In 2011, Glenn Beck released a new biography of George Washington, while Rick Perry the governor of Texas published a book arguing that the Founding Fathers intended the individual states to be more powerful than the federal government. Each of these books, and many more published over the years, present the Founding Fathers as a group of wise, philosophical statesmen who spoke about timeless issues with a unified voice. In the place of rigorous history, the authors substitute out-of-context proof texts, and in the place of real analysis they offer us a collective myth of the founding era. This volume examines dozens of these books, articles, speeches, and broadcasts to expose the deep flaws in their use of American history. What emerges is an accurate historical picture of remarkable individuals whose legacy is a working democratic process a system of disagreement, debate, and comprise.