Gerald Horne is not interested in celebrating America 250. In a July 1, 2026 edition of Around the Horn, he argued that 1776 was driven by land theft, labor control, and slavery, not by freedom or democracy.
His point is blunt: the American Revolution was not a clean break from oppression. It was a settler revolt that protected the interests of land speculators, enslavers, and the colonial elite.
What Horne Says About 1776
Horne frames 1776 as a struggle over land and labor at the same time. British limits on westward expansion angered settlers, while enslaved Africans and Black resistance threatened the colonial order they wanted to preserve and expand.
In his telling, the language of liberty sat beside Indigenous dispossession and slavery from the start.
Why Class Matters
Horne insists that class politics cannot be separated from race and empire. He argues that poorer white settlers often aligned with planter power because the settler project promised access to land, status, and control.
That alliance, he says, helped build a white republic and shaped later Confederate politics, anti-Black policy, and modern reactionary movements.
Birthright Citizenship and the 14th Amendment
He also warns that the fight over birthright citizenship is part of a longer battle over who counts as American. In his view, attacks on the 14th Amendment are really attempts to roll back the post-Civil War order and restore exclusion.
These legal fights are never just legal. They are battles over labor, empire, and racial power.
Why Juneteenth Matters
Horne rejects the narrow version of emancipation that begins and ends in Texas in 1865. He points instead to Black and Brown resistance, Mexico, and the wider fight against slavery that continued long after the Civil War.
For him, Juneteenth is not just a holiday. It is a reminder that freedom was won across borders and that emancipation was always incomplete without solidarity.
Why This Matters Now
Horne connects the past to the present by warning that when U.S. power weakens abroad, ruling classes often tighten control at home. That is why he sees today’s attacks on citizenship, immigration, and democracy as part of the same old project.
If America 250 ignores slavery, Indigenous dispossession, and empire, he suggests, it is telling the wrong story about the country’s founding.
5 Key Takeaways
- Horne says 1776 was a settler revolt. He ties the Revolution to slavery, land theft, and colonial power.
- Class collaboration mattered. He argues that white settlers across class lines helped sustain racial domination.
- Birthright citizenship is under pressure. He sees current attacks on the 14th Amendment as part of a deeper reactionary push.
- Juneteenth is bigger than Texas. Horne places emancipation inside a broader Black and Brown struggle.
- America 250 is not neutral. In Horne’s view, it is an opening to tell the truth about empire and slavery.
Source: Around the Horn with Gerald Horne, July 1, 2026.