Frank Vernuccio | On April 7, 2020

Slaves on the West Coast of Africa, c.1833 (oil on canvas) by Biard, Francois Auguste (1798-1882); 64×90 cm; © Wilberforce House, Hull City Museums and Art Galleries, UK; French, out of copyright

The origins of the American Revolution are not mysterious. Since the first English settlement in North America in 1607, the vast distance between the New World and England meant that the colonists were essentially on their own when it came to regulating their affairs. As a result, they gained a measure of self-government far surpassing anything that existed in Europe.

Following the French and Indian War of 1754-1763, however, England, for purposes of revenue, sought to increase its measure of control over the colonies, particularly in the area of taxation. The inhabitants of the 13 colonies objected, and, in response, London imposed a series of laws and measures which stripped British America of its now traditional liberties. The government sent troops, the colonists fought back, and the War for Independence began.

That quest to maintain freedom clashes with the modern world-view of leftist politicians and pundits. In 2019, the New York Times commenced what is known as the “1619 Project,” a reinterpretation of how the United States came to be. Its main idea is that the central theme of America, both in its founding and development, has been the institution of slavery. “If you want to understand the brutality of American capitalism, you have to start on the plantation,” states Mathew Desmond, an architect of this faulty perspective. The concept is wholly unsupported by the facts. It is little more than an attempt to prop up those who seek to impose socialism on the nation, despite the century-old utter failure, economically and politically, of that mode of governance.

In a review of the 1619 Project in the Atlantic, Adam Serwer wrote,

“Princeton historian Sean Wilentz, who had criticized the 1619 Project’s ‘cynicism’ in a lecture in November, began quietly circulating a letter objecting to the project. […] The letter refers to ‘matters of verifiable fact’ that ‘cannot be described as interpretation or ‘framing’ and says the project reflected ‘a displacement of historical understanding by ideology.”

Cole Carnock, writing in the Free Beacon notes,

“Bob Woodson, a leader in the African-American community who has spent his career fighting to stave off the cycle of poverty and crime, argued […] that the 1619 Project’s message—that life outcomes for African Americans are shaped by the history of slavery and Jim Crow—is a “lethal” narrative that perpetuates a culture of victimhood in the African-American community. During the launch of his new 1776 initiative, named for the year America was founded, Woodson said the new group would challenge those who assert America is forever defined by past failures.”

The fact that this ludicrous concept has been developed in these times when there is a significant push by the left to institute a socialist regime in the U.S. is not surprising. What is deeply disturbing is this overtly fictitious perspective is being pushed by those responsible for educating our children.

The Western Journal’s Randy Soto reports,

“The New York Times’ 1619 Project […] has been adopted in 3,500 classrooms across all 50 states. For this reason, some of the nation’s most renowned historians have called for The Times to correct this and other factual errors. […] The preposterous notion that protecting slavery was one of the ‘primary’ reasons the American Colonies declared independence is not supported by the documentary evidence from the period, either, as my research for my book ‘We Hold These Truths’ made clear. Any middle school history student should be taught that the Stamp Act in 1765, followed by the Declaratory Act in 1766, were what began rallying colonists against Mother England. In the Declaratory Act, Parliament claimed the legislative body held ‘full power and authority to make laws and statutes of sufficient force and validity to bind the colonies and people of America […] in all cases whatsoever.’ The rallying cry in the Colonies became, ‘No taxation without representation.’”

For far too long, Americans have not challenged the abuse of the nation’s educational system by leftist interests. Public schools and universities have essentially stolen taxpayer dollars for partisan political causes. The 1619 project is the latest example, and one of the worst.

Frank Vernuccio serves as editor-in-chief of the New York Analysis of Policy and Government. 

Frank Vernuccio

Frank Vernuccio serves as editor-in-chief of the New York Analysis of Policy & Government (website usagovpolicy.com). He is the co-host of the syndicated radio program, Vernuccio/Novak Report, and is also a contributor to Fox News. His columns appear in many newspapers. After graduating Hofstra Law School, he was a legislative editor for a major publishing company, then served in both Republican and Democrat Administrations. Following the 9/11 attack, he was appointed to run the hard-hit Manhattan branch of the New York State Workers Compensation Board.