Donald Trump is not famous for his intellectual cultivation or his knowledge of history. But he knows how to handle divisive issues in American society like the culture wars. That talent is poised to unfold anew if he’s elected, the Washington Post reports, which recalls a similar signature Trump initiative that fell through.
In the summer of 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, Trump asked the then Secretary of Education, Betsy de Vos, to ban from the curriculum in American schools a history textbook entitled “Project 1619”, an essay published in the “New York Times” in which it was argued that slavery is a founding component of American history (in 2019 it was 400 years from the first transport of slaves from Africa to the US). De Vos, who was notably a staunch political ally of Trump, a supporter of religious education and the possession of weapons in some schools in case they were attacked by bears (!), replied to him that under the law the US government cannot ban the book, that History in the US is taught through many books and that there is no single History book.
The establishment of the “1776 Committee”
Not satisfied with his minister’s response, Trump announced the formation of the “1776 Commission”, with the aim of a more patriotic retelling of American history, in which phenomena such as slavery and racism would be downplayed. The committee, made up of 18 conservative academics, handed Trump’s staff a 41-page “patriotic” handbook, which was posted on the White House website two days before Trump left office after losing the 2020 election. of the “Commission of 1776” was abandoned as soon as Democratic President Joe Biden assumed the presidency.
Trump’s initiative was not only innocent. On May 25, 2020 the black man George Floyd murdered in cold blood by a white police officer in Minneapolis. The killing sparked an unprecedented protest movement across America, and the slogan “Black Lives Matter” became a global rallying cry against racism. But Trump knew the battle for his re-election was tough and he was looking for any opportunity to rally his voter base. He assumed that the protests over the killing of Floyd would be directed against him and saw fit to cultivate a climate of division and polarization. “The 1776 Commission will ensure that America’s children learn that they live in the best and greatest country in the history of the world. was emphasized in the announcement on the establishment of the “Committee”.
In his program ahead of the November 5th election, Trump detailed his positions on education: among them, the reconstitution of the “Commission of 1776.”
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