Jon Meacham says case could be made that America began in 1965, not 1776

MS NOW guest and presidential historian Jon Meacham argued Wednesday that the United States was not founded as a “multiracial, multi-ethnic democracy” in 1965, in the days before the Fourth of July.

“You know, we’re speaking directly to your point, we’re talking about this as the 250th anniversary of the Second Continental Congress adopting the Declaration of Independence, the full start of the Revolutionary War, which led to the framing of the Constitution in 1787-1789, the inauguration of George Washington, and the beginning of what we would consider a recognizable experiment in self-government, but a lot of people weren’t included. Meacham, MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” He said in his program:

He continued, “And that important phrase about ‘all men are created equal’ had a very specific application to men at that time. To me, it’s a very good example of the fact that we were actually founded in 1965, when a multiracial, multi-ethnic democracy more fully emerged with the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Voting Rights Act. And we’re actually about 60 years old and a thriving democracy in many ways.”

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But Meacham, who previously wrote speeches for former President Joe Biden, revered America’s Founding Fathers as proof that “imperfect people can push us to more perfect results.”

“Let’s remember that we have to honor them by following them. We can’t just preach. We have to practice,” Meacham said.

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In the months leading up to the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, many current and former MS NOW hosts have expressed concern about the holiday due to the country’s history of slavery.

Presidential historian and former speechwriter Jon Meacham said a case could be made that America became a true “multiracial, multiracial democracy” in 1965 rather than 1776. (iStock)

“They’re going to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4, but that’s not our celebration,” the Rev. Al Sharpton said in April. “We were slaves then, and they’re celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. We didn’t even get emancipated until 1863. So I don’t know what everyone’s getting ready to celebrate [for]. You know I think it’s crazy to wear a birthday hat to your birthday party. This is not my party.”

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Joy Reid, who previously worked at the network, said last month that no one she knew who was black would celebrate Independence Day, adding that Juneteenth was the true beginning of America.

Former MSNBC host Joy Reid has previously suggested that Juneteenth is the real Independence Day for America. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images on behalf of the First Amendment Committee)

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“Whereas for me, Juneteenth is the true form of the Fourth of July, because we weren’t really a democracy until we ended slavery,” Reid said. “And then we weren’t really a democracy until the people who lost the Civil War were finally forced to ratify and act on the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, which they didn’t have to do until the ’60s.”