Trump reveals 1776 Commission, aimed at promoting 'patriotic education'
By Steven Nelson
September 17, 2020
Trump issues 1776 Commission to promote 'patriotic education'
President Trump on Thursday announced a federal "1776 Commission" to promote "patriotic education" and accused Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and the New York Times of warping history.
Trump said Democrats and the Times'
"1619 Project" promote an inaccurate version of US history by over-emphasizing race and the legacy of slavery.
"I will soon sign an executive order establishing a national commission to promote patriotic education. It will be called the
'1776 Commission'," Trump said in 17-minute speech at the National Archives
marking the anniversary of the Constitution's signing.
The commission "will encourage our educators to teach your children about the miracle of American history and make plans to honor the
250th anniversary of our founding" in 2026, Trump said.
"[A]s 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." The left has launched a vicious and violent assault on law enforcement — the universal symbol of the rule of law in America.
These radicals have been aided and abetted by liberal politicians, establishment media, and even large corporations.
"Whether it is the mob on the street, or the cancel culture in the boardroom, the goal is the same: to silence dissent, to scare you out of speaking the truth, and to bully Americans into abandoning their values, their heritage, and their very way of life.
"We are here today to declare that we will never submit to tyranny. We will reclaim our history and our country for citizens of every race, color, religion, and creed," the president 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 most fair, equal and prosperous nation in human history."
Trump said that some popular assessments of US history
"bear a striking resemblance to the anti-American propaganda of our adversaries."...