When Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill this week creating what’s called the “1836 Project,” he touted it as a way to promote the state’s exceptionalism. The name mirrors the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project, which examines U.S. history from the date when enslaved people first arrived on American soil. But House Bill 2497 centers on the year Texas won independence from Mexico and is meant to promote a “patriotic education” to the state’s residents.