Trump promised to build a statue of a slave owner and said that the significance of slavery for history is exaggerated

Trump promised to build a statue of a slave owner and said that the significance of slavery for history is exaggerated

At an event at the National Historical Archives, the president delivered a campaign speech in which he once again attacked liberal politicians, the media and Joe Biden.

President Trump has called educational programs that seek to highlight the role of slavery in the founding of the country «toxic propaganda.»

He also announced that he plans to erect a new statue to Caesar Rodney, the Delaware delegate who signed the Declaration of Independence. According to various sources, the prominent American politician and lawyer kept about 200 black slaves on the plantations.

Speaking at the White House Conference on American History, the president did not mention 246 years of slavery in America, including 89 years after independence from England. The president also ignored the fight against racism and police brutality, which sparked violent protests this year. Instead, Trump focused on what he said were «US virtue and nobility.»

The president said the creation of America «set in motion an irresistible chain of events that abolished slavery, ensured civil rights, defeated communism and fascism, and built the fairest, equitable and prosperous nation in human history.»

Continuing his campaign for re-election, Trump has pledged to introduce what he has called a «National Commission for the Advancement of Patriotic Education» in American schools, which will be called the «Commission of 1776». The group will be tasked with encouraging teachers to educate students about the «miracle of American history» and planning to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, he said.

This project is intended to serve as an alternative to New York Times' 1619 project, based on the 2019 story series from New York Times Magazine. The New York Times' 1619 Project was supposed to «reimagine the history of the country by placing the effects of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the annals of the United States.» According to the Times, training materials were developed with the help of the Pulitzer Center to expand knowledge about slavery, rather than rewrite history.

Trump condemned this project as «an ideological poison that will destroy the civil bonds that bind us together.»

“This project is rewriting history to show our children that our country was founded on the principle of oppression, not freedom. — he said — There is nothing further from the truth.

Trump said American children have been subjected to «leftist indoctrination» for decades. The president recently threatened to cut funding for Project 1619 schools in California. Trump has already cut down on anti-racism training at federal agencies.

«American parents are not going to put up with indoctrination in our schools or the suppression of traditional beliefs, cultures and values,» Trump said.

In response to these statements by Trump, Pulitzer Prize winner Hanna-Jones recalled that the First Amendment to the Constitution does not tolerate attempts by the government to censor and guarantees a free press.

“The efforts of the President of the United States to use his authority to censor the work of American journalism, dictating what schools can and cannot teach, or what American children can and cannot learn, should deeply alarm all Americans who value free speech,” she said.

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