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1776 Commission

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PDF of the 1776 Commission Report

The 1776 Commission, also nicknamed the 1776 Project,[1][2] was an advisory committee established in September 2020 by then-U.S. President Donald Trump to support what he called "patriotic education".[3] The commission released The 1776 Report on January 18, 2021, two days before the end of Trump's term of office.[4] Historians overwhelmingly criticized the report, saying it was "filled with errors and partisan politics".[3][5] The commission was terminated by the successive President Joe Biden on January 20, 2021, his first day in office.[6][7][8]

History

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The commission was conceived partly as a response to The New York Times' 1619 Project,[9] which deals with systemic racism and explores American history through an African-American framework.[10][11] The first publication from the 1619 Project was in The New York Times Magazine in August 2019.[12]

Trump first spoke of giving students a "patriotic education" on September 2, 2020,[13][14] and announced the new commission in a speech on September 17, 2020, in which he contended that a "twisted web of lies" regarding systemic racism was currently being taught in U.S. schools, calling it "a form of child abuse."[10] He reiterated his intention to establish the commission in a proclamation on October 6, 2020.[15]

Various federal laws prohibit the federal government from directly regulating school curricula, which are determined by school districts under rules established by state governments. However, the federal government influences state and local decisions through funding.[16]

Establishment

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Trump's speech on September 17, 2020
'White House Conference on American History' – video from September 17, 2020

On November 2, the day before the 2020 elections, Trump officially established the commission by executive order.[17][18] Trump appointed the commission's members on December 18, 2020,[19][20][21][22] and the commission held its first meeting on January 5, 2021.[23]

Under the executive order, Trump established an 18-member group[3] serving a two-year term appointed by the president, which was to write a report on "core principles of the American founding and how these principles may be understood to further enjoyment of 'the blessings of liberty'".[24]

Goals

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The commission's goal was to end what it calls the "radicalized view of American history" which has "vilified [the United States'] Founders and [its] founding".[18] In response to the work of figures like Howard Zinn and groups like the 1619 Project, the 1776 Commission sought to increase "patriotic education" via a centralized (federal) approach to a nationalist curriculum.[25] This effort is linked to Trump's wider attacks on critical race theory.[26][27]

The commission was also intended to promote these concepts at national parks, landmarks, and monuments among other federal properties, and federal agencies were instructed to provide grants and initiatives in a way that prioritized those supporting "the American Founding".[24]

Members

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The 18-member commission was composed of conservative activists, politicians, and intellectuals, and included no professional experts in American history.[3] Trump appointed the Commission's members on December 18, 2020.[19] The chair was Larry Arnn, the president of conservative Hillsdale College, and the co-chair was Carol Swain, a Black conservative and a former professor at Vanderbilt Law School.[3] Other appointees included his former domestic policy advisor Brooke Rollins; Charles R. Kesler, a Claremont Graduate University professor and editor of the conservative journal Claremont Review of Books; Ned Ryun, a Bush speechwriter; Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA; Phil Bryant, Republican former governor of Mississippi;[3][28] classical historian Victor Davis Hanson; John Gibbs, a former Trump appointee; Scott McNealy, founder of online curriculum company Curikki; Peter Kirsanow, a black Civil Rights Commission member; Thomas Lindsay, a political science professor; Michael Farris, a lawyer and political science professor; and former Congressman Bob McEwen.[19] Trump also selected then-Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson to serve on the committee.[29]

The 1776 Report

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Contents

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Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The commission released the 41-page "The 1776 Report" on January 18, 2021, two days before the end of Trump's term and the inauguration of Joe Biden.[28] The report does not include citations or footnotes, and does not identify its main authors.[3] About half the pages in the report were appendices.[30]

Among other things, the document identifies "progressivism" and "racism and identity politics" as "challenges to America's principles" and likens them to "communism," "slavery," and "fascism." It refers to the pro-slavery U.S. politician and former U.S. vice president John C. Calhoun as "the leading forerunner of identity politics" and criticizes some aspects of the civil rights movement.[5][31][32] The document also describes American universities as "often today [...] hotbeds of anti-Americanism, libel, and censorship" and criticizes feminist movements.[32] It concludes with recommendations to promote positive stories and images of the country's founders at home, in schools, and in the arts, among other things.[31][33]

Reception

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Historians condemned the report, saying it was "filled with errors and partisan politics",[3][5] factual inaccuracies, a lack of scholarship, and use of prior work without attribution.[34] The American Historical Association (AHA), in a statement cosigned by 33 other historical societies, stated that the report was completed "without any consultation with professional historians of the United States".[35] On January 19, 2021, the Association of University Presses released a statement: "While we leave it to historians to offer a detailed rebuttal of the document's inaccuracies – if any should choose to do so – we note that it is plagued by procedural deficiencies that would render it unpublishable as a serious work of scholarship."[36]

James Grossman, the executive director of the AHA, criticized Trump's push for so-called "patriotic education", writing that genuinely patriotic history is a rigorous effort to study the past honestly and acknowledge complexity, rather than "cheerleading", "nationalist propaganda", or "simplistic and inaccurate narrative of unique virtue and perpetual progress".[37] Grossman described the 1776 Commission's report as "a hack job" that was "not a work of history" but of "cynical politics".[5] Grossman said, "This report skillfully weaves together myths, distortions, deliberate silences, and both blatant and subtle misreading of evidence to create a narrative and an argument that few respectable professional historians, even across a wide interpretive spectrum, would consider plausible, never mind convincing."[3]

Historian Timothy Messer-Kruse likened the content of the report to "every moldy trope of 1950s fifth-grade civics books" and wrote that it misrepresented the beliefs of founding father John Jay as expressed in Federalist No. 2.[38] Historian Eric Rauchway criticized the report for misreading John Winthrop's "City upon a Hill" speech and for the report's claims regarding the civil rights movement. Historian Alexis Coe, a biographer of George Washington, said the report was riddled with "errors, distortions, and outright lies" and mischaracterized Washington's involvement with slavery. Kevin M. Kruse and other historians criticized the report for suggesting that Martin Luther King Jr. would have opposed affirmative action, noting that King in fact endorsed affirmative action during his life.[5][39] Even historians who were critical of the 1619 Project, such as Sean Wilentz of Princeton University, criticized the report of the 1776 Commission. Wilentz described the report as "the flip side of those polemics" and "basically a political document" that "reduces history to hero worship".[5]

Historians also noted that portions of the report had been copied without attribution from earlier writings by its authors, including a 2008 op-ed by Thomas Lindsay published in Inside Higher Ed and a 2002 Heritage Foundation essay and Intercollegiate Studies Institute essay by Matthew Spalding, the commission's executive director.[34]

Commentator Eugene Scott criticized the commission's report for suggesting "that identity politics is something unique to those outside of the Trump administration"; Scott writes that Trump's rhetoric and Trumpism "has been rooted in identity politics": specifically, a prioritization of demographic groups that are "largely White, Christian and appealing to traditional gender norms".[40] Writing for Slate, Rebecca Onion described the report as "a screed forwarded by a Fox-poisoned aunt, one that might best be politely ignored" and noted historian Diana Butler Bass's fear that the report was "'a huge gift' to white evangelical Trump supporters, who have long taught this vision of history to children who are enrolled in Christian schools or home-schooled."[41] Jeff Sharlet of Vanity Fair compared the report's section on identity politics to Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik's justification for the 2011 Norway attacks in his manifesto 2083: A European Declaration of Independence.[42]

Commission members Victor Davis Hanson and Mike Gonzalez defended the report. Hanson argued that the report did not "whitewash the continuance of many injustices" in U.S. history and defended the report's declaration that "progressivism" was at odds with American values,[43] while Gonzalez, a senior fellow of the Heritage Foundation, criticized media coverage of the report and argued that Biden's disbanding of the commission was an outcome of "the woke left" waging a "war on U.S. history."[44]

Termination

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On January 20, 2021, hours after he was inaugurated as Trump's successor, President Joe Biden issued an executive order dissolving the 1776 Commission.[45] The report was removed from the White House website,[46] although the National Archives and Records Administration archived the report, along with the entire Trump White House website.[47]

In May 2021, Matthew Spalding, the commission's executive director, announced the commission would resume its activities in a non-governmental capacity.[48][49]

In November 2021, Jake Silverstein noted in an article for The New York Times that state level anti-critical race theory laws that had passed following the 1776 Commission's end contained language and intent similar to the 1776 Commission's final report.[50]

1776 Action, a 501(c)(4) group headed by Republican operatives that was formed after the dissolution of the 1776 Commission, takes its name from the Commission. The group, led by former aides to Ben Carson and Newt Gingrich, promotes what it calls "patriotic education" and says that it aims to combat "anti-American indoctrination"; it proposes a Trump-inspired "1776 pledge" for officials and candidates. The group has promoted an anti-"critical race theory" bill that passed in New Hampshire, and endorsed candidates in the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election and in school-board races in Iowa.[51][52][53]

The 2024 Republican Party Platform promises to resurrect the 1776 Commission.[54]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ The 1776 Project Is a Desperate Search for the Right Enemies from Foreign Policy
  2. ^ The 1776 Project report attacks a concept at the foundation of the Trump presidency: ‘Identity politics’ from The Washington Post
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Crowley, Michael; Schuessler, Jennifer (January 19, 2021). "Trump's 1776 Commission Critiques Liberalism in Report Derided by Historians". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  4. ^ "1776 Commission Takes Historic and Scholarly Step to Restore Understanding of the Greatness of the American Founding". whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021 – via National Archives.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Brockell, Gillian (January 19, 2021). "'A hack job,' 'outright lies': Trump commission's '1776 Report' outrages historians". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  6. ^ Shear, Michael D. (January 20, 2021). "On Day 1, Biden Moves to Undo Trump's Legacy". New York Times. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  7. ^ Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
  8. ^ "Biden revokes Trump report promoting 'patriotic education'". AP NEWS. January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  9. ^ "Remarks by President Trump at the White House Conference on American History". The American Mind. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Wise, Alana (September 17, 2020). "Trump Announces 'Patriotic Education' Commission, A Largely Political Move". NPR. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  11. ^ "Trump announces 1776 Commission to honor America's founding". The Washington Post (video). September 17, 2020.
  12. ^ Silverstein, Jake (December 20, 2019). "Why We Published The 1619 Project". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  13. ^ "Trump pushes for 'patriotic education' in schools". WCMH-TV. Nexstar Media Group. September 2, 2020. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020.
  14. ^ Krietz, Andrew (September 1, 2020). "President Trump calls for 'patriotic education' in US schools". KFMB-TV. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020.
  15. ^ Trump, Donald J. (October 6, 2020). "Proclamation on the Birthday of Founding Father Caesar Rodney". whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2020 – via National Archives.
  16. ^ "Is the US Department of Education Violating Federal Law by Directing Standards, Tests, and Curricula?". Pioneer Institute. February 9, 2012. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020.
  17. ^ Kurtz, Stanley (November 2, 2020). "Trump Establishes 1776 Commission". National Review. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020.
  18. ^ a b Trump, Donald J. (November 2, 2020). "Executive Order on Establishing the President's Advisory 1776 Commission". whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021 – via National Archives.
  19. ^ a b c "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. December 18, 2020. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2020 – via National Archives.
  20. ^ Brokaw, Sommer (December 19, 2020). "Trump appoints members to 'patriotic education' group". United Press International. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  21. ^ Axelrod, Tal (December 19, 2020). "Trump appoints new members to 'patriotic education' commission". The Hill. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  22. ^ Gaudiano, Nicole (December 18, 2020). "Trump appoints 1776 Commission members in last-minute bid to advance 'patriotic education'". Politico. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  23. ^ Crilly, Rob (January 5, 2021). "Trump's 1776 Commission hears plea to make Judeo-Christian principles central to American story". Washington Examiner. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  24. ^ a b Gaudiano, Nicole (November 11, 2020). "Trump creates 1776 Commission to promote 'patriotic education'". Politico. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  25. ^ Howell, Tom Jr. (November 2, 2020). "Trump pushes 'patriotic education' with 1776 Commission". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020.
  26. ^ Van Dyke, Tyler (November 2, 2020). "Trump signs executive order establishing 1776 Commission". Washington Examiner. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020.
  27. ^ "How Trump ignited the fight over critical race theory in schools". NBC News. May 10, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  28. ^ a b Crowley, Michael (January 18, 2021). "Trump's '1776 report' defends America's founding on the basis of slavery and blasts progressivism". The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  29. ^ Gaudiano, Nicole. "A group tied to Ben Carson and Newt Gingrich is ramping up pressure on Republicans to sign a Trump-inspired 1776 pledge". Business Insider. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  30. ^ "Opinion | The fear at the heart of Trump's doomed "1776 Report"". NBC News. January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  31. ^ a b Brewster, Jack (January 18, 2021). "Trump's 1776 Commission—Created To Challenge Controversial 1619 Project— Releases Report On MLK Day". Forbes. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  32. ^ a b Vazquez, Maegan (January 18, 2021). "Trump administration issues racist school curriculum report on MLK day". CNN. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  33. ^ "The 1776 Report" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021 – via National Archives.
  34. ^ a b Nguyen, Tina (January 19, 2021). "A big chunk of Trump's 1776 report appears lifted from an author's prior work". Politico. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  35. ^ "AHA Condemns Report of Advisory 1776 Commission". American Historical Association. January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  36. ^ "AUPresses Responds to the 1776 Report". Association of University Presses. January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  37. ^ Grossman, James (October 1, 2020). "Trump is afraid of honest history". NY Daily News. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  38. ^ Messer-Kruse, Timothy (January 19, 2021). "The Sheer Absurdity of Trump's "1776 Commission" Report Is Hard to Overstate". Jacobin. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  39. ^ Kruse, Kevin M. (January 20, 2021). "Trump's response to reframing Black Americans' place in history is a racist mess". MSNBC. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2021. Despite King's vocal advocacy for affirmative action, the 1776 report bizarrely holds him up as the antithesis of those programs and "identity politics" writ large.
  40. ^ Scott, Eugene (January 19, 2021). "The 1776 Project report attacks a concept at the foundation of the Trump presidency: 'Identity politics'". The Washington Post.
  41. ^ Onion, Rebecca (January 19, 2021). "Trump's "1776 Report" Would Be Funny If It Weren't So Dangerous". Slate.
  42. ^ Sharlet, Jeff (January 19, 2021). "The "1776 Report" Is Trump's Last Gasp of State-Sponsored Hate". Vanity Fair.
  43. ^ Victor Davis Hanson (January 20, 2021). "Thoughts on the 1776 Commission and its report". Tribune Content Agency.
  44. ^ Gonzalez, Mike (January 20, 2021). "Biden's Disbanding of 1776 Commission Shows Left's War on U.S. History". The Heritage Foundation.
  45. ^ Kelly, Caroline (January 20, 2021). "Biden rescinds 1776 commission via executive order". CNN. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  46. ^ Binkley, Collin (January 21, 2021). "Biden revokes Trump report promoting 'patriotic education'". Associated Press. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  47. ^ "1776 Commission Takes Historic and Scholarly Step to Restore Understanding of the Greatness of the American Founding". whitehouse.gov. January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021 – via National Archives.
  48. ^ Drucker, David M. (May 21, 2021). "Trump 1776 Commission to meet despite being abolished by Biden". Washington Examiner. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  49. ^ "Meeting of The 1776 Commission". Hillsdale College. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  50. ^ Silverstein, Jake (November 9, 2021). "The 1619 Project and the Long Battle Over U.S. History". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  51. ^ Gaudiano, Nicole. "A group tied to Ben Carson and Newt Gingrich is ramping up pressure on Republicans to sign a Trump-inspired 1776 pledge". Business Insider. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  52. ^ LeBlanc, Sarah Kay. "Johnston students, parents protest 'patriotic' pledge signed by district's newest school board members". Des Moines Register. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  53. ^ Coltrain, Nick. "What is the '1776 Pledge' that riled up Iowa's Johnston School District?". Des Moines Register. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  54. ^ "2024 Republican Party Platform". The American Presidency Project. University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB). 2024. Archived from the original on July 11, 2024. Retrieved September 16, 2024. Republicans will reinstate the 1776 Commission...

Further reading

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