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Dear Friend,
In 2019, the New York Times set out to transform history by tracing American institutions, culture, and prosperity to slavery and the exploitation of African Americans that followed. A controversy erupted, with historians pushing back against what they say is a false narrative conjured out of racial grievance.
National Association of Scholars president, Peter W Wood's new book, 1620: A Critical Response to the 1619 Project, critiques the Times' 1619 Project. 1620 sums up what the critics have said and argues that the proper starting point for the American story is 1620, with the signing of the Mayflower Compact before the Pilgrims set foot in the Massachusetts wilderness.
A nation as complex as ours, of course, has many starting points, most notably the Declaration of Independence in 1776. But the quintessential ideas of American self-government and ordered liberty grew from the deliberate actions of the Mayflower immigrants in 1620. Schools across the country should teach that what has always made America exceptional is our pursuit of liberty and justice for all—and that slavery has always been nothing more than a blemish on America's true nature.
Join the National Association of Scholars on February 3 at 2 pm ET for Fringe History, Flawed Scholarship, an event that will assemble notable scholars to comment on different aspects of Wood's 1620, the 1619 Project, and the true nature of American history.
This event will take particular notice of the prospects for proper American history instruction, given that many policymakers, local and federal, seem to display great sympathy toward the 1619 Project narrative of American history.
Best
Chance Layton
Director of Communications
National Association of Scholars
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