Hillsdale College Announces a New Edition of The 1776 Report

HILLSDALE, Mich., March 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hillsdale College is excited to announce the publication of The 1776 Report through Encounter Books. In addition to the full text from the original report of The President's Advisory 1776 Commission, this 113-page, full-color edition includes a new preface, notes, and commentary by Dr. Larry P. Arnn, Hillsdale College president; Dr. Carol Swain, former professor of political science and professor of law at Vanderbilt University; and Dr. Matthew Spalding, Hillsdale College vice president and dean of the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at the College's Washington, D.C., campus. 

"This report is the effort of many fine and intelligent people. I am glad to work with them," said Dr. Larry P. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, who served as the Chairman of the 1776 Commission. "We as a country must continue to work together to protect the principles it articulates and the liberties they promise." Dr. Spalding served as the Executive Director of the 1776 Commission. 

The 1776 Report addresses the meaning of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, challenges to the principles of 1776 posed in the past by slavery, progressivism, fascism and communism, and racism and identity politics today, and considers the task of renewing those principles. The addition of explanatory notes and endnotes incorporate commentary from contemporary historians as well as source quotes and documents cited in the original text.  

The purpose of the Commission's report was to advise the president and the nation regarding preparation for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in July 2026. 

The 1776 Commission was also tasked with considering ways to recover and sustain an honest teaching of American history in the face of initiatives such as the 1619 Project that encourage contempt for the American Founding and its principles.  

From the new preface of The 1776 Report:
"While we are partisans of the cause of our country, this report is not a partisan effort. Most of the history set forth in this report enjoys broad agreement among scholars. Our task was to summarize that history, make note of some contentious issues, and ponder how the story of the American Founding might be best taught to our students. We composed that report and submitted it to one president with the full intent to advise that one, or the next, whatever might come."

"The 1776 Report rehearses some evident and essential features of American history… [including] the imperfections in and stains upon American history, small and large, especially the blight of slavery and race discrimination, and they include the obvious fact that those particular practices are condemned with eloquence and lasting fame by the Declaration of Independence."

"The 1776 Report was submitted to the President and released as a public document on January 18, 2021—Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The President's Advisory 1776 Commission was abolished by an Executive Order of the next President on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2021."

"[The 1776 Report] was written not for professional historians as much as for the American people. We intend it to inform but also to inspire. We encourage you to read it for yourself."

"While a Commission can be formally dissolved, and a document may be removed from a website, these principles and our history can never be erased."

About Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College is an independent liberal arts college located in southern Michigan. Founded in 1844, the College has built a national reputation through its classical liberal arts core curriculum and its principled refusal to accept federal or state taxpayer subsidies, even indirectly in the form of student grants or loans. It also conducts an outreach effort promoting civil and religious liberty, including a free monthly speech digest, Imprimis, with a circulation of more than 5.6 million. For more information, visit hillsdale.edu. 

CONTACT:
Emily Stack Davis
517-803-3745
[email protected]

SOURCE Hillsdale College