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Myths America Lives By
In this book Richard T. Hughes identifies the five key myths that lie at the heart of the American experience--the myths of the Chosen Nation, of Nature's Nation, of the Christian Nation, of the Millennial Nation, and of the Innocent Nation. Drawing on a range of dissenting voices, Hughes shows that by canonizing these seemingly harmless myths of national identity as absolute truths, America risks undermining the sweepingly egalitarian promise of the Declaration of Independence.
The Chosen Nation myth led to the wholesale slaughter of indigenous peoples during the pioneer era. More recently the Innocent Nation myth prevented many Americans from understanding, or even discussing, the complex motivations of the 9/11 terrorists. Myths America Lives By demonstrates that Americans must rethink these myths in the spirit of extraordinary humility if the United States is to fulfill its true promise as a nation.
Hughes locates the roots of each myth in a different period of America's development, and from each of these periods he finds stirring critiques offered by marginalized commentators--especially African Americans and Native Americans--who question the predominant myth of their age.
Myths America Lives By is a dialogue between the mainstream mythmakers and the many critics--including Martin Luther King Jr., Ida B. Wells, Frederick Douglass, Black Elk, Anna J. Cooper, Booker T. Washington, Malcom X, Angela Davis, and W. E. B. Du Bois--whose dissent, rather than being un-American, was often grounded in a patriotic belief in the "self-evident" equality of America's fundamental creed.
The Chosen Nation myth led to the wholesale slaughter of indigenous peoples during the pioneer era. More recently the Innocent Nation myth prevented many Americans from understanding, or even discussing, the complex motivations of the 9/11 terrorists. Myths America Lives By demonstrates that Americans must rethink these myths in the spirit of extraordinary humility if the United States is to fulfill its true promise as a nation.
Hughes locates the roots of each myth in a different period of America's development, and from each of these periods he finds stirring critiques offered by marginalized commentators--especially African Americans and Native Americans--who question the predominant myth of their age.
Myths America Lives By is a dialogue between the mainstream mythmakers and the many critics--including Martin Luther King Jr., Ida B. Wells, Frederick Douglass, Black Elk, Anna J. Cooper, Booker T. Washington, Malcom X, Angela Davis, and W. E. B. Du Bois--whose dissent, rather than being un-American, was often grounded in a patriotic belief in the "self-evident" equality of America's fundamental creed.
203 pages, Paperback
First published September 10, 2003
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September 29, 2018
The American Dream is White Supremacy
This second, expanded edition of Myths America Lives By came about because author Richard Hughes was on a panel one day, and one of the panelists told him his book had missed the biggest American Myth of all – White Supremacy. The more the disbelieving Hughes looked into it, the more it became apparent. It put his first edition into a new, comprehensive and unified context. The result is a chilling reevaluation of America’s values. For some it will be terrifying, for others long overdue validation. It is a most worthwhile read.
Whites fight any sort of advancement by blacks, whether it is public schooling or a black president. Challenging white supremacy is a capital offense. Death threats to Obama were four times as high as for Bush. Congress vowed to block anything that came from Obama, regardless of merit. Even Lincoln was repulsed by the concept of equality, and publicly claimed whites were superior. Hughes came to the conclusion the White Supremacy Myth undergirds all the other myths and defines the United States. And of course it makes a mockery of the American Creed of equality and freedom, one nation under God, liberty, justice and the pursuit of happiness. Jefferson, the documents’ author, was clear that black inferiority was self-evident, much like whites’ truths.
The first edition examined five foundational myths that have grown into the basis of America. They are not thought about, nor even assumed, because they don’t have to be. For white Americans, they are America and don’t have to be stated. They are:
-The Chosen Nation (chosen by God to pursue His/its values, excusing American exceptionalism.)
-The Christian Nation (despite the Founders’ purposeful exclusion of any specific religion in the founding documents and despite its most un-Christian policies and acts.)
-Nature’s Nation (God’s real work, as appreciated and participated in by white Americans, from a standing start, without prior influence, and the natural superiority of its white populace. And despite the raping of the environment.)
-The Millennial Nation (placed here to promote its glorious values to the world. The ultimate salvation of Man. Manifest Destiny gone wild.)
-The Innocent Nation (a new, pure country with no history/baggage, and therefore no agenda or bias. Nothing America does can have ulterior motives.)
Hughes says Americans have no history: “The American people typically live in the eternal present, with little or no sense of history, they have long since forgotten about laws that were made, doors that were opened, and economic structures that were put in place that allow some to thrive while others do not.” There is no looking back. There are no lessons to learn, no education that can be beneficial. When you’re down and out in America, you’re history. There is no worse fate in the USA.
What’s new in the second edition is white supremacy - everywhere. For every one of the myths, underlying assumptions of white supremacy power it. Hughes was able to pull quotes going back before independence to show the Church and government proudly boasting of white supremacy as powering America. And it has only gotten worse, as no one bothered to consider what they were actually saying. Hughes shows white supremacy as the enabler of each of the other myths, unifying them, giving them a bedrock basis, and framing American values completely at odds with its own estimation.
There are a number of points Hughes makes almost in passing, that are worth noting:
-The founders believed America was a natural tabula rasa set out for them, natives notwithstanding. Natives were not considered human, and if they didn’t get out of the way, it was legitimate to exterminate them.
-Jefferson wrote that blacks are by nature inferior to whites. Franklin concurred. Madison was right in there, too.
-“Racism is rendered as the innocent daughter of Mother Nature,” Hughes quotes Ta-Nehisi Coates. It is baked into the fabric of America by its founders and their founding documents, giving black men a fraction of the value of white men (60%).
-John Adams, in a treaty with Tripoli, declared “The government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.” It was passed by a two-thirds majority and signed into law, without fuss. That was original intent. It quickly fell to religious takeover that is stronger than ever.
-The Church was conflicted. While it meant to spread itself everywhere, it feared equality for blacks would mean loss of control. How could a Christian nation tolerate slavery of Christians? Yet it also could not countenance blacks worshipping beside whites. So it invented things like the Colonizing Society, which freed slaves and sent them to Liberia to start over.
-Frederick Douglass didn’t mince words: “I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity.”
What whites fear most is colored “advancement”. Coloreds cannot get ahead or even be seen to be getting ahead without it being life-threatening to whites. Allowing blacks in schools or churches, giving them academic degrees, letting them become professionals, serving in the armed forces, playing pro sports, or living in white neighborhoods are all symptoms of eroding the core value of white supremacy. That, above all, powered Jim Crow, mass incarceration, extrajudicial killings and voter suppression.
What Myths America Lives By provides like no other book I’ve read is perspective. Through Hughes’ agonizing over whether white supremacy really did rule America, he has been able to distance himself from the United States and see the country for what it really is. That he couldn’t immediately see or believe it showed him how ingrained it was. That’s a gigantic accomplishment, especially for a white religious scholar at a parochial college in central Pennsylvania. Hats off to Richard Hughes for making sense of it all in a clear and devastatingly thorough way.
David Wineberg
This second, expanded edition of Myths America Lives By came about because author Richard Hughes was on a panel one day, and one of the panelists told him his book had missed the biggest American Myth of all – White Supremacy. The more the disbelieving Hughes looked into it, the more it became apparent. It put his first edition into a new, comprehensive and unified context. The result is a chilling reevaluation of America’s values. For some it will be terrifying, for others long overdue validation. It is a most worthwhile read.
Whites fight any sort of advancement by blacks, whether it is public schooling or a black president. Challenging white supremacy is a capital offense. Death threats to Obama were four times as high as for Bush. Congress vowed to block anything that came from Obama, regardless of merit. Even Lincoln was repulsed by the concept of equality, and publicly claimed whites were superior. Hughes came to the conclusion the White Supremacy Myth undergirds all the other myths and defines the United States. And of course it makes a mockery of the American Creed of equality and freedom, one nation under God, liberty, justice and the pursuit of happiness. Jefferson, the documents’ author, was clear that black inferiority was self-evident, much like whites’ truths.
The first edition examined five foundational myths that have grown into the basis of America. They are not thought about, nor even assumed, because they don’t have to be. For white Americans, they are America and don’t have to be stated. They are:
-The Chosen Nation (chosen by God to pursue His/its values, excusing American exceptionalism.)
-The Christian Nation (despite the Founders’ purposeful exclusion of any specific religion in the founding documents and despite its most un-Christian policies and acts.)
-Nature’s Nation (God’s real work, as appreciated and participated in by white Americans, from a standing start, without prior influence, and the natural superiority of its white populace. And despite the raping of the environment.)
-The Millennial Nation (placed here to promote its glorious values to the world. The ultimate salvation of Man. Manifest Destiny gone wild.)
-The Innocent Nation (a new, pure country with no history/baggage, and therefore no agenda or bias. Nothing America does can have ulterior motives.)
Hughes says Americans have no history: “The American people typically live in the eternal present, with little or no sense of history, they have long since forgotten about laws that were made, doors that were opened, and economic structures that were put in place that allow some to thrive while others do not.” There is no looking back. There are no lessons to learn, no education that can be beneficial. When you’re down and out in America, you’re history. There is no worse fate in the USA.
What’s new in the second edition is white supremacy - everywhere. For every one of the myths, underlying assumptions of white supremacy power it. Hughes was able to pull quotes going back before independence to show the Church and government proudly boasting of white supremacy as powering America. And it has only gotten worse, as no one bothered to consider what they were actually saying. Hughes shows white supremacy as the enabler of each of the other myths, unifying them, giving them a bedrock basis, and framing American values completely at odds with its own estimation.
There are a number of points Hughes makes almost in passing, that are worth noting:
-The founders believed America was a natural tabula rasa set out for them, natives notwithstanding. Natives were not considered human, and if they didn’t get out of the way, it was legitimate to exterminate them.
-Jefferson wrote that blacks are by nature inferior to whites. Franklin concurred. Madison was right in there, too.
-“Racism is rendered as the innocent daughter of Mother Nature,” Hughes quotes Ta-Nehisi Coates. It is baked into the fabric of America by its founders and their founding documents, giving black men a fraction of the value of white men (60%).
-John Adams, in a treaty with Tripoli, declared “The government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.” It was passed by a two-thirds majority and signed into law, without fuss. That was original intent. It quickly fell to religious takeover that is stronger than ever.
-The Church was conflicted. While it meant to spread itself everywhere, it feared equality for blacks would mean loss of control. How could a Christian nation tolerate slavery of Christians? Yet it also could not countenance blacks worshipping beside whites. So it invented things like the Colonizing Society, which freed slaves and sent them to Liberia to start over.
-Frederick Douglass didn’t mince words: “I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity.”
What whites fear most is colored “advancement”. Coloreds cannot get ahead or even be seen to be getting ahead without it being life-threatening to whites. Allowing blacks in schools or churches, giving them academic degrees, letting them become professionals, serving in the armed forces, playing pro sports, or living in white neighborhoods are all symptoms of eroding the core value of white supremacy. That, above all, powered Jim Crow, mass incarceration, extrajudicial killings and voter suppression.
What Myths America Lives By provides like no other book I’ve read is perspective. Through Hughes’ agonizing over whether white supremacy really did rule America, he has been able to distance himself from the United States and see the country for what it really is. That he couldn’t immediately see or believe it showed him how ingrained it was. That’s a gigantic accomplishment, especially for a white religious scholar at a parochial college in central Pennsylvania. Hats off to Richard Hughes for making sense of it all in a clear and devastatingly thorough way.
David Wineberg
September 3, 2018
A major concern that I have with this book is that it is clearly written from a Christian perspective. Richard T. Hughes, a Professor of Religion, makes assumptions about the nature of human beings and their supposed relationship with God from a clearly Christian perspective. This perspective underpins this book in such a way that if I were filing it on the shelves in a bookstore I would file it under religious studies rather than in the history section. This perspective and those assumptions in what is presented as a history book led to me to mistrust the author and remain cynical about everything he had to say. I have nothing against Christianity or Christians- but keep your religion out of my history book, thank you very much.
If I was going to recommend a history book covering some of the same ground I would recommend “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn. That book, if you have received the typical whitewashed history curriculum so many of us have in middle and high school- will knock your socks off.
I can’t recommend that book highly enough.
Professor Hughes has an annoying habit of quoting long sections from the works of other authors. If I want to know what those authors have to say I will go and read their books, not the appended Reader’s Digest version provided here. It would be enough to point toward these authors and their work without the extended quotes.
Additionally, besides having a decidedly biased Christian perspective and long quotes from other authors, virtually no new ground is covered in this book.
What really struck me reading this book is how much the way people and cultures have interpreted Christianity has cost us. So many people have died because of the way people have entwined their Christian faith with manifest destiny, social Darwinism and white supremacy. I think back to that passage in the Bible where God shows Moses Canaan and basically says- I’m giving it to your people- go ahead and displace and destroy the people who are currently living there. (I have never understood how the people who were already living in Canaan weren’t also God’s people, since every human being is a child of God- if one is spiritually inclined.) God treats Moses and his followers as chosen people and the rest is bible history.
This idea of being a “chosen people” certainly reverberated throughout the colonization of North America. In what became the United States, as Professor Hughes notes, many immigrants decided that they were the chosen people and that specifically the chosen people were white men. We are still paying for those mistaken assumptions hundreds of years later.
If I was going to recommend a history book covering some of the same ground I would recommend “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn. That book, if you have received the typical whitewashed history curriculum so many of us have in middle and high school- will knock your socks off.
I can’t recommend that book highly enough.
Professor Hughes has an annoying habit of quoting long sections from the works of other authors. If I want to know what those authors have to say I will go and read their books, not the appended Reader’s Digest version provided here. It would be enough to point toward these authors and their work without the extended quotes.
Additionally, besides having a decidedly biased Christian perspective and long quotes from other authors, virtually no new ground is covered in this book.
What really struck me reading this book is how much the way people and cultures have interpreted Christianity has cost us. So many people have died because of the way people have entwined their Christian faith with manifest destiny, social Darwinism and white supremacy. I think back to that passage in the Bible where God shows Moses Canaan and basically says- I’m giving it to your people- go ahead and displace and destroy the people who are currently living there. (I have never understood how the people who were already living in Canaan weren’t also God’s people, since every human being is a child of God- if one is spiritually inclined.) God treats Moses and his followers as chosen people and the rest is bible history.
This idea of being a “chosen people” certainly reverberated throughout the colonization of North America. In what became the United States, as Professor Hughes notes, many immigrants decided that they were the chosen people and that specifically the chosen people were white men. We are still paying for those mistaken assumptions hundreds of years later.
May 27, 2019
This book highlights the myths that power the understanding that Americans have of their nation. The myths are the myth of the chosen nation, the myth of nature's nation, the myth of the Christian nation, the myth of the millennial nation, the myth of the innocent nation, and the beliefs that surround America's notion of capitalism. The author then points out that these myths are powered or supported by the belief, whether consciously or unconsciously, in white supremacy. In doing so, he tears apart some of the assumptions that Americans have about life, freedom, and justice. This book is well worth a read.
July 23, 2017
This is a thought provoking book. Imagine a history book that you can’t put down and want to read more than a mystery or watching television. That is fairly compelling. It makes me want to read more history and to teach history. Hughes makes the point that myths are stories that people tell and that guide the ways they see and interpret the world. They are not necessarily falsehoods, but they can become perverted. The author makes clear that he is a Christian and the importance of that is because one of the myths he tackles is the myth of the United States as a Christian nation. The other myths are that of the United States as The Chosen Nation, Nature’s Nation, Millennial Nation, the mythical dimensions of American Capitalism and the most dangerous myth of all that we are an Innocent Nation. Several times he quotes Niebuhr about the irony of an excess of virtue becoming a vice. He also quotes Martin Luther King, Jr. about understanding how our enemy sees us. The United States believes it lives outside of history, as though its source in Western Europe never happened. Hughes goes back to the Reformation and the establishment by Henry VIII of the Anglican Church in England so that he could divorce his first wife. Before the Reformation for many hundreds of years since the Crusades there had been no religious wars because the Catholic Church reigned supreme. The other contributing factor to religious warfare was the translation of the Bible from Latin so that everyone who could read had access to it. Walter Tyndale who translated the bible into English saw the English people much like the Israelites as being a chosen people. To some degree he meant this metaphorically. These chosen people had a covenant with God to live holy lives, caring for each other. The Puritans took this literally, seeing themselves as chosen. One of the points Hughes makes throughout the book that this covenant keeps being changed as a result of time and the realities of people’s experiences. The focus moved from social responsibility to the individual. In looking at the history of the development of the myths, Hughes uses the Declaration of Independence with its claim that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” as a touchstone and exemplar of the American creed. As a counter weight to this, he offers the African American experience, quoting many voices of articulate and impassioned African Americans. What Jefferson meant by his words, of course, were white, propertied men. Jefferson shared the view of the Puritans who saw a vast, unpopulated land, a veritable Eden for their use alone. The natives they encountered were dismissed along with the animals as savages cluttering up their paradise, the paradise God gave them because they were the chosen ones. They threw out Roger Williams because, among other things, he insisted that the Jews were the chosen ones. As intellectual and spiritual descendants of Calvin, they knew they were selected, not necessarily for the lives they lived, but for the virtues inherent within them. Hughes makes the point that you can’t discount the role of religion in American history. This is tied up with the sense that Americans live at the beginning of time and the end of time. They are in the early Edenic state and will live a thousand years under Christ’s glory until the end of time. This is the millennial myth and part of the outside of history thing. This is combined with a sense that Americans are to be a model for the world and are to spread the word of God, by force if necessary, to the rest of the world. Much as we did in Vietnam, liberating people by killing them. American capitalism is also meant to rule the world.. There is always an evil we have to fight and that evil brings us together because during war you can not question the myths. There is communism which is particularly bad because it is godless, and Islam, bad because it is another religion. If Americans are tortured that is bad, but if we torture, it is for self-protection. Everything we do is in the name of spreading liberty to everyone we consider human. Those we kill in the process are by the nature of being killed by us not human or worthy. Hughes doesn’t say that last sentence. I do. Hughes presents details on the second Great Awakening which is important in understanding our history. Hughes cites a great deal from Frederick Douglas’ What does the Fourth of July Meant to A Black Man. In terms of the Civil Rights movement Hughes makes a distinction between the South and the North that is interesting. He notes that non-violence might work in the south, but not in the urban north. He makes me want to read more about the Northern Migration and its limitations and how the negative experiences were played out in the different regions of the country. That we need to look honestly at our history is clear from this book that has set me thinking and wanting to know more. The idea of the United States as a land of opportunity has been corrupted so that if you are not rich in the United States, it is your own fault. We even have gotten the poor to believe that. He talks about the growing lack of concern for others that happened in this country as the covenant was subtly transformed. We practiced genocide as a governmental policy against the Native Americans. Hughes also quotes some eloquent Indians. Andrew Jackson was a horror in so many ways. Most of our leaders were fairly despicable, warped by these myths, This brief book was stimulating, giving me more ideas to think about and to gain more information about.
May 2, 2010
Just like "Breakfast of Champions," but not as funny and with more footnotes.
September 4, 2024
As difficult as certain truths may be to hear, it's important that we listen. It's important that we make whatever changes we feel the Lord is leading us to make as a result of whatever revelation He presents to us and in whatever form.
This book tries to do just that and, I believe, does so in such a way as is compatible and consistent with Christian virtue. The only remaining question might be to ask at what degree of certainty do we believe that the facts presented are facts at all or unadulterated to serve some other hidden motive.
Whether we like to hear it or not, this book does absolutely present truths about our nation's history that are uncomfortable and/or shameful. We must, by virtue of truth, embrace those things and modify our mindsets and conduct accordingly if ever we truly hope to begin to be a nation blessed by God.
This book tries to do just that and, I believe, does so in such a way as is compatible and consistent with Christian virtue. The only remaining question might be to ask at what degree of certainty do we believe that the facts presented are facts at all or unadulterated to serve some other hidden motive.
Whether we like to hear it or not, this book does absolutely present truths about our nation's history that are uncomfortable and/or shameful. We must, by virtue of truth, embrace those things and modify our mindsets and conduct accordingly if ever we truly hope to begin to be a nation blessed by God.
March 17, 2021
One of the best books that I have ever read. I learned so much about the “Myths” that the United States lives under the delusion of. It punched me hard in my heart.
August 16, 2020
I highly recommend this book for anyone open to challenging their thinking about American history. It is well worth your time. This is well researched and well written.
July 26, 2019
Richard Hughes outlines what he sees as six myths that most Americans live by. Myths in this sense are the beliefs most Americans hold about the nature of our country, which persist in spite of evidence to the contrary. Underlying all of these myths is the foundational myth upon which the other six stand: the myth of White Supremacy. The interesting uniqueness of this foundational myth is that we tend to deny it, even as we act it out in our public, personal and political lives.
After describing the myth of white supremacy he outlines the other myths and then offers a critical perspective through the lens of white supremacy indicating at the heart of the American self- expression, white supremacy reigns.
The six myths that are built on white supremacy are as follows
- The Myth of the chosen nation - that America has a special role in God's plan for humanity
- The Myth of Nature's Nation - the idea that America's ideals and principles are rooted in the natural order of things
- The Myth of the Millenial Nation - the belief that America will usher in a golden age of peace and justice for the world.
- The Myth of the Christian nation - the idea that America is first and foremost a Christian nation
- The Myth of the Innocent Nation - that despite its actions, America always works for Right and Truth
- The mythic dimensions of Capitalism - that capitalism is nature's way of ordering the economy.
Hughes does a good job of describing the power of these myths and the way in which we undermine our integrity as a nation, and are used to ignore and abuse persons of color for whom this nation was never designed and continues to exclude.
This book is a difficult read because no matter how enlightened one feels they are about racial injustice in the US, one also feels the pull of these myths. For this reason, this book must be read carefully and with an open mind. The other night I listened to the President's "State of the Union Address" and heard each of these myths (except that of white supremacy because this is one we deny) voiced. While rooted in our history (which Hughes points out we tend to ignore), these myths are alive and well in our present.
After describing the myth of white supremacy he outlines the other myths and then offers a critical perspective through the lens of white supremacy indicating at the heart of the American self- expression, white supremacy reigns.
The six myths that are built on white supremacy are as follows
- The Myth of the chosen nation - that America has a special role in God's plan for humanity
- The Myth of Nature's Nation - the idea that America's ideals and principles are rooted in the natural order of things
- The Myth of the Millenial Nation - the belief that America will usher in a golden age of peace and justice for the world.
- The Myth of the Christian nation - the idea that America is first and foremost a Christian nation
- The Myth of the Innocent Nation - that despite its actions, America always works for Right and Truth
- The mythic dimensions of Capitalism - that capitalism is nature's way of ordering the economy.
Hughes does a good job of describing the power of these myths and the way in which we undermine our integrity as a nation, and are used to ignore and abuse persons of color for whom this nation was never designed and continues to exclude.
This book is a difficult read because no matter how enlightened one feels they are about racial injustice in the US, one also feels the pull of these myths. For this reason, this book must be read carefully and with an open mind. The other night I listened to the President's "State of the Union Address" and heard each of these myths (except that of white supremacy because this is one we deny) voiced. While rooted in our history (which Hughes points out we tend to ignore), these myths are alive and well in our present.
September 9, 2009
Richard Hughes confronts these American "myths" as a collection of narratives believed to be true, instead of adopting the rather pejorative implication of the word as fantastical tales or ludicrous assumptions. He identifies five essential ways in which Americans have told our story--a mythos--and examines not only our fulfillment, or lack thereof, of the promise of each story, but also the hopeful implications of fulfillment.
This examination is approached through the twin filters of prophetic, evangelical Christianity and African American experience. As a result, the examination is convicting, graceful, and optimistic. While academic, Hughes is readable and has included interesting and diverse resources for further study.
This examination is approached through the twin filters of prophetic, evangelical Christianity and African American experience. As a result, the examination is convicting, graceful, and optimistic. While academic, Hughes is readable and has included interesting and diverse resources for further study.
June 11, 2020
We are products of history and this has come to light now more than ever.
Richard Hughes' Myths America Lives By: White Supremacy and the Stories That Give us Meaning is an attempt to show the consequences of history on the modern day.
This is a thematic history book, meant to explain and explore various streams through the history of the United States. Hughes is upfront with his project as he states, "The fundamental argument of this book...is Twofold, first that the Myth of White Supremacy is the primal American myth that informs all the others, and second that one of the chief functions of the other five myths is to protect and obscure the Myth of White Supremacy..."
This book is a revision of an earlier version in which the five myths : (1) Myth of a Chosen Nation, (2) Myth of Nature's Nation, (3) Myth of a Christian nation (4) Myth of a Millenial Nation, and (5) Myth of an Innocent Nation were explained at length, but the myth of White Supremacy was omitted. Now, he has reworked his book to demonstrate how White Supremacy is a primal theme throughout history.
Hughes' treatment of the five myths corresponds with various periods of American History and he wants to demonstrate how these myths have shaped the American self-consciousness that is only display today. Whenever an author approaches history like this, it is obvious that the 'history' is secondary to the analysis. And while this is the case here, Hughes' analysis is intriguing and insightful.
Every culture and country has it's own mythos...it's own significant self understandings and its own legends. The United States is no different. Hughes' presents these myths as ways to understand the particulars of US history. Once you begin to see American history through these lenses, it is easy to understand how the individual events of history fit in.
The major argument: that in the United States, racism (conscious or unconscious) has played an essential role in the policies, programs and experience of history cannot be denied. One merely needs to look at the American Slave Trade, the Trail of Tears and the Jim Crow laws to establish this. Race has been at the center of American existence since it's beginning and it continues to affect the country today.
Whether or not you buy his argument completely will depend on the amount that you are compelled by his 'myths' argument. Some will see this as 'revisionist' history, meant to obscure or vilify the accomplishments of the American past. Others may see this pure Anti-Trump writing. However, those that Hughes is writing too are probably already convinced of the nature and place of these myths.
I do not think that Hughes' reaches the conclusion he set out to make. Although one can see the themes throughout American history, Hughes does little to link them together. His writing however is clear, concise and straightforward.
Being a Churchman, the myth of the Christian Nation is especially relevant. I understand why this myth is so prevalent in the Church today, and I wish it was not. Gregory Boyd's little book The Myth of a Christian Nation is a helpful companion to Hughes' chapter of the same name.
I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in American History, current events or religion in America.
Grade: B+
Richard Hughes' Myths America Lives By: White Supremacy and the Stories That Give us Meaning is an attempt to show the consequences of history on the modern day.
This is a thematic history book, meant to explain and explore various streams through the history of the United States. Hughes is upfront with his project as he states, "The fundamental argument of this book...is Twofold, first that the Myth of White Supremacy is the primal American myth that informs all the others, and second that one of the chief functions of the other five myths is to protect and obscure the Myth of White Supremacy..."
This book is a revision of an earlier version in which the five myths : (1) Myth of a Chosen Nation, (2) Myth of Nature's Nation, (3) Myth of a Christian nation (4) Myth of a Millenial Nation, and (5) Myth of an Innocent Nation were explained at length, but the myth of White Supremacy was omitted. Now, he has reworked his book to demonstrate how White Supremacy is a primal theme throughout history.
Hughes' treatment of the five myths corresponds with various periods of American History and he wants to demonstrate how these myths have shaped the American self-consciousness that is only display today. Whenever an author approaches history like this, it is obvious that the 'history' is secondary to the analysis. And while this is the case here, Hughes' analysis is intriguing and insightful.
Every culture and country has it's own mythos...it's own significant self understandings and its own legends. The United States is no different. Hughes' presents these myths as ways to understand the particulars of US history. Once you begin to see American history through these lenses, it is easy to understand how the individual events of history fit in.
The major argument: that in the United States, racism (conscious or unconscious) has played an essential role in the policies, programs and experience of history cannot be denied. One merely needs to look at the American Slave Trade, the Trail of Tears and the Jim Crow laws to establish this. Race has been at the center of American existence since it's beginning and it continues to affect the country today.
Whether or not you buy his argument completely will depend on the amount that you are compelled by his 'myths' argument. Some will see this as 'revisionist' history, meant to obscure or vilify the accomplishments of the American past. Others may see this pure Anti-Trump writing. However, those that Hughes is writing too are probably already convinced of the nature and place of these myths.
I do not think that Hughes' reaches the conclusion he set out to make. Although one can see the themes throughout American history, Hughes does little to link them together. His writing however is clear, concise and straightforward.
Being a Churchman, the myth of the Christian Nation is especially relevant. I understand why this myth is so prevalent in the Church today, and I wish it was not. Gregory Boyd's little book The Myth of a Christian Nation is a helpful companion to Hughes' chapter of the same name.
I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in American History, current events or religion in America.
Grade: B+
October 12, 2023
Seven out of ten.
(Read for Dr Fox Tree's class on religions of the Americas)
This isn’t the first book I've read about American myth. (In God We Don't Trust, anyone?) But it is well-thought and well-researched.
Hughes bases American culture on six myths (in the social-constructivist sense of myth), all of which are pretty convincing:
- American chosenness
- American conformity to the natural order
- America as a Christian nation
- America as a millennial kingdom
- American innocence
- white supremacy
He argues that the first four of these myths are or at least can be somewhat useful to American society, but that all have been co-opted for unfortunate purposes.
I couldn’t help but take issue with the claim that white supremacy is the most fundamental of these myths and undergirds all the others. Sure, I can see places where they intersect, often with horrible and brutal results. But Hughes fails to persuade me that I propagate these myths in the service of keeping ahead of minorities.
This failure, to be fair, doesn't disprove his argument. According to some theorists (he mentions Eduardo Bonilla-Silva), racism continues to exist without the presence of any important racist actors. But I think that idea takes too much liberty with the definition of "racism".
Having said that, it's helpful for me to read this type of material, to be reminded that history has been written by the victors. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on the Christian-nation myth and on capitalism and economic colonialism.
Though I don't fully endorse it, I do recommend this book to students of American culture (or American subcultures). It’s scholarly but not overwhelmingly dense.
(Read for Dr Fox Tree's class on religions of the Americas)
This isn’t the first book I've read about American myth. (In God We Don't Trust, anyone?) But it is well-thought and well-researched.
Hughes bases American culture on six myths (in the social-constructivist sense of myth), all of which are pretty convincing:
- American chosenness
- American conformity to the natural order
- America as a Christian nation
- America as a millennial kingdom
- American innocence
- white supremacy
He argues that the first four of these myths are or at least can be somewhat useful to American society, but that all have been co-opted for unfortunate purposes.
I couldn’t help but take issue with the claim that white supremacy is the most fundamental of these myths and undergirds all the others. Sure, I can see places where they intersect, often with horrible and brutal results. But Hughes fails to persuade me that I propagate these myths in the service of keeping ahead of minorities.
This failure, to be fair, doesn't disprove his argument. According to some theorists (he mentions Eduardo Bonilla-Silva), racism continues to exist without the presence of any important racist actors. But I think that idea takes too much liberty with the definition of "racism".
Having said that, it's helpful for me to read this type of material, to be reminded that history has been written by the victors. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on the Christian-nation myth and on capitalism and economic colonialism.
Though I don't fully endorse it, I do recommend this book to students of American culture (or American subcultures). It’s scholarly but not overwhelmingly dense.
February 22, 2025
“There is in this country a deeply ingrained notion of American exceptionalism. We are democratic. We believe in quality. We believe in opportunity. This is the land of all those things. So therefore, there is a tendency to forget about aspects of our history, which don’t fit that pattern.” Eric Foner
“The myth of white supremacy is the primal American myth that informs all others, and one of the chief functions of the other myths is to protect an obscure the myth of white supremacy, and to assure that we remain innocent.”
“An ideology was rapidly developing in the United States, that equated wealth with righteousness and poverty with sin…If America offers everyone an equal opportunity, as is widely believed, and if capitalism is ordained of God and rooted in nature, then those who fail to excel in the system have only themselves to blame. This ideology dominated the thinking of privileged people in the United States.”
“For every action of African-American advancement, there is a reaction, a backlash.” Carol Anderson
“The truth is that many Americans live their lives in the eternal present, a present informed and shaped not by history…. The myth of American innocence can be traced to our nation’s denial of its history..”
“The myth of white supremacy is the primal American myth that informs all others, and one of the chief functions of the other myths is to protect an obscure the myth of white supremacy, and to assure that we remain innocent.”
“An ideology was rapidly developing in the United States, that equated wealth with righteousness and poverty with sin…If America offers everyone an equal opportunity, as is widely believed, and if capitalism is ordained of God and rooted in nature, then those who fail to excel in the system have only themselves to blame. This ideology dominated the thinking of privileged people in the United States.”
“For every action of African-American advancement, there is a reaction, a backlash.” Carol Anderson
“The truth is that many Americans live their lives in the eternal present, a present informed and shaped not by history…. The myth of American innocence can be traced to our nation’s denial of its history..”
November 7, 2017
I was actively looking for a book that is exactly the title: myths Americans tell themselves. There is a wonderful website of American myths, and I wanted a book of its type that I might use as a textbook. I fell in love with the stories we tell ourselves, small and large. Unfortunately this isn't the book. It's so laden in theology that every myth incorporates god even if the myth has nothing to do with god. Also, and worse, some bits are factually incorrect. So when I was reading things unfamiliar to me, my compass felt off; how can I know if Hughes is correct if he isn't about other things? Still, I kept on the lookout for a chapter or section to share with my students, but ultimately I found that Hughes threw too much into each story - god or Christianity, white vs other, time periods intermingled and out of order, etc. I love the premise, but this is not a good book.
July 23, 2019
Very Interesting book on how we are brought up on the myths that justify or hold America innocent of the atrocities that have been committed against African Americans and Native Peoples. Each of these myths are rooted in White Supremacy. The author provides a well researched and strong argument for what these myths are and their origin and strength. I read this book as I went to hear the authors of a related book "American Exceptionalism and American Innocence:
A Peoples' History of Fake News—From the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror". A reviewer of this book in goodreads recommended this book.
A Peoples' History of Fake News—From the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror". A reviewer of this book in goodreads recommended this book.
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February 10, 2021This book is a MUST read for anyone who is interested in how America has evolved into its current situation, especially with regard to white supremacy.
The author explores what he regards as the main American myths:
Chosen nation
Nature's nation
Christian nation
Millennial nation
Innocent nation.
While the first edition of the book came out in 2003, this edition deepens into the white supremacy issue and how it has influenced the 5 American myths, so be sure and get the 2018 edition.
The author explores what he regards as the main American myths:
Chosen nation
Nature's nation
Christian nation
Millennial nation
Innocent nation.
While the first edition of the book came out in 2003, this edition deepens into the white supremacy issue and how it has influenced the 5 American myths, so be sure and get the 2018 edition.
November 21, 2018
Fine book by an old school 60's radical. Takes Christianity as a central focus for understanding America-- and how Christians accommodated their beliefs to achieve exploitation, conquest and their own material well-being. It is an important book because historians, generally (out of politeness!?) ignore the force of Christianity in shaping American policy, even a twisted Christianity which forms
an everyday hegemonic (and hence invisible) ideology.
an everyday hegemonic (and hence invisible) ideology.
July 20, 2020
A great book that explains that background of the background of white supremacy (not the KKK type, but just higher value in the minds of white peoples) in this country. Much of it is rooted in exceptions list of interpretation of the Bible starting Eurocentrically before being adapted by Europeans who settled in America. A must read book, especially for Evangelicals.
August 12, 2017
As an Australian living in America, this book opened my eyes to why many things are the way they are. I think anyone who is interested in gaining a deeper understanding of some of the presuppositions of American culture would find it an enlightening read.
October 18, 2019
Excellent book to understand the thoughts many Americans have and don’t realize it. Even more important for Americans raised with an Evangelical Christian world view.
July 26, 2020
A little repetitive but unbelievably important.
June 18, 2021
Great book for reframing US history & religion in the US. Doesn't soften the role of white supremacy in US history and present. Good for upperclass highschool & lower division college.
November 6, 2023
Mid, had to read for class so that's unfortunate, but Hughes is really onto something here
February 3, 2024
Wow! This is a powerful read! Of course there are a few details I would quibble with, but overall this was very helpful to read.
December 3, 2024
Surprisingly readable. The historical narratives blending with our contemporary society was convincing. I enjoyed it.
March 6, 2017
Thought-provoking and accessible
January 19, 2019
“Myths America Lives By; White Supremacy and the Stories That Give Us Meaning” isn’t a title I would normally pick up. Yet after receiving this recommendation and nearly reading straight through in a few days, I cannot overstate the importance of this book. Richard T Hughes, professor at Pepperdine University and Messiah College, surveys not only our direct racial conflicts in America but also the religious, philosophical, and political movements tracing back to Henry VII and how they have shaped Protestantism, the founding of America, the evolution of our race relations and the dynamics at play among Christian groups from the inception of the States, through its schisms, trials, and ultimately into present-day. For those who struggle to understand both the events and polarities of today as well as the highs and lows of our American past, this book paints a heartbreaking, damning, and ultimately clear picture for today’s Christians. To tackle hundreds of years and heavy themes like philosophy, history, and theology, alongside the exploration of great American myths such as The Myth of the Chosen Nation, Nature’s Nation, the Christian Nation, Millennial Nation, and the Innocent Nation is a daunting task with limitations, yet his work is nevertheless extensive and certainly illuminating as he gives primacy to the oft-neglected or forgotten voices of prominent people of color.
In the first chapter, Hughes explains, “As a Christian, I understand that the one I seek to follow has asked us to see the world through the eyes of people who suffer oppression at the hands of the world’s elites. Oppressed people will tell us the truth, I believe, in ways that the world’s elites, the wealthy, and the power brokers typically will not. The elites will not because they have too much to lose. But oppressed people have nothing to lose and that is why we need to hear them clearly.”
The topic of race is undoubtedly emotionally and politically charged at this moment (though, when has it not been?) and it may be with gritted teeth that some of us may approach this book, but Hughes is correct in his conviction of listening to the oppressed, a timeless charge from the word of God. For those of us struggling to understand the divisions in our society, this book provides an opportunity to step outside ourselves and consider the lessons history has preserved for us.
In the first chapter, Hughes explains, “As a Christian, I understand that the one I seek to follow has asked us to see the world through the eyes of people who suffer oppression at the hands of the world’s elites. Oppressed people will tell us the truth, I believe, in ways that the world’s elites, the wealthy, and the power brokers typically will not. The elites will not because they have too much to lose. But oppressed people have nothing to lose and that is why we need to hear them clearly.”
The topic of race is undoubtedly emotionally and politically charged at this moment (though, when has it not been?) and it may be with gritted teeth that some of us may approach this book, but Hughes is correct in his conviction of listening to the oppressed, a timeless charge from the word of God. For those of us struggling to understand the divisions in our society, this book provides an opportunity to step outside ourselves and consider the lessons history has preserved for us.
January 1, 2021
Richard Hughes was a professor at Abilene Christian University while I was a graduate student there, and I was fortunate enough to have one class he co-taught. He was a history professor, that had done some specialty study in the history of the Stone-Campbell movement; but he was not a professor of Religion (but he was a Christian). This book was, in my opinion, well-written, challenging, and well-researched. It was challenging to me because I was raised as a son of the south, and can remember the Daughters of the Confederacy coming to my grade school classrooms and talking about the just cause, states rights, and the integrity and goodness of some of the Confederate generals. I can remember what the 5th grade Arkansas history book, that we used, looked like; but I can't remember any of the specifics of what it taught. BUT I now realize that I have been influenced by nearly all of the myths that Richard Hughes talks about in this book. Not only did this book lay that out in a way that I could understand, but other books that I have read this year (Brands, "Dreams of El Dorado", Foster's "A Life of Alexander Campbell", Wallis's "America's Original Sin", "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas", Gwynne's "Empire of the Summer Moon", and Meacham's "Thomas Jefferson) had actions and thoughts that I could now give meaning to. I would recommend this book to anyone, with the warning that you need to be prepared to have your thinking stretched. I intend to buy a couple of copies of it and give to my two sons, because I believe that it will be good for both of them.
August 21, 2013
From the "Chosen Nation" to "Nature's Nation" to "Christian Nation" to "Millennial Nation" to "Innocent Nation" Richard Hughes brings to life how our country evolved much of what we still see today. Good dialog on "manifest destiny" and "capitalism" - and I especially liked how he used dissenting voices of African Americans and Native Americans to show the flaws associated with absolutizing these myths. Easy to understand language - accessible.
kindle
September 17, 2018The author wrote an eye-opening book about the myths that influence and guide the American experience and race. I learned a lot about historical events that I had not heard of prior to reading this book. With all of the racial tensions in America right now, I think that it is important for everyone to read this to better understand it.
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