This figurative phrase means to tell someone the truth about something they had misunderstood or about which they had received false information. According to the Free Online Dictionary, it was coined in the first half of the 1900s.

Actually the expression was being used by the early 19th century in a literal sense. "An Academy for Grown Horsemen" by Geoffrey Gambado, published in London in 1808 had this citation:

“If your horse bears too much to the right, of course you drop the reins entirely on that side, and pull them up sharp, with both hands, on the other; but if that does not answer, you must refer to your whip, and a good smart cut over his right cheek and eye, will soon set him straight again.”

Then, in the late 19th century, it took on a very close meaning in the short poem, "Point of View,"published in Life Magazine, Oct. 6, 1882, shows this:

THE POINT OF VIEW

A MAN who oft a hobby rode,

 Once at a group of wise-men sped;

The beast was frightened, kicked and plunged,  

And stood him on his head.

The wise-men ran to set him straight,

“See what my hobby’s done,” cried he, 

“You all are upside down.”’

This was around the time that the saying was taking on a figurative tone. Though it still referred to riding, the very title, "Point of View,’ denoted a hint of a metaphor.

Another poem, "Father Gander," which appeared in the American Chemical Society’s The Crucible, in February, 1918, clearly shows the current meaning.

FATHER GANDER

There was a man in our town

And he felt wondrous wise. 

“The men  of science are,” he claimed, 

“Poor fools who theorize.”

But when his business went to pot, 

With all his might and main, 

He called a chemical engineer 

To set him straight again.

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