MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

What is the 1776 Commission? Trump's latest initiative looks to counter 'discredited' 1619 Project

The president has announced that he will sign an executive order on 'patriotic education' in retaliation to the 1619 project

President Donald Trump on Thursday, September 17, announced a federal "1776 Commission" to promote "patriotic education" and accused Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and the New York Times of warping history. 

"As we gather this afternoon, a radical movement is attempting to demolish this treasured and precious inheritance. We can’t let that happen. Left-wing mobs have torn down statues of our founders, desecrated our memorials and carried out a campaign of violence and anarchy," Trump said. "Far-left demonstrators have chanted the words 'America was never great'."

He further bashed the 1619 project and the liberals and said, "The left has warped, distorted and defiled the American story with deceptions, falsehoods and lies. There’s no better example than the New York Times' totally discredited 1619 Project." The 1619 Project, he said, "rewrites American history to teach our children that we were founded on the principle of oppression, not freedom. Nothing could be further from the truth. America’s founding set in motion the unstoppable chain of events that abolished slavery, secured civil rights, defeated communism and fascism and built the fairest, equal and prosperous nation in human history."

He further slammed the critical race theory, which stresses the importance of race rather than individuals in the analysis of social and historical issues and said, "Critical race theory, the 1619 Project and the crusade against American history is toxic propaganda — an ideological poison that if not removed will dissolve the civic bonds that tie us together," he said.

He then referred to Rodney's statue which was removed in June this year from Biden's hometown, Wilmington, Delaware. Rodney was a Delaware delegate who rode 70 miles on a horse to Philadephia to cast a tie-breaking vote for independence before the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, while he was suffering from cancer.

He slammed Biden for that and said, "Joe Biden said nothing as to his home state’s history and the fact that it was dismantled and dismembered," Trump said. "Today America will give this founding father, this very brave man who was so horribly treated, the place of honor he deserves."

What is the 1776 Commission?

The 1776 Commission is a "patriotic education" commission proposed by Trump. While speaking at the National Archives, Trump made the announcement of proposing the new commission and said, "I will soon sign an executive order establishing a national commission to promote patriotic education. It will be called the 1776 Commission."

"It will encourage our educators to teach our children about the miracle of American history and make plans to honor the 250th Anniversary of our founding," Trump said. In 1776, the United States of America had the highest per capita income in the world with the lowest taxes. As soon as the news dropped, people started reacting online. One user wrote, "BREAKING: President Trump to sign an executive order establishing a commission to promote patriotic education called The 1776 Commission."