According to a new rubric at James Madison's home, American history should be approached in a “spirit of restorative justice.” Brenda Hafera writes:
Virginia is for history lovers. George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, and James Madison’s Montpelier—a triad of epicenters of our nation’s past—are all within driving distance.
Those who own and operate these historic houses have a significant say over how the American Founding is taught. Unfortunately, as described in a new Heritage Foundation report, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s work has been influential at James Madison’s Montpelier. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)
You might think Montpelier would focus on Madison’s numerous accomplishments, particularly his role in shaping the Constitution and the nation. You would be wrong.
It now concentrates almost exclusively on slavery, its “central role in the framing of the nation” and its “lasting legacies.” In so doing, Montpelier ignores and diminishes Madison and puts identity politics over the American Founding.
[Brenda Hafera, "The SPLC Backs Woke History at James Madison’s Montpelier," The Daily Signal, July 29]
