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1619 vs. 1776:
Are We an Irredeemably Racist Nation? Our Principles and History Prove Quite the Opposite.
"Slavery's importance in our history should not be controversial. What is questionable is that it is THE central characteristic of our country's history." —Wilfred McClay
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In the lead essay for the 1619 Project called, "The Idea of America," journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones contends that the founding principles of liberty and equality were "false when they were written" and that the true founding of America was 1619, the date of the first arrival of African slaves into the colonies. The Project aims to re-center our understanding of American history almost solely around slavery and racism.
But any telling of American history that seeks to bring about a freer and more equitable nation must highlight the principles set forth in 1776 in our Declaration, the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for everyone. This is the vision our founders had for our country—a vision that our history shows we are moving closer and closer to achieving.
Professor Morel argues that acknowledging America's failures to fully realize our founding ideals need not come at the expense of celebrating its progress toward that goal—U.S. history should not be interpreted as "a zero-sum story."
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Many leading historians dispute the accuracy of the 1619 Project. Yet the Project is being used to reshape the curricula in our schools. Narrowing the way we understand our history threatens to foster anti-American sentiment rather than an understanding of how our founders' set the stage for a country that would continuously work toward achieving individual freedoms for everyone.
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As Professor McClay argues, "It matters what young people are being taught about their country because history is a body of knowledge that has civic implications. We can't very well complain about the lack of civic sentiment, civic spirit, civic dedication in our citizenry if our young people are taught to disparage every great person in their national history, especially disparage them falsely or one-sidedly."
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Morel stresses that "a capacious revision of American history must honor the suffering and contributions of African-Americans while also wrestling with and appreciating the challenges that the founders faced." The center of our history—from our failures to our triumphs—should be our founders' vision of equality and justice for all and our progress in fulfilling that vision.
From Subjects to Citizens
The historical reality is that most nations were founded on the idea of a ruling class and subjects. The American Revolution was about the human capacity to overcome that brutal history and move from a nation of rulers and subjects to one of self-ruling citizens.
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Those who came before us sought to bring their practices in line with the principles of the Declaration, not least in the effort that was eventually made to destroy the tyranny of slavery. To obscure or diminish our progress toward realizing those principles is an obstacle to any future movement toward equality.
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As Professor Morel points out, it is only by developing a more accurate and inclusive knowledge of history that we can come to see each other in a better light "as fellow citizens of our common republic."
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History can always teach us something about the present, but only if it remains a priority. Without knowledge of our past, we have no basis to make important decisions about our country's future.
JMC supports those teachers who are championing education in America's history and its founding principles. Our growing network of nearly 1,000 dedicated professors are making a difference on hundreds of campuses across the country. So far, they have taught more than one million students. Will you help us reach more?
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Wilfred McClay is the author of a new history book, The Land of Hope, that hopefully will become the textbook of choice in high schools throughout the country. It is a comprehensive history that is both truthful and inspiring.
"Such a fresh retelling of the American story is especially needed today, to shape and deepen young Americans’ sense of the land they inhabit, help them to understand its roots and share in its memories, all the while equipping them for the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship in American society."
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Wilfred M. McClay is the G.T. and Libby Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty at the University of Oklahoma. His research interests focus on the intellectual and cultural history of the United States, with particular attention to the social and political thought of the 19th and 20th centuries, the history of American religious thought and institutions, and the theory and practice of biographical writing. A recipient of many teaching awards and honors, he has been the recipient of fellowships from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Academy of Education.
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Lucas E. Morel is the John K. Boardman, Jr. Professor of Politics and Head of the Politics Department at Washington and Lee University. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Claremont Graduate University. His research interests include Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Ralph Ellison. Professor Morel is former president of the Abraham Lincoln Institute, a consultant on Library of Congress exhibits on Lincoln and the Civil War, and currently serves on the U.S. Semiquincentennial
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Commission, which will plan activities to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America. He is the author/editor of several books, most recently authoring Lincoln and the American Founding (2020). Additionally, Professor Morel teaches in the Master’s Program in American History and Government at Ashland University in Ohio, summer programs for the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy, and high school teacher workshops sponsored by the Gilder-Lehrman Institute, the John M. Ashbrook Center, the Jack Miller Center, and the Liberty Fund.
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About the Jack Miller Center
The Jack Miller Center is a 501(c)(3) public charity with the mission to reinvigorate education in America's founding principles and history. We work to advance the teaching and study of America's history, its political and economic institutions, and the central principles, ideas and issues arising from the American and Western traditions—all of which continue to animate our national life.
We support professors and educators through programs, resources, fellowships and more to help them teach our nation's students.
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