The myths, really, that we've honed in on are things you hear about in the media, things that are often floated by politicians, and we think have a damaging effect on our discourse. Julian Zelizer: Well, the kind of myths we're talking about are really poor understandings or false understandings of American history that tie directly into a lot of public debates we have. I mean, aren't a few myths actually a pretty beneficial sort of social cohesion within a democracy? Melissa Harris-Perry: In their new book, Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies Of Our Past, co-eds Zelizer and Kruse, along with an array of American historians, take on the tales that conflict with the complicated truth of our history. I'm a professor of history of Princeton University and co-editor of Myth America. I'm a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and co-editor of Myth America. For historians, myth often sits at an uncomfortable tension with the known historical record. They can lead to a collective forgetfulness about the wrongs we've committed, or exclude the heroes and the sheroes whose stories we rarely tell.

Melissa Harris-Perry: These stories create important through lines of who we are, but they can also distort our understanding of history and of ourselves. John Litel as Patrick Henry: I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death. Like this classic 1936 Hollywood dramatization starring John Litel as Founding Father Patrick Henry.

Melissa Harris-Perry: We have stories about our heroes and what mattered to them. Schoolhouse Rock: And the shot heard 'round the world was the start of a revolution. Stories about the founding of the nation, like this classic from Schoolhouse Rock. These are the stories we tell ourselves to instill a sense of connection to the larger national project. Melissa Harris-Perry: All nations have myths that lays at our foundation.

Announcer: This is The Takeaway with Melissa Harris-Perry.

Myth america kruse