For more than a generation now, Americans are increasingly told by some of our own citizens that America really isn't all that great and never was.  George Washington and Thomas Jefferson can't be heroes for their roles in founding the freest society in history because they owned slaves.  Christopher Columbus shouldn't be commended for his daring and courage, and neither should the pilgrims because of their supposed mistreatment of the natives they encountered.

In his new book, "War on History: The Conspiracy to Rewrite America's Past," Daily Signal columnist Jarrett Stepman walks readers through every era of American history from Columbus up to modern times and how liberal activists and academics are trying to re-imagine American society by convincing us there's no good reason to remain moored to the people and ideals that got us here.

Listen to the first of our two-part interview with Stepman to hear how this effort to erase American history began, how it went from the radical fringe to conventional wisdom, and what we lose by failing to set the record straight.