This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Friday, August 19th, 2022. I'm Caleb Brown.

The 1619 project has galvanized both sides of fights over how public schooling ought to treat the issue of slavery.

This school year will be no different.

I spoke in June with researcher Phil Magnus with the American Institute for Economic

Research. He argues the good and bad of the 1619 project

ought to be taken seriously. The 1619 project has become like a bit of a cause a celebrity in terms of people trying to understand better

our American history and trying to, I guess, reshape the view of like when America began, right?

Right.

So to that extent, what's the best thing you can say about the 1619 project?

Well, I think the 1619 project, at least on paper it began with an admirable goal and that goal was to draw attention to the complexities of slavery.

You know, the typical K-12 education of slavery discusses it in the context of the Civil War and it's like the Civil War happened

and the slaves were free and end of story.

That is a really watered down version of what happened it also kind of neglects the

the fact this institution had existed not only since the founding of the country

in 1776 but goes all the way back over a century earlier into colonial times.

So drawing attention to that deeper part of the history I think at least on the surface is an

admirable characteristic.

The question though is the 1619 project not only states that as an objective,

it also tries to insert modern politics into the way that it approaches tackling that question.

Okay, so what's the worst thing you can say?

Oh, I think there are many. I would say the greatest weakness of it, and this is the area where I first jumped into the debate

in the 1619 project, is its handling of the economic dimensions of slavery.

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