On June 7, Texas Gov.
Greg Abbott (R) signed the 1836 Project into law, with the goal of promoting 'patriotic education' and 'TX values.'
1836 was the year Texas won its independence from Mexico.
Many have noticed the parallels of the name itself to the New York Times' 1619 Project, which charted the story of slavery in the United States, beginning with the year enslaved Africans were first brought to America.
Conservatives have repeatedly attacked the NYT's 1619 Project as inefficiently patriotic, as part of their larger war against 'critical race theory' and other forms of anti-racist scholarship.
The 1836 Project will come in the form of a pamphlet, and will be given to newcomers to the state when they go for their driver's license.
Historians have already begun voicing skepticism about exactly what parts of Texas' history will be truthfully presented, and in what context.
'Patriotic education presumes that the point of studying history is to make you prouder of a particular place or is to make you a particular kind of citizen,' said Brian Franklin, associate director for the Center of Presidential History at Dallas' Southern Methodist University to the Texas Tribune.
'It presumes that all of those things that you’ll look back to find are positive and good principles.'
According to its initial text, the 1836 Project will 'promote awareness' about 'the history of prosperity and democratic freedom in this state,' which will include the Texas War for Independence, the annexation of Texas by the U.S., and the first Juneteenth.
Gov.
Abbott announced the project would also reward students for their knowledge of Texas history.
A 9-person advisory committee, including Abbott himself, will be in charge of overseeing the 1836 Project.
The law will take effect September 1, 2021.