A new executive order signed by President Donald Trump is reigniting concern across the museum field over the politicization of public history. Titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” the order directs Vice President JD Vance to “eliminate improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology from the Smithsonian and its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo.”
The EO also directs Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to “restore Federal parks, monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties that have been improperly removed or changed in the last five years to perpetuate a false revision of history or improperly minimize or disparage certain historical figures or events.”
President Trump’s directive singles out institutions such as the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the forthcoming Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum as promoting narratives that portray American and Western values as “inherently harmful and oppressive.” It also calls out The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which explores how societies have used race to establish systems of power.
The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) has criticized the order:
We must remember that this executive order runs counter to multiple recent studies showing that most Americans want to explore the nation’s history in its full depth and complexity. Censoring what information about the past Americans encounter — especially the experiences of people of color, LGBTQ+ people, women, and other commonly marginalized groups — limits the public’s ability to understand our history. Tellingly, the order also shows no trust in the American public to think for themselves.
The executive order exerts undue political influence on historical practice and privileges a solely celebratory story of America, one motivated by political ideology rather than evidence and critical thinking. It also ignores decades of scholarship and interpretation, undermining the expertise of committed history professionals. (Source: Defending Our Full, Shared History at the Smithsonian and National Park Service)
While the Smithsonian Institution has not issued a public response as of this writing, the order’s language has sparked widespread concern among museum professionals.
See the full executive order and fact sheet here:
Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Restores Truth and Sanity to American History
