Many others are already parsing the report of the 1776 Commission. This much here: It's a propagandist hack job.

What interested me were the people involved with it.

(They're pretty much who you would expect them to be.) Larry P. Arnn, Chair Carol Swain, Vice Chair  Matthew Spaldi
Larry P. Arnn, Chair: Ph.D. in Government. Not a historian.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_P._… In 2013, Arnn was criticized for his remarks about ethnic mi
Carol M. Swain, Vice Chair. Ph.D. in Political Science. Not a historian.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_M._… Her methodology was criticized by political scientist Marc Q
Matthew Spalding, Executive Director. Ph.D. in Government.

fedsoc.org/contributors/m… President and Dean of Educational Programs for Hillsdale Col
The three above-the-line people leading the commission.

Not one who is primarily a historian.

Considering the commission states "the facts of our founding are not partisan. They are a matter of history" it feels not out of bounds to ask:

Why not let a historian chair it?
Even if none of these people were truly controversial choices (they are):

How are they qualified to define a nation's history?
A few more names:

Phil Bryant. MA in Political Science. Former Mississippi Governor.

Came out in favor of replacing Mississippi's former flag featuring the Confederate flag. After leaving the governorship.

During his governorship, however: mississippitoday.org/2018/06/18/gov… A while later, the banquet began and featured a high-profile
Jerry Davis, longtime College of the Ozarks president with a penchant for "patriotic education." (cnn.com/2017/10/26/hea…)

Some more information on the College of the Ozarks:

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_o… The College of the Ozarks has been subject to numerous incid
Michael Farris. JD. Chancellor of Patrick Henry College, which teaches "a profound appreciation for our country and the liberty it provides in their history classes, Constitutional law classes, and government courses."

phc.edu/news/1776commi…
Gay Hart Gaines. Studied Interior Design. Former GOPAC Chairman.

northwood.edu/dw/archives/67… Mrs. Gaines holds a B.A. from Sweet Briar College where she
John Gibbs. Master of Public Administration. Who "has a history of making inflammatory remarks and spreading false conspiracy theories on his Twitter feed."

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gibb… John Gibbs is an American government official. A former cons
Mike Gonzalez. MBA. Journalist and speechwriter.

heritage.org/staff/mike-gon… Gonzalez holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Bo
Victor Davis Hanson. Ph.D. in classics. That qualifies him, I suppose, as the first historian on the list. Though not a historian of the U.S. by any stretch of the imagination.

Author of "The Case for Trump."

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Da… Hanson is a supporter of Donald Trump, authoring a 2019 book
Charles Kesler. Political scientist whom @politico called "the intellectual avatar of Trumpism."

politico.com/interactives/2… Kesler, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna Colle
Peter Kirsanow. Lawyer.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kir… Peter N. Kirsanow (born October 30, 1953) is a partner with
Thomas Lindsay. Political Scientist.

Again: There are BAFFLINGLY few historians on this list, considering it's the members of a commission about history.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Li… Thomas Kevin Lindsay is an American academic who briefly ser
Bob McEwen. Bachelor in Business Administration. Politician.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_McEwen Robert D. "Bob" McEwen (born January 12, 1950) is
Ned Ryun. BA in English and History. CEO of a conservative 501(3)(c). History podcaster.

This is as relevant amd historiany as it gets here.

Still not someone you'd trust over any of a few thousand of my colleagues. Ned Ryun (born February 28, 1973) is the founder and CEO of
And finally: Julie Strauss (Levin). Lawyer.

cpac.conservative.org/speaker/julie-… Julie Strauss Levin is an attorney with extensive experience
So here we are. The whole 1776 Commission, tasked with supposedly a hugely important historical task is amazingly devoid of… historians.

I hadn't come across one of them in any academic debates, or books I'd read or even heard of, or known of them existing as historians.
Sure, I don't read everything. And gatekeeping an academic discipline is always fraught: in any era, some of the most creative work comes from non-traditional researchers, so one shouldn't dismiss out of hand.
But there are literally NO academic historians working on the US—any era—on the list.

We get lawyers, political scientists, and a plethora of other professions, but NO historians on the list of people who supposedly put together this oh so important document on US history.
Perhaps some of the researchers or people credited lower on the page have qualifications.

But that's beside the point: they wouldn't be in a position of power to change the direction of the document.
Despite its claims, this is neither "historic" nor "scholarly."

It's a spectacularly tendentious fantasy story gesturing vaguely in the direction of actual American history.

Not even its high gloss design and title font copied from McCullough's "1776" book can change that.

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More from @torstenkathke

17 Jan
Wie @HeikoMaas das da formuliert ist es eine ganz schlechte Idee.

1: Grundrechte gelten für alle. Sie können aus triftigen Gründen entweder individuell oder allgemein eingeschränkt werden.

"Grundrechte zurück nach Bringschuld Impfung" ist höchst problematisch v.a. wenn:
2: erst einmal gar nicht alle geimpft werden können.

Wenn geimpft-Status plötzlich doppelt freieres Leben (keine Angst mehr um die Krankheit plus Restaurantbesuche etc.) für einige aber nicht alle bedeutet ist das eine perfide gesellschaftliche Zweiteilung.
Für ggf. Monate, in denen es immer schwerer wird zu erklären warum der Nachbar grade aus der Kneipe kommt an der ich nur vorbeilaufen darf obwohl ich auch impfbereit bin.

Das strengt die für eine Mammutaufgabe wie die Pandemiebekämpfung nötige Solidarität über die Maßen an.
Read 7 tweets
7 Jan
It will matter greatly what the news media calls the events of January 6 going forward.

Do we have a coup? A putsch? An insurrection? The storming of the Capitol? Trumpist terrorism? Will there be a pithy shorthand, and if so, will it be reasonably accurate and descriptive?
As a historian, what watching the attack unfold on television brought home to me is once again something basic but often forgotten in the mythologizations of public remembrance:

The people who did this are extremely normal. Despite their wild conspiracies.
There are millions like them. Millions who approve, millions who don't approve but don't not approve enough to care, millions who see this assault on democracy and order as something noble.

They will not go away.

If there is no reckoning, this will get worse.
Read 8 tweets
6 Jan
McConnell playing the good democrat is whiplash-inducing.
Ah there's the Democrat-blaming and bothsidesing. Was worried for a minute he might forget to go there.
Schumer's kicking off shining city on a hill time.
Read 28 tweets
26 Dec 20
Weird reason. Tweet from Prager U with in...
And also at least questionable.
mentalfloss.com/article/526291…
H/t to @manwithoutatan for pointing out the existence of this execrable piece of Confederate apologia plus random Lee "facts" of questionable truth value to me.
Read 5 tweets
30 Nov 20
Tweet threads so far: history, historiography, and takedowns of Nazi ideology.

Source analysis of the National Socialist 25 point program and debunking of the claim that Nazis were socialists:
More context and debunking on the 25 point program:
And even more context, including an explainer on historiography:
Read 6 tweets
8 Nov 20
This.

Normalize reading articles, not just headlines. From the NYT piece:

"I don’t think anybody who is not on the internet in a real way in the Year of our Lord 2020 and loses an election can blame anyone else when you’re not even really on the internet."
The main point AOC is making in the New York Times is about *how* to run a campaign, not *what* the message should be.

She's not shy about pushing her progressive brand of politics, but if that's your main takeaway from the criticism, you're misreading the interview.
"If you’re not door-knocking, if you’re not on the internet, if your main points of reliance are TV and mail, then you’re not running a campaign on all cylinders. I just don’t see how anyone could be making ideological claims when they didn’t run a full-fledged campaign."
Read 10 tweets

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