1776 Unites

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1776 Unites (also known simply as 1776) is an ongoing project developed by The Woodson Center in 2020 to assemble scholars, journalists, clergy, and community leaders to promote their view of the authentic vision and principles of America's founders. The project was created to provide perspectives on American history in sharp contrast with those put forward by The 1619 Project developed and promoted by The New York Times. Its founder, Woodson Center President Robert Woodson, Sr., calls the project “an aspirational and inspirational alternative narrative” to those put forward in the Times.

The projecy seeks to promote what it considers to be founding American values like entrepreneurship, self-determination, and mutual social support. Many contributors to the publication promote current and historical examples of prosperous black communities as “a powerful refutation of the claim that the destiny of black Americans is determined by what whites do, or what they have done in the past.” The project also promotes the work and thought of entrepreneurs, philanthropists, business and community leaders, and others it considers “achievers,” hoping to illustrate the opportunities for success that are open to African-Americans today, their contributions to national economic and cultural life, and their stake in American life and history.

History of the Project

Woodson has stated that his central motivation in founding 1776 Unites was to counter the “lethal” narratives embedded in The 1619 Project. In an interview with Fox News host Mark Levin, Woodson called The 1619 Project's thesis “one of the most diabolical, self-destructive ideas that I’ve ever heard.” He argued that the assumptions behind the 1619 Project are actually a form of “white supremacy” as they assume that black Americans have no agency and are incapable of overcoming adverse circumstances.

Purpose of 1776 Unites

In addition to countering arguments that place slavery at the center of America's origins, 1776 also publicizes the historical achievements of African-American individuals and communities, including those who had been “in slavery but not of slavery” and became successful business leaders after emancipation. Woodson and other 1776 contributors, also argue that achievements like the business districts in Durham, North Carolina and Tulsa, Oklahoma that thrived despite segregation; educational achievements like the Rosenwald Schools of the Jim Crow-era south; and the continuing success of historically black colleges and universities, are ohgmpred by The 1619 Project's focus on slavery and racism in shaping American life. They view this as a discouraging picture of the future for younger generations of Americans; instead, Woodson has writes, “America should be defined by its promises.”

Political scientist and 1776 contributor Wilfred Reilly has stated that the project has three main goals: “(1) rebutting some outright historical inaccuracies in the 1619 Project; (2) discussing tragedies like slavery and segregation honestly while clarifying that these were not the most important historical foundations of the United States; and (3) presenting an alternative inspirational view of the lessons of our nation’s history to Americans of all races.”

Reilly pointed out that historians like Gordon S. Wood, James Oakes, and James M. McPherson have been critical of aspects ofThe 1619 Project, but that Woodson's project went further, seeking to debunk the “historical fatalism” that blames contemporary problems in African-American life primarily on slavery. 1776 instead proposes a “simple and positive thesis” that:

America is a very good (if sometimes flawed) society. [It] is frankly not very hard to succeed here, and hard work and personal responsibility will help you do so. There have been dark periods of American history, to be sure, and it is important to discuss them honestly. But there have been dark periods during the centuries- or millennia-long histories of virtually all human societies. Further, many Americans were able to use the indomitable human resource of free will to succeed even then.

Initial 1776 Essays

1776 Unites was launched in a kickoff event at The National Press Club on February 14, 2020, featuring project contributors Glenn Loury, Coleman Hughes, Clarence Page, John Sibley Butler, Ian Rowe, Jason D. Hill, Robert Cherry, Carol M. Swain, Taleeb Starks, Wilfred Reilly, Toni Mcilwane, and Latasha Harrison Fields, along with project founder Woodson. Woodson introduced the panel by stating that The 1619 Project has stimulated “a much-needed debate in the black community,” and that he hoped that 1776 would spark a new “competition of ideas and approaches.”

That same day, 1776 partnered with the Washington Examiner to release a series of essays critical of The 1619 Project, celebrating African-American contributions to business and education and arguing that slavery and its legacy should not be seen as definitive of the black experience. The essays featured commentary from a wide range of intellectual backgrounds, including historians, journalists, and business leaders, including the following essays:

• “The crucial voice of 1776,” introductory essay by Robert Woodward
• “What the new morality of 'stain' and 'purity' seeks to accomplish,” by Joshua Mitchell
• “The moral meaning of America,” by Jason D. Hill
• “Black America’s algorithm of entrepreneurship and group success,” by John Sibley Butler
• “Children will achieve as much as we expect of them,” by Ian Rowe
• “Slavery does no define the black experience,” by Wilfred Reilly
• “Critical race theory’s toxic, destructive impact on America,” by Carol M. Swain
• “Arm black children with lessons that can improve their lives,” by Coleman Hughes
• “Acknowledging slavery’s limits in defining America,” by John Wood
• “Rosenwald schools: How black Southerners worked to close the education gap in the Jim Crow era,” by Stephanie Deutsch
• “‘A dream as old as the American dream’: Embrace black patriotism over victimization,” by Clarence Page
• “Don’t ignore the strong moral and economic ethics of African Americans” by Robert Cherry

Role of slavery in American origins

1776 Unites and its featured writers see slavery as an important, but not central, part of American history generally and of African-American history and identity specifically. The group argues that the United States of America began in 1776 and that the cause of colonial independence was motivated by a complex intersection of motivations, including discontent British mismanagement of the French and Indian War and its aftermath, outrage over incidents like the Boston Massacre, and lack of meaningful colonial representation in the British Parliament, and attempts to rebut the claim by The 1619 Project that the fight for independence was to preserve a “slavocracy.”

1776 also argues that African-Americans and anti-slavery activists of all races played a crucial role in shaping the new nation from the start, and that slavery, far from being profitable, had a stagnating effect on the economies of regions in the United States where it was practiced. Contributors have also pointed out that slavery, while “radically evil,” is hardly unique to the United States and has been a feature of almost every complex society at one point or another.

In addition to criticizing The 1619 Project's scholarship in general, 1776 has also opposed the project's curriculum for K-12 schools, which has been adopted by numerous public school districts. 1776 contributor Carol Swain has argued that The 1619 Project is less founded in objective, historical scholarship than it is committed to the ideological assumptions of critical race theory. Instead of offering an accurate picture of both historical and present-day realities, Swain argues, “what critical race theory actually ‘accomplishes’ is to create anger, frustration, and despondency among persons in the victim categories, who internalize this destructive message.”

Reception

Shortly after the press conference to launch the project, Wall Street Journal op-ed writer Jason L. Riley praised 1776 Unites as an admirable “bid to revise the New York Times’s bad history,” adding:

Properly understood, the “1619 Project” isn’t about black history. It’s about today’s racial disparities. It’s about applying current ideologies to past events, in the continuing attempt to blame the past actions of whites for the current problems of blacks. Mr. Woodson understands that this is not only dishonest but damaging. Why doesn’t the New York Times?

The initial reaction to 1776 from Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of The 1619 Project, was dismissive, responding merely with a mocking GIF when 1776 contributor Coleman Hughes brought the project to her attention on Twitter. When Hughes challenged her response, tweeting that she was “free to respond with actual arguments,” Hannah-Jones replied that she “[g]ave it exactly what it’s worth. But keep tagging me in an attempt to draw eyes to this...whatever it is.” Hannah-Jones later deleted the original reaction GIF tweet.

External links

• The Woodson Center [1]
• 1776 Unites [2]

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