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1776 Commission

Are the 1619 Project and the 1776 Commission really that different?

John Fea   |  December 21, 2023

I just read Zine Magubane’s review of Kenan Malik’s Not So Black and White: A History of Race from White Supremacy at Catalyst. Malik argues that both the 1619 Project and Donald Trump’s “1776 Commission” fail to recognize the importance […]

How Hillsdale College, the “champion of American exceptionalism,” is shaping civics education in Tennessee

John Fea   |  February 8, 2022

In November 2020, then president Donald Trump announced his 1776 Commission, a commission charged with delivering a conservative alternative to The New York Times 1619 Project. There were no American historians on the commission, but there was plenty of room […]

Can one date define a nation?

John Fea   |  October 15, 2021

1619? 1776? 1865? 1940? 1964? Which date defines the nation? Here is McGill University historian Gil Troy at the Jewish News Syndicate: In August 2019, The New York Times launched the 1619 Project—pivoting American history around racism’s evils, starting with the first slave ship’s […]

For the first time in American history, advocates of patriotic education are claiming their curriculum is based on fact

John Fea   |  August 6, 2021

This is a fascinating essay by Timothy Messer-Kruse of Bowling Green State University. It covers Josh Hawley’s “Love America Act” and Hillsdale College’s 1776 Curriculum. For most of the last two centuries, patriotic schooling was not a partisan issue. Both […]

What do Americans really think about critical race theory?

John Fea   |  July 23, 2021

According to an Reuters-Ipsos poll 43% of Americans said they are “familiar” with critical race theory. 30% have never heard of it. Other findings from this poll: 24 % of Americans know about the 1619 Project. 22% know about the […]

Matthew Karp critiques the “stamped from the beginning” approach to history

John Fea   |  June 19, 2021

Princeton historian Matthew Karp offers a stinging criticism of the “stamped from the beginning” view of American history. Here is a taste of his Harper’s piece “History as End: 1619, 1776, and the politics of the past.” Whatever birthday it […]

Biden dumped Trump’s 1776 Commission, but its members are still meeting

John Fea   |  May 22, 2021

If you are not familiar with the 1776 Commission, get up to speed here and here and here. Here is The Washington Examiner: The education advisory commission set up by former President Donald Trump will resume operations despite being disbanded by President Joe […]