WASHINGTON DC-(MaraviPost)-President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” has led to the removal of multiple slavery-related exhibits and images across the U.S. National Park System.
The order, signed in March 2025, directs the National Park Service (NPS) to review and remove interpretive materials deemed to “inappropriately disparage” Americans or promote “divisive, race-centered ideology”.
The removals have sparked widespread criticism, with historians and preservationists accusing the Trump administration of attempting to whitewash American history.
The Organization of American Historians (OAH) has condemned the removal of the “Freedom and Slavery” exhibit at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, calling it a “fundamental misrepresentation of the social, economic, and political realities” of America’s founding.
One of the most notable removals is the iconic photograph, “The Scourged Back,” which shows the severe whipping scars on an escaped enslaved man.
The photo was removed from Fort Pulaski National Monument in Georgia, and more than 30 signs documenting racial discrimination at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia were flagged for removal or revision.
The Trump administration’s actions have been met with legal challenges, including a lawsuit filed by the city of Philadelphia, which resulted in a federal judge ordering the reinstatement of the “Freedom and Slavery” exhibit.
The judge compared the removal to historical erasure in George Orwell’s 1984.
The removals are part of a broader effort to reshape the narrative of American history, with critics arguing that the Trump administration is attempting to erase the country’s troubled past.
As historian Leslie M. Harris notes, “A short-term outcome could be a distrust, even an avoidance, of government sites”.
The impact of the executive order is not limited to slavery exhibits.
The National Park Service has also removed or flagged exhibits related to Native American mistreatment, climate change, and LGBTQ+ history.
The Smithsonian Institution is under review, with some exhibits facing potential changes or removal.
Historians and preservationists are concerned that the Trump administration’s actions will have a chilling effect on the presentation of American history.
“Stripping enslaved people’s stories from museum exhibits, monuments, and digital archives is not neutrality – it is erasure,” said the NAACP.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is indeed a target of President Trump’s executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History”.
The order specifically mentions the NMAAHC, implying that the museum’s portrayal of American history is “divisive” and “race-centered”.
In response to the executive order, at least 32 artifacts have been removed from the NMAAHC, including Harriet Tubman’s hymnal and a first edition of Frederick Douglass’s Narrative.
The removals have sparked widespread criticism, with many accusing the Trump administration of attempting to erase African American history.
The NMAAHC’s exhibits have been a focal point of controversy, with critics arguing that they promote a “negative” view of American history.
However, supporters of the museum argue that its exhibits provide a necessary perspective on the country’s troubled past, including slavery and racism.