In opposition to British oppression during the 1760s, thousands of people gathered at a giant tree in Boston’s town square to protest actions by British authorities.

Many people in the colonies could not read, but they did understand symbolism, and the Liberty Tree became a rallying point of political expression. Other trees rose up and unified the colonies in their rebellion against British tyranny.

Last November, President Trump appointed 18 members to serve on his Advisory 1776 Commission, a group formed to promote patriotic education across the United States. It came as mobs of people were destroying historic monuments and statues in liberally governed America’s cities.

The commission was also a direct response to The New York Times’ controversial 1619 Project, which declares that American history began 400 years ago with the introduction of slaves - rather than with the Declaration of Independence - and was founded upon the principles of racism and conquest instead of freedom and opportunity. Many conservatives believe the 1619 Project teaches American children to be ashamed rather than proud of their country’s history.

In introducing his commission last November, Trump remarked that it would “defend the legacy of America’s founding, the virtue of America’s heroes, and the nobility of the American character.”

Commission members Victor Davis Hanson defended that mission, asserting that the report did not “whitewash the continuance of many injustices” in U.S. history and defended the report’s claim that “progressivism” was at odds with American values.

Immediately after taking office last week, President Joe Biden issued an executive order dissolving Trump’s 1776 Commission. The fact that the new administration disbanded the commission without having any discussion to hear opposing views does not enhance Biden’s call to unify all Americans.

Commission member Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow of the Heritage Foundation, said that Biden’s action was an outcome of “the woke left” waging a “war on U.S. history.”

Jerry C. Davis, another commission member, has served over four decades as president of College of the Ozarks located in Southwest Missouri. Under Davis College of the Ozarks has been a top-ranked college in the Midwest since 1989, when it began forging a reputation for academic excellence, character development and affordability.

What sets the college apart from others is that it charges no tuition for full-time students. Its “work to learn” program requires students to work 15 hours a week at an on-campus work station and two 40-hour work weeks during breaks, thus earning the name “Hard Work U.”

After Biden disbanded the 1776 Commission last week, Davis said patriotic education is needed in order to train citizens to love America in its broadest sense rather than run it down at every opportunity.

Susan Rice, who will lead Biden’s White House domestic policy council, told reporters that the new administration would work to immediately “root out systemic racism from our institutions.” She said the Trump executive order had limited the ability of federal government agencies from implementing important and needed diversity and inclusion training.

Liberal talking points and catchphrases like “systematic racism” and “inclusion training” are never clearly defined by those on the left and serve as red flags for many conservatives and patriotic Americans.

Larry P. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College and a member of The Heritage Board of Trustees, chaired the 1776 Commission. He, along with Vice Chairwoman Carol Swain and Executive Director Matthew Spalding, pointed out that their prime focus called for a return to the unifying ideas stated in the Declaration of Independence and backed by our greatest Americans - black and white, men and women. Arnn said the commission may be abolished, but the principles cannot be.

Conservatives need to stand firm to assure that those principles are entrenched, just like the Liberty Trees that beckoned and sheltered early colonials who began enacting some of our nation’s founding principles even before they were formally established in the Constitution.

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com