First, it was Thomas Jefferson.
Then it was George Washington.
Now, Teddy Roosevelt and Christopher Columbus are the latest two icons who social justice warriors seek to purge from American history.
Hundreds rallied at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City earlier this week to condemn both the former president and the man who kicked off the Age of Exploration. A group called Decolonize This Place covered a statue of Roosevelt that portrays him on horseback flanked by an American Indian and an African-American.
The group used poles to drape a tarp over the artwork, which it condemned as “a stark embodiment of the white supremacy that Roosevelt himself espoused and promoted” and “an affront to all who pass it on entering the museum, but especially to African and Native Americans.”
Explicitly comparing the Roosevelt statue to monuments that have been taken down in South Africa and the American South, the group called for the statue to be removed. It also said the American Museum of Natural History is an “embarrassment to New Yorkers” because of its supposed disrespect toward indigenous peoples.
The group will present an open letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City council on Nov. 30 with its demands.
However, Roosevelt is not the only historical figure in the crosshairs. The protest took place on Columbus Day, which a member of the group insisted on calling “Indigenous People’s Day.” Changing the name of Columbus Day to “Indigenous People’s Day” was another reported goal of the group.
David Barton, author of “The Jefferson Lies,” has been a critic of the increasing politically correct attempts to censor American history. He accused the activists of not being familiar with the real history they are supposedly protesting, particularly Roosevelt’s role in furthering racial equality.
“The fact that they are now attacking Teddy Roosevelt as they did Thomas Jefferson affirms that they apparently know next to nothing of what actually occurred in history,” said Barton.
“Instead, they fully ingest what today’s social activists and anarchists wrongly claim. Significantly, Teddy Roosevelt invited noted African American leader Booker T. Washington to dine with him at the White House to discuss cabinet appointments — the first time a black American ever dined with a U.S. president at the White House.
“The meeting between the two resulted in a torrent of racist headlines against Roosevelt, and he was openly and widely denounced by congressional Democrats (the true racists of the day) and even received numerous death threats.
“Roosevelt took a courageous step to bridge a wide racial divide, and now is being demeaned as a racist. Social reconstructionists are able to move the historical goal posts only because Americans today know so little about their own history. A report done a few months ago by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni documented that of the top 76 universities in America, only 12 require a history major to take even one course in American history for graduation as a history major; the others schools require no American history for a history major (although 11 do accept substitute courses such as the history of ‘Cigarette Smoking in the 20th Century’).”
Barton said combatting this kind of historical illiteracy is one of the main reasons he wrote “The Jefferson Lies.”
“When even history majors at most of our top universities no longer take even one course in American history, why are we surprised that the rest of the public knows so little about our history?” he asked. “Without a rudimentary knowledge of American history, we can be led in any direction by those making false claims – such as the claims now being made about Theodore Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson.”
The real story behind America’s most mysterious Founding Father. “The Jefferson Lies” available now from the WND Superstore.
Barton argued the cause of honoring the important figures of American history goes beyond any person’s particular political beliefs.
“Personally, I am a fan of neither Theodore Roosevelt nor Christopher Columbus,” he observed. “Roosevelt was a big-government progressive, and Columbus was part of a worldwide Spanish empire that practiced a brutally coercive religion, with harsh persecution against those who did not conform – not only native Americans but also Jews and Protestants.
“However, as an historian, I recognize that both Roosevelt and Columbus are very significant historically, and both made major positive contributions that are still widely hailed today. Roosevelt established the national park system and introduced natural conservation. Columbus opened the door for European migration, resulting in devoutly religious colonists such as the Pilgrims arriving in America, who then secured for both Native Americans and African Americans the rights that Columbus had denied them.
“Both Roosevelt and Columbus must be judged by the measure of their times. For example, many of the Native Americans that Columbus enslaved had themselves actively enslaved other native tribes, and often with a brutality against those tribes (including cannibalism) worse than the deeds for which Columbus is now loudly denounced. Why denounce Columbus, but hail as innocent victims the Native Americans who did even worse things? Historians are supposed to present the good, the bad and the ugly of history. But today, modern academics emphasize the bad and the ugly about former American heroes but present nothing about the good.”
Barton argued if men like Columbus and Roosevelt can essentially be written out of history, then there is no end to the process of revision.
“Because there is no uniform standard for makes a hero, every single American leader of the past can be made a pariah under the new social standards erected by progressive activists,” he observed.
“For example, since every president except Barack Obama supported natural marriage, then they clearly were all hateful bigots and homophobes and should not be honored. And because no previous president had a female vice president, they are all sexists and should never be honored. And because Mother Theresa opposed abortion, she was a strident opponent of women’s rights. And Harriet Tubman (soon to be pictured on our currency) was outspoken against gun control, so she therefore was encouraging violence in society.
“This process results not only in the destruction of American history, but will require its complete rewriting every decade or so as new social standards are introduced. It will be like the French Revolution – the heroes of the first revolution will be the victims of the next one, and on in succession. Forever.”
The real story behind America’s most mysterious Founding Father. “The Jefferson Lies” available now from the WND Superstore.
