1619 Project: If That Is the Answer, I didn't get the Question

When you look through the news, a number of outlets are constantly making favorable references to the ,,,,,,,,,, drumroll please….. The 1619 Project. Oh yes, you know what I am talking about, the year in which African slaves, who at the time, were more like indentured servants, were brought against their will to the Jamestown colony. The creators of the project consider 1619, the true founding year of the future American Republic. There is no doubt that the introduction of slavery in the colonies was an important, and in the future, a cataclysmic event. Yet, this myopic view of slavery leads one to ignore other historical manifestations which have served as foundations to the future American Republic. History is a cornucopia of ideas, events, and themes and the year 1619 certainly encompasses all of these. There are other reasons why the year 1619 is of significant importance. Unfortunately, there are no drum rolls, no instant drumbeats of news coverage or chattering pundits for the……. introduction of the General Assembly or the future House of Burgesses in the Virginia colony. The what?! The House of Burgesses. The Virginia General Assembly or the House of Burgesses was the first legislative assembly established in the English speaking colonies. In 1619, of all years, the House of Burgesses convened in Jamestown. This body was made up of 22 elected officials who represented their constituents. These representatives were not elected through universal suffrage. (nor is it likely ballot harvesting was allowed). Yet, these officials were elected by the free landowning male population of the Virginia colony. Quite an accomplishment in world history in the 17th century. This makes 1619 a fairly fascinating year. On one hand, you have the introduction of African slavery into the Jamestown colony. This form of slavery, which at first resembled indentured servitude, would later evolve into permanent bondage. On the other hand, the creation of the House of Burgesses initiated the idea of representative democracy in Virginia. The following year in colonial Massachusetts, a group of religious separatists and those travelling with them formed the Mayflower Compact, which states the people will create, pass and follow the laws made in the colony by the people. This action contributed to the later forming of New England town hall meetings, which gave all voting age male members of the Puritan Church the right to vote. Since the colony was virtually all Puritan, this was essentially tantamount to universal male suffrage, unheard of in any part of the world. The founders of the 1619 Project state that slavery formed the basis of the foundation of the Republic. Yet, from the beginning of the Republic in 1776, there were those in the American population who wished to abolish the institution of slavery. These individuals were troubled by the contradiction of the Revolutionary ethos of “all men are created equal” with that of permanent bondage. This thinking would gain momentum which would contribute to the outbreak of the Civil War-the war to end slavery. Now, the other 1619 idea, representative democracy would continuously gain agency, from the founding of the House of Burgesses, the writing of the Mayflower Compact, the New England town hall meetings, to the establishment of representative institutions in the other English speaking colonies. There were occurrences when these institutions faced retrenchment from either local arbitrary rule, or attempts by Britain to reassert control, such as the fledgling Dominion of New England. But, these instances faced public disapproval and a return to a more popular rule. Otherwise, the history of political institutions in the 13 colonies and the United States was one of increasing political liberty and representative bodies. The political story of the 17th and 18th century was to increase the liberty of the free citizenry. No one was calling into question the existence or the legitimacy of these institutions. On the eve of the Revolution, every one of the 13 colonies had a representative legislative body within its frame of government. Therefore, what is the real meaning or theme of 1619? Hmm? Interesting question!