New Book: The 1619 Project Myth

Oakland, CA—Debunking historical propaganda requires an acclaimed and non-partisan historian. Phillip W. Magness (Independent Institute Senior Fellow) is such a figure. History is not a tool for scoring political points and to that end, Magness has delivered a long-overdue rebuke to journalists and activist academics who treat US history as a political weapon.

In the new book The 1619 Project Myth, Magness boldly sounds the alarm on the New York Times’ outright ideological warfare against American history with their 1619 Project. Slavery is part of America’s story—its greatest shame. But abolition is part of America’s story, too. Ignoring the latter isn’t just bad scholarship; it’s brazen deceit.

“Using history as a weapon to push an agenda of economic redistribution, anti-capitalism, and slavery reparations needs to be addressed and refuted,” says Magness. “Free markets actually helped end slavery in the United States,” he adds.

The 1619 Project Myth is the essential guide to the many lies, distortions, and propaganda peddled by the 1619 Project and its defenders, especially in the wake of the racial unrest following its publication.

An acclaimed academic and historian in his own right, Magness debunks and dismantles every myth and blunder of the 1619 Project. He shows why history isn’t a tool for scoring points, but a long, complicated, and morally nuanced story. It demands humility, intelligence, and moral courage from every scholar who dares plumb its depths.

Author Biography: Phillip W. Magness is a Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and the David J. Theroux Chair in Political Economy. An economic historian, he is the author of several scholarly works on the Civil War era, slavery, and the American founding. He received his Ph.D. from George Mason University’s School of Public Policy.

For more information, contact Robert Ade, [email protected], or (510) 635-3690.

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