On Thursday, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to “restore truth and sanity to American history.” The order criticized what it described as attempts to portray the founding principles and historical milestones of the United States in a negative light. It directed the removal of “divisive race-centered ideology” from the Smithsonian’s museums and research centers. Additionally, the order tasked the Secretary of the Interior with restoring public monuments, statues, and markers that have been removed or altered since 2020. However, the specifics of which sites will be affected remain unclear.
Trump’s order called for an assessment by the Interior Department to identify memorials, statues, markers, or properties under its jurisdiction that have been altered or removed in a way that might propagate a “false reconstruction of American history” or insert undue partisan ideology since January 1, 2020. The Department of the Interior, which encompasses the National Park Service and numerous other bureaus, has not commented on the order. The order indicates that monuments and memorials should celebrate the achievements and progress of the American people or the nation’s natural grandeur, rather than denigrate individuals or historical events.
The move follows a period of intense debate on race and historical monuments, which gained momentum after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), over 200 Confederate symbols were removed or renamed across the country within roughly 18 months. Many of these were not situated on land managed by the Department of the Interior. Seth Levi, the SPLC’s Chief Program Strategy Officer, noted that removals have typically occurred on land managed by municipalities or states, rather than federal lands, and expressed uncertainty over how many federal sites the order might impact.
The order could have limited immediate effects, but Levi speculated it reflects an effort to downplay the historic significance of slavery and diminish the contributions of racial minorities in American history. Historically, he noted, the emergence of Confederate monuments often coincided with periods like the Jim Crow era.
This executive order coincides with recent modifications on National Park Service websites, particularly following another executive order on gender ideology, which led to the removal of references to transgender individuals from the Stonewall National Monument site.
The National Parks Conservation Association, a nonpartisan advocacy group, has responded to the new executive order, expressing concern over the potential erasure of vital American history protected in national parks. Alan Spears, a senior director at the organization, emphasized the importance of history presented in these parks, ranging from American presidential birthplaces to the civil rights movement.
In parallel, the National Park Foundation, alongside the Lilly Endowment, had recently announced a $100 million grant to help present a more comprehensive historical narrative. How the executive order might impact this grant remains uncertain.
Erin Thompson, author of “Smashing Statues: The Rise and Fall of America’s Public Monuments,” remarked on the language of the order, particularly noting its implications about the Reconstruction era post-Civil War. She suggested that attempts to control historical memory through monuments are insufficient due to the various other ways people learn about history, including books, tours, and family stories.
