1620, Peter W. Wood
1620, Peter W. Wood
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1620
A Critical Response to the 1619 Project

Author: Peter W. Wood

Narrator: Stephen Bowlby

Unabridged: 7 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/10/2020

Synopsis

Peter Wood argues against the flawed interpretation of history found in the New York Times’ 1619 Project and asserts that the true origins of American self-government were enshrined in the Mayflower compact in 1620.Was America founded on the auction block in Jamestown in 1619 or aboard the Mayflower in 1620? The controversy erupted in August 2019 when the New York Times announced its 1619 Project. The Times set to transform history by asserting that all the laws, material gains, and cultural achievements of Americans are rooted in the exploitation of African-Americans. Historians have pushed back, saying that the 1619 Project conjures a false narrative out of racial grievance.This book sums up what the critics have said and argues that the traditional starting point for the American story—the signing of the Mayflower Compact aboard ship before the Pilgrims set foot in the Massachusetts wilderness—is right. A nation as complex as ours, of course, has many starting points, including the Declaration of Independence in 1776. But if we want to understand where the quintessential ideas of self-government and ordered liberty came from, the deliberate actions of the Mayflower immigrants in 1620 count much more than the near accidental arrival in Virginia fifteen months earlier of a Portuguese slave ship commandeered by English pirates.Schools across the country have already adopted The Times’ radical revision of history as part of their curricula. The stakes are high. Should children be taught that our nation is, to its bone, a 400-year-old system of racist oppression? Or should we teach children that what has always made America exceptional is its pursuit of liberty and justice for all?

About Peter W. Wood

Peter W. Wood is president of the National Association of Scholars. A former professor of anthropology and college provost, he is the author of several books about American culture, including Diversity: The Invention of a Concept (2003) and A Bee in the Mouth: Anger in America Now (2007). He is editor-in-chief of the journal Academic Questions and a widely published essayist. In 2019, he received the Jeane Kirkpatrick Prize for contributions to academic freedom.

About Stephen Bowlby

Stephen Bowlby, a lifelong performer and filmmaker, loves bringing ideas to life in ways that entertain, inviting both action and reflection. With a career in writing, directing, and film editing, he infuses his narration with a strong sense of story.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Peter on January 31, 2021

Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - [URL not allowed]-re... After the election and re-election of the first African-American president, Americans might have thought that they were in a period of reconciliation. The acquisition of the top spot in American politics could be t......more

Goodreads review by Clay on February 04, 2021

The most important book I will read this year.......more

Goodreads review by Ben on December 11, 2020

In attempting to offer a book-length critique of the New York Times' 1619 Project, Peter Wood must have felt like he was pursuing a will o' the wisp. The Times, and Nikole Hannah-Jones, the project's originator, initially sold the project as the "real" story of American history, backtracked to it be......more

Goodreads review by Tom on February 25, 2024

An important book that outlines many of the plain factual errors of "The 1619 Project" including the existence of slavery in 1619 Virginia and the importance of slavery and cotton in the American economy. Stated concisely, the slaves brought to Virginia in 1619 were likely grateful that the ship car......more

Goodreads review by Isaac on December 14, 2020

This book is indeed a critical response to 1619. It takes a brief aside to advocate for a version of the American story that begins in 1620 with the signing of the Mayflower Compact, but the vast majority of this book is spent attacking the 1619 project from all different angles. Before I get into th......more

Quotes

“Peter Wood’s pushback against the 1619 Project is at once sharp, illuminating, entertaining, and profound. More than a powerful exposé of the 1619 Project’s mendacity, Wood’s 1620 explains why so many Americans have succumbed to this exercise in manipulation—and shows the way to fight back.” Stanley Kurtz, senior fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center

“Via Peter Wood, the ‘civil body politic’ of the Mayflower Compact reasserts itself in the national conversation. 1620 is a dispassionate, clear reminder that the best in America’s past is still America’s best future.” Amity Shlaes, chair, Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation

“With elegant precision Peter Wood dismantles the edifice ostentatiously called a ‘reframing’ of American history, the 1619 Project. He deftly exposes the jumble of lies, half-lies, logical fallacies, bad history, and bad faith of a project motivated by greed and hatred of America. For anyone who cares about history, education, truth, and the United States of America, 1620 is essential reading.” Mary Grabar, resident fellow, Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization

“Those of us who remain attached to the principles of the Founding need to read 1620: A Critical Response to the 1619 Project with both care and gratitude. For Peter Wood, like a highly trained commando, has advanced to the front lines to clear away the dangerous rubbish put forth by the 1619 Project. With critical skill and in clear prose, he has opened multiple avenues of assault on a misguided enterprise that in trying to rewrite history deserves to end up on its ash-heap.” Robert Paquette, president, the Alexander Hamilton Institute, emeritus professor of history, Hamilton College

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