Founding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past

Book – Non-fiction. By Ray Raphael. 2004. 368 pages.
Myths and the reasons that they have come to replace the real stories of the Revolutionary period.

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In Founding Myths, Raphael has created a page-turner out of the stuff of American history primers. He documents the errors and inventions that permeate the nation’s most cherished myths, from Paul Revere’s midnight ride to Patrick Henry’s famous utterance, “Give me liberty or give me death!” The author also assiduously sniffs out the origins of the myths and the reasons that they have come to replace the real stories of the Revolutionary period.

“Raphael relays so much forgotten or never-known history and argues so well why it, not the legends, should be remembered that virtually any American will profit from reading this lively, intelligent book.” — Booklist

“All students of American history will find Raphael’s correction of the historical record instructive and enjoyable.” — Publishers Weekly

“Ray Raphael’s Founding Myths makes great strides toward challenging conventional myths and broadening our understanding of American History. Raphael works within the interstices of American mythology to reveal the genealogy of fictional stories central to the American ‘founding.’… [He] reveals the highly myopic and provincial perspective that often shapes the American understanding of American history.”  — Institute for Historical Review

For more information on this book and the author, visit: RayRaphael.com

Published by New Press.

ISBN:9781595580733

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