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Latest executive order seeks to erase American history deemed unfavorable by the current administration

BY IOANNIS VLAHOS, STAFF WRITER

Harriet Tubman, the famed abolitionist, was scrubbed from a National Parks Service website earlier this year. A prominent image and a quote were deleted from a page about the Underground Railroad, as well as passages referencing slavery’s cruelty. 

Why? One of the latest of many executive orders issued by President Donald J. Trump is currently targeting historical education and the way Americans remember our history. The order, labelled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” states that institutions such as the Smithsonian and parks service are “re-writing” history with “false narratives.” The order seeks to eliminate exhibits or education deemed “improper, divisive, or anti-American.”

In practice, this means removing content which highlights the achievements of women, African Americans and LGBTQ+ people in American history. Though Tubman’s page was restored after substantial backlash, there is still much that remains erased and the Trump administration doesn’t appear to be finished any time soon. 

Administrations making changes to social and cultural standards while in power is nothing new. But the current rewriting of our collective history along partisan lines not only marginalizes many Americans but also poses a significant threat to our education and shared identity.

Since the early 2010s, American society has been undergoing a cultural conflict labeled as the “culture war.” Many Americans, especially younger generations, are increasingly divided on social and political issues, including topics such as immigration, abortion and social justice. The explosion in social media usage in recent years has allowed an unprecedented flow of information and awareness about topics ranging from evidenced-based to “fake news” and propaganda.

One such hot button issue is the debate on how we should remember our nation’s history and the formation of a unanimous cultural identity as Americans. It is no secret the United States has had some dark moments: slavery, the Trail of Tears and Jim Crow laws come to mind. As a nation we have moved on from the worst of the past; although, it goes without saying there is still much that needs to be improved. 

In recent years, educators in museums and research centers have sought to address the less comfortable realities of our nation’s past. This is a unique challenge: scrutinizing famous historical figures and events for their role in those dark periods while maintaining their place in America’s story. How this has been done has only served to escalate the culture war, as some believe the scrutiny has led to the cancellation of people and the rewriting of history in an anti-American frame.

Donald Trump successfully ran for president in 2024, and upon his inauguration this January immediately began pushing legislation and executive orders that sought to shift federal policy from that of the previous Biden administration. 

Trump’s order suggests that highlighting achievements by minority groups and women is purely ideologically based, and thus our historical record is distorted by a political agenda. Ironically, erasing the memory of actual persons and events deemed too “woke” or otherwise is no different. Historical education has thus become the latest victim of the culture war, as the heritage of our country has turned into a partisan issue. 

But what about this current iteration in America is so different and harmful?

Peter Rutland, a government professor at Wesleyan University, said that this kind of behavior is doing more to divide rather than unite people, especially younger Americans. 

“There are already big changes in the way society is organizing the education of future generations; the impact of social media [and] the decline of media that are collectively viewed, such as national news networks and public television,” Rutland said. 

“The politicization of historical education is accelerating the fragmentation of our collective identity that was already under way because of these technological changes.”

Stephen Kinzer, Senior Fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, said “It’s often said the United States should be called ‘The United States of Amnesia’ because we’re amazingly out of touch with our history. We believe in the glorified versions of it, but not in the reality — reality doesn’t catch up with stereotypes if you continually vacillate between interpretations of history… our inability to settle on a single version of our history reflects how deeply divided we’ve become.”

There are parts of American history that nobody should be proud of, but there are plenty of others that should be celebrated as well. It has been no doubt difficult for many to accept this type of doublethink, but accepting it is the only way to form both a collective identity and to properly educate those on the unbiased truth of our nation’s history. Censoring reality has unimaginable consequences for education, while excessive shaming damages both our collective identity and national pride. 

Focus on the good, but accept the bad.