A commission created by President Donald Trump to influence what children learn about American history says the rise of identity politics, and a nefarious 鈥渂itterness鈥� about the country鈥檚 founding and its seminal events, have distorted perceptions about the nation.
In on the national holiday celebrating Martin Luther King Jr., the 1776 Commission also criticized the direction of the civil rights movement because it 鈥渁lmost immediately turned to programs that ran counter to the lofty ideals of the founders.鈥� The group鈥檚 report contends that 鈥渢he original form of identity politics was used to defend slavery.鈥�
And it says that America鈥檚 founders, far from being hypocrites about slavery, helped ensure its eventual demise; the report also says slavery was the rule rather than the exception throughout much of history in a way that it is 鈥渧ery hard for people brought up in the comforts of modern America鈥� to understand.
Trump created the commission via executive order last November. The group was led by Larry Arnn, the president of Hillsdale College, and counted Charlie Kirk, the leader of the pro-Trump political group Turning Point USA, among its members.
The report accuses identity politics, and its influence on history studies, of fostering resentment by trying to divide people into separate, protected classes based on race and other characteristics. Instead, the 1776 Commission report says, schools and others who have roles to play in sharing the nation鈥檚 history should focus on providing a 鈥減atriotic education鈥� that celebrates America鈥檚 ideals, its progress, and what unites its citizens, even as people are taught about the nation鈥檚 flaws and mistakes. That will help lead to a restoration of American education and a 鈥渘ational renewal,鈥� it says.
鈥淪tates and school districts should reject any curriculum that promotes one-sided partisan opinions, activist propaganda, or factional ideologies that demean America鈥檚 heritage, dishonor our heroes, or deny our principles,鈥� the 1776 Commission goes on to say. 鈥淎ny time teachers or administrators promote political agendas in the classroom, they abuse their platform and dishonor every family who trusts them with their children鈥檚 education and moral development.鈥�
The 1776 Commission and its report have no official or mandatory role in what students learn, and it鈥檚 a virtual certainty that the incoming Biden administration will have no use for the group鈥檚 work. But the spirit behind the commission could play a role outside the Beltway; last November, for example, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, proposed spending $3 million in his state.
Trump announced the commission last year, when during his re-election campaign he called for 鈥減atriotic education鈥� and attacked many schools for teaching students to 鈥渉ate their own country.鈥�
The strategy culminated in a fiery September speech in which Trump denounced the work of many educators and announced that he would create the commission. His comments inspired a backlash from some social studies teachers who said the president鈥檚 comments were misleading and painted a false portrait. The Zinn Education Project, for example, said a crucial part of its work was to to teach students 鈥渁 history that looks honestly at social injustice and at the movements that have sought to make this a more equal society.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 rhetoric about the topic last year marked a departure from 2017, when he signed an executive order prioritizing state and local control over curriculum decisions.
The 1776 Commission鈥檚 report blames a variety of factors and actors for what it says is the degradation of historical studies, including the 1619 Project, a New York Times Magazine collection of essays about the influence of slavery on America, and what it calls the 鈥渁nti-American鈥� attitude of many in academia. Trump singled out the 1619 Project in his September remarks on Constitution Day.
鈥淚n most K-12 social studies and civics classes, serious study of the principles of equality and liberty has vanished,鈥� a section of the report鈥檚 appendix states. 鈥淭he result has been a rising generation of young citizens who know little about the origins and stories of their country, and less about the true standards of equality and liberty.鈥�
In addition to an emphasis on identity politics, the 1776 Commission鈥檚 report includes a summary of America鈥檚 founding and the Constitution, as well as sections on communism and fascism. It also traces the start of 鈥渢he protracted decline of American education鈥� to progressive reformers in the late 19th century. And it criticizes the Common Core State Standards.
