular.

A John Adams quote

Speaking on the House floor on Thursday to criticize the Biden administration's handling of the economy, Cawthorn said, "It was Thomas Jefferson that said, 'Facts are stubborn things. And whatever may be our wishes, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.' "

This is a famous quote from John Adams, not Jefferson. (Cawthorn omitted two of Adams' words in the quote.) Adams uttered it in 1770 while serving as defense lawyer for British soldiers who had been charged with murder in the Boston Massacre.