Public History and Myth

In a somewhat related note to public education, I found another article which notes several tales accepted as fact by the public that are in fact fiction. One that I will confess I had been ignorant of was the myth of Paul Revere, who according to this article did not in fact complete his famous ride but gave up to British sentries while his colleagues rode on. It struck me as remarkable a myth such as this has become so ingrained in culture that it is taken as truth. Another myth which I think that most people now know to be false is that George Washington cut down a cherry tree when he was a kid, then told the truth to his father. Another myth that I discovered recently was that a very famous quote ascribe to Admiral Yamamoto after the raid on Pearl Harbor- "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve" - is in fact probably apocryphal, which means that the quote was more representative of his feelings but was never actually said or written by him.

While these myths are obviously not real history, they are so prevalent and ingrained in culture that they have taken on a life of their own. Because these myths have become so well-known, I would suggest that we separate them from truth, but not discard them entirely. My reasoning is that while not true history themselves, they have become cultural history. Myths such as the ones listed above would make excellent material for an exhibition on societal myths and lore. This is all personal opinion of course, but I think it would be a disservice to rid ourselves completely of these stories.

The article to which I was referring can be found here:
http://www.cracked.com/article_18755_5-fictional-stories-you-were-taught-in-history-class.html