# Myth America

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***Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past*** is a book of essays by 20 leading historians and other academics debunking popular beliefs regarding events in [American history](/source/American_history), as well as more contemporary issues. The book was published by [Basic Books](/source/Basic_Books) in early 2023.

Edited by [Kevin M. Kruse](/source/Kevin_M._Kruse) and [Julian E. Zelizer](/source/Julian_E._Zelizer), historians at [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University), the book focuses on more recent research challenging narratives promoted by [conservative sources](/source/Media_bias_in_the_United_States) on subjects such as [America's founding](/source/American_Revolution) in the late 18th century, the [South's rebellion](/source/American_Civil_War) during the 1860s, the [New Deal](/source/New_Deal) of the 1930s, the [Civil Rights Movement](/source/Civil_rights_movement) in the 1950s and 1960s, the [Reagan "revolution"](/source/Presidency_of_Ronald_Reagan) of the 1980s, and charges of [voter fraud](/source/Electoral_fraud) during the early 2020s.[1][2] Its essays also cover a range of social and political issues, including [immigration](/source/Immigration_to_the_United_States), [feminism](/source/Feminism), [capitalism](/source/Capitalism), [American socialism](/source/Socialism_in_the_United_States), and [police violence](/source/Police_brutality_in_the_United_States).[3][1]

## Contents

*Myth America* opens with an introduction by the book's editors Kevin Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer and includes the following essays by recognized authorities on American history:[4]

1. [American Exceptionalism](/source/American_Exceptionalism) — [David A. Bell](/source/David_Bell_(historian))
1. [Founding Myths](/source/American_Revolution) — [Akhil Reed Amar](/source/Akhil_Reed_Amar)
1. [Vanishing Indians](/source/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States) — [Ari Kelman](/source/Ari_Kelman)
1. [Immigration](/source/Immigration_to_the_United_States) — [Erika Lee](/source/Erika_Lee)
1. [America First](/source/America_First_(policy)) — [Sarah Churchwell](/source/Sarah_Churchwell)
1. [The United States Is an Empire](/source/American_imperialism) — [Daniel Immerwahr](/source/Daniel_Immerwahr)
1. [The Border](/source/Illegal_immigration_to_the_United_States) — Geraldo Cadava
1. [American Socialism](/source/American_socialism) — [Michael Kazin](/source/Michael_Kazin)
1. The Magic of the Marketplace — [Naomi Oreskes](/source/Naomi_Oreskes) and [Erik M. Conway](/source/Erik_M._Conway)
1. [The New Deal](/source/The_New_Deal) — [Eric Rauchway](/source/Eric_Rauchway)
1. [Confederate Monuments](/source/Confederate_monuments) — [Karen L. Cox](/source/Karen_L._Cox)
1. The [Southern Strategy](/source/Southern_Strategy) — [Kevin Kruse](/source/Kevin_Kruse)
1. [The Good Protest](/source/Civil_rights_movement) — [Glenda Gilmore](/source/Glenda_Gilmore)
1. White Backlash — [Lawrence B. Glickman](/source/Lawrence_B._Glickman)
1. The [Great Society](/source/Great_Society) — [Joshua Zeitz](/source/Joshua_Zeitz)
1. [Police Violence](/source/Police_brutality_in_the_United_States) — [Elizabeth Hinton](/source/Elizabeth_Hinton)
1. [Insurrection](/source/January_6_United_States_Capitol_attack) — [Kathleen Belew](/source/Kathleen_Belew)
1. Family Values Feminism — [Natalia Mehlman Petrzela](/source/Natalia_Mehlman_Petrzela)
1. [Reagan Revolution](/source/Reagan_Revolution) — [Julian E. Zelizer](/source/Julian_E._Zelizer)
1. [Voter Fraud](/source/Voter_Fraud) — [Carol Anderson](/source/Carol_Anderson)

## References

1. Cohen, Lizabeth (January 5, 2023). ["In *Myth America*, Historians Set Out to Battle Misinformation"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/01/05/historians-myth-america-kruse-zelizer/). *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)*. Retrieved January 23, 2023.

1. Lenaburg, Jerry (2023). ["Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past"](https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/myth-america-historians-take). New York Journal of Books. Retrieved January 23, 2023.

1. Lozada, Carlos (January 6, 2023). ["Opinion: I Looked Behind the Curtain of American History, and This Is What I Found"](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/06/opinion/kruse-zelizer-myth-history.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. Retrieved January 23, 2023.

1. ["Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Legends and Lies about Our Past"](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/myth-america-kevin-m-kruse/1140978081). [Barnes & Noble](/source/Barnes_%26_Noble). Retrieved January 23, 2023.

## External links

"[Was James Madison Truly Father of the Constitution?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BfzgH1Rhk4)", Akhil Reed Amar, [YouTube](/source/YouTube), 2022

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Myth America](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth_America) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth_America?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.