Founding myths substitute fabricated narrative for genuine history to serve ruling classes

Evidence

The formation of the American state provided no exception. The American Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the considerations raised in the Federalist Papers were all expressions of the interests and creed of the American bourgeoisie. Soon they were to be augmented by the myths of Frontier, the paternal Plantation, the competitive capitalism of the Yankee, the courage of the Plainsman, and later supplemented by the tragedy of the War between the States, the Rugged Individual, the excitement of the American Industrial Revolution, the generosity of the Melting Pot. Such were the romantic fictions that came to constitute the social ideology of the nation’s bourgeoisie. — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 873 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

What does a great empire do when faced with imminent invasion and destruction? It can rearm at home and seek allies abroad; but more cunningly it can revisit its history to forge a myth that will unite the people and carry them through to victory, a myth that will demonstrate to everyone that their country has been specially chosen by history to uphold justice and righteousness. It is what the French did in 1914 and the British in 1940. In such circumstances, history reimagined can be a very powerful weapon. — Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects, 1045 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Historical events only reach audiences after being transformed into narrative form; Genre codes transform real history into naturalized myth selectively — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 791; Unrelated peoples independently invent similar founding epics — , A Year of World Stories, 15261 (+32 more)

Related

• American founding documents and frontier myths serve bourgeois class interests (similarity 0.90)
• Nation-states fabricate founding myths to legitimate class rule (similarity 0.85)
• Foundational myths reinterpret the past to justify future political claims. (similarity 0.81)
• The rise-of-the-middle-class narrative is a fabricated historical impression, not fact (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• American founding documents and frontier myths serve bourgeois class interests #exemplifies (0.85) — Cedric J. Robinson, Black Marxism_ The Making of the Black…, 873
• Historical myths can unite people during crises. #qualifies (0.60) — Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects, 1045
• Early Black historiography negated national myths while mirroring their form #expands (0.60)
• Historical truth stubbornly resists the storyteller s shaping instincts. #corroborates (0.55) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 874
• The myth shapes the present while being reshaped by it. #expands (0.50) — David Ohana, David Maisel , The Origins of Israeli…, 774
• Real history lacks tidy dramatic arcs and tidy causation. #corroborates (0.50) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 1173