In January, the Trump administration began removing exhibits, films and interpretive materials about slavery, climate change, labor history and other topics at national parks and historic sites. The changes are part of the administration’s campaign to take down any content that it feels “inappropriately disparages Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times).”
What is your reaction to the Trump administration’s efforts to delete what it deems “negative” aspects of American history?
In “How the National Park Service Is Deleting American History,” published on Jan. 23, Maxine Joselow and Jennifer Schuessler write:
At Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, the Trump administration took down an exhibit on the contradiction between President George Washington’s ownership of enslaved people and the Declaration of Independence’s promise of liberty.
At Muir Woods National Monument in California, the administration dismantled a plaque about how the tallest trees on the planet could help store carbon dioxide and slow the Earth’s dangerous warming.
And at Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts, Trump officials ordered the National Park Service to stop showing films about the women and immigrants who once toiled in the city’s textile mills.
Across the country, Park Service workers have started taking down plaques, films and other materials in connection with a directive from President Trump to remove or rewrite content that may “disparage Americans” or promote “corrosive ideology.”
The president wants to present what he considers a more positive view of American history to millions of people who visit more than 400 national parks and historic sites each year. Critics call it whitewashing, an attempt to erase difficult periods in the nation’s past as well as contributions made by people of color, gay and transgender figures, women and other marginalized groups.
Last week a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore the displays about slavery at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. Anushka Patil reports on the update:
A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore displays about George Washington’s ownership of enslaved people at a monument on the site of his former house in Philadelphia. The judge said the government’s claim to have the power to erase and alter historical accounts at the country’s monuments echoed George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984.”
In a 40-page opinion, Judge Cynthia M. Rufe granted a preliminary injunction to the City of Philadelphia, which had sued the Interior Department and the National Park Service over the removal of the displays. The order means the government must put the materials back up while the underlying lawsuit proceeds in court.
Last month, National Park Service workers arrived unannounced at the President’s House Site, a monument on the spot of a home used by Washington and President John Adams in the early days of the nation, and took down panels, displays and video exhibits describing the local history of slavery and commemorating the nine enslaved people Washington kept there while he was president.
The Park Service has previously said that the displays were taken down to ensure “accuracy, honesty and alignment with shared national values.” The move was part of a far-reaching effort by the Trump administration to rewrite American history along ideological lines at national monuments and parks across the country.
Students, read both articles and then tell us:
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What is your reaction to the Trump administration’s campaign to remove exhibits and interpretive materials about slavery, climate change, labor history and other topics at national parks and historic sites that it deems “inappropriate” or “negative”?
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President Trump wants to present what he considers a more positive view of American history to millions of people who visit more than 400 national parks and historic sites each year. What is your reaction to that goal?
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In January, the Trump administration took down an exhibit about the contradiction between President George Washington’s ownership of enslaved people and the Declaration of Independence’s promise of liberty. Last week a judge ordered that the exhibit be temporarily restored while the underlying lawsuit proceeds in court. What do you think about the administration’s removal of the signs about slavery, and the judge’s subsequent decision to restore them? Why?
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.
Michael Gonchar is the editor of The Times’s Learning Network. He spent 16 years in New York City public schools as a teacher, instructional coach and curriculum specialist.
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