Historians Blast ‘1619 Project’ Documentary For Gross Inaccuracies

The new Hulu series based on the “1619 Project” is riddled with historical inaccuracies, according to multiple historians who critiqued the film project.

The six-part documentary series is based on the New York Times’ project, which seeks to rewrite American history as revolving around slavery and its consequences. The first two episodes were released Jan. 26 and illuminate the work of Nikole Hannah-Jones, writer of “The 1619 Project.”

Its own description claimed it “seeks to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.”

As for accuracy, however, experts say the book and subsequent series leave a lot to be desired.

Economic historian Phil Magness is the author of “The 1619 Project: A Critique” and senior research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. He flatly stated that the work is “almost a fantasy version of history…settled upon after badly misreading historical evidence.”

Speaking to the Daily Caller News Foundation, Magness explained that Hannah-Jones attempted to simply “backfill her narrative” after she made her inaccurate claims. He accused her of “cherry-picking bits and pieces of the truth” and combining it with “mythology” assembled from elsewhere.

One of the most hotly contested claims made by Hannah-Jones and The 1619 Project is that the American Revolution was fought over slavery. Proponents of this historical fallacy believe that the colonists were repelled by the possibility of the British Empire abolishing the institution.

If that were a valid point, it would completely rewrite the history of the war that brought independence to the colonies.

But it is hardly a valid point. Historian Gordon Wood noted that the American Revolution instead spawned the first antislavery convention in the history of the world. The delegates met in Philadelphia in 1775.

That was, not coincidentally, at the same time the Second Continental Congress was considering a clean break from the mother country. In other words, the emancipation movement and the Revolution “were entwined and developed together.”

Serious historians continue to pick apart the so-called history cited in The 1619 Project. Unfortunately, for those ignorant of the past or simply attracted to untruths because they fit the “proper” narrative, it will be viewed as portraying historical fact when it is anything but accurate.