Page 61 - 1619 Project Curriculum

August 18, 2019

Virginia Republican who was then the House majority leader, speaks to reporters in April 2011 during the lead-up to a
Eric Cantor, a

standoff with President Obama over raising the debt ceiling.
Madison and Milwaukee out of the you that we will be united against liberals and people of color isn’t a real slavery and slaveholder ideology.

state election formula, we would any Supreme Court nominee that majority. And the solution is clear, You could argue that it has nothing

have a clear majority — we would Hillary Clinton, if she were presi- too: to write those people out of the to do with race at all, that it’s simply

have all five constitutional officers, dent, would put up,’’ declared polity, to use every available tool to an aggressive eff ort to secure con-

and we would probably have many Senator John McCain of Arizo- weaken their influence on American servative victories. But the tenor of

more seats in the Legislature.’’ The na just weeks before voting. And politics. The recent attempt to place an argument, the shape and nature

a citizenship question on the census

argument is straightforward: Some President Trump, of course, has was an important part of this eff ort. of an opposition movement —

Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images — the liberals, black people and Clinton’s popular-vote victory as By asking for this information, the be colorblind, but the methods of
and falsely denounced

these things matter.

repeatedly
voters, their voters,

count. Others
The goals may

administration would
suppress the
people of color who live in

action — the attacks on the legitima-

other

illegitimate, the product of fraud

number of immigrant respondents,

and illegal

cities — don’t.
cy of nonwhite political actors, the
voting. ‘‘In addition to

Senate Republicans played
representation in
casting of rival political majorities as
worsening their

winning the Electoral College in a
Twitter
unrepresentative, the drive to nulli-
landslide,’’ he declared on
with similar ideas just before the

the House and the Electoral College,

Photograph by 2016 election, openly announcing weeks after the election, ‘‘I won the reweighting power to the white, fy democratically elected governing
popular
vote if you deduct the mil-
coalitions — are clearly downstream

rural areas that back
plans to block Hillary Clin-

the president
their

of a style of extreme political combat
who voted illegally.’’

and the Republican Party.
ton from nominating anyone to

lions of people

The larger implication is clear

that came to fruition in the defense

the Supreme Court, should she
You could make the case that
become president. ‘‘I promise
of human bondage.•
none of this has anything to do with

A majority made up of
enough:

55