Forget the 1619 Project—Thank the Pilgrims for America’s Literacy

If you want to rewrite America’s origin story, go ahead, but at least get your facts straight. While the trendy 1619 Project tries to recast everything through the lens of oppression and grievance, maybe it’s time to give credit where it’s due. The Pilgrims, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1620, did more for this nation’s foundation than most of today’s revisionists care to admit. Not only did they carve out a civilization from the wilderness, but they also valued education and literacy in a way that puts many modern systems to shame. So yes, you can try to erase their legacy, but you might want to thank them first for teaching people to read the books that fuel your outrage.

These people weren’t lounging around waiting for someone else to solve their problems. Within 20 years of landing in Massachusetts, they were building grammar schools where kids learned Latin, Greek, and classical literature in its original form. No TikTok distractions, no social media debates—just kids reading Aristotle at eight years old and finishing their education by 16. Compare that to today’s educational system, where we argue about pronouns and kids are lucky to graduate high school with functional literacy. Maybe the Pilgrims were onto something with their no-nonsense approach to education.

And what was all this education for? It wasn’t to boost test scores for federal funding or win approval from a school board—it was to ensure that people could read the Bible, govern themselves, and think critically. The Pilgrims knew that an educated population was essential for building a thriving community. They weren’t asking for handouts or demanding someone else do the hard work. They built towns, grew crops, defended against attacks, and still found time to start schools and even colleges like Harvard. All this, while your 1619 revisionists were busy rewriting narratives from the comfort of modern air conditioning.

Let’s face it: if the people behind the 1619 Project had to survive like the Pilgrims, they’d probably collapse in despair halfway through clearing the first field. The Pilgrims didn’t just survive—they thrived, and they laid the groundwork for a society that valued literacy and self-reliance. Without them, we might not even have the ability to read and critique their legacy today. So go ahead and criticize, but at least acknowledge that their priorities—education, hard work, and faith—set the stage for much of what we enjoy now.

In the end, the 1619 Project is a great exercise in imagination, but it pales in comparison to the real story of the Pilgrims. These were people who valued literacy, responsibility, and freedom so much that they built a nation out of nothing. Maybe instead of rewriting history, we should take a page from theirs—if, of course, we’re literate enough to read it.

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