Trump Signs Executive Order To Establish A 1776 Commission To Instill ‘Patriotic Education’

Topline

President Trump on Monday signed an executive order to establish a 1776 Commission to advise the president on how America’s founding story should be taught in schools, an effort that was criticized by some historians and educators when he first addressed it in a speech responding to the 1619 Project and other efforts to change how American history is taught.

Key Facts

Crucial Quote

In his speech in September, Trump used the New York Times’ 1619 Project to illustrate his belief that “the left has warped, distorted, and defiled the American story with deceptions, falsehoods, and lies,” claiming it rewrote American history. 

Key Background

Some educators and historians criticized Trump’s plan when he first raised it in September. William R. Ferris, a professor of history at the University of North Carolina, told the New York Times it was an example of Trump “treating historians just as he treats scientists — by disregarding our very best voices who have written on American history and race.” Instead of creating a new commission, Ferris urged Trump to request congressional aid for programs that already exist to teach American history, such as the Library of Congress and the National Archives. New York University professor Diane Silvers Ravitch, an education historian, wrote a blog post noting the federal government doesn’t have the authority to change school curriculum because it is up to the states. She claimed the president was trying to “whitewash” history.

Tangent

The 1619 Project included a proposed school curriculum with lesson plans, discussion guides and recommended historical events for teaching about America’s founding story. Though Nikole Hannah-Jones, the editor of the 1619 Project, won a Pulitzer Prize, the project was criticized by some prominent historians and academics who claimed there were major factual errors.

Further Reading

Executive Order on Establishing the President’s Advisory 1776 Commission

President Donald J. Trump Is Protecting America’s Founding Ideals by Promoting Patriotic Education

Remarks by President Trump at the White House Conference on American History