Submitted by Shannan Mason
April 30, 2025
At a time when the Trump Administration is quickly altering public interpretations of history and removing references to the past on websites and public spaces, it is vital that historians keep track of what is changing. The Early Republic Tracker is dedicated to documenting instances where the federal government is removing facts and stories essential to the public’s understanding American history from public historical sites, museums, websites, and executive agencies.
Where/When did the changes take place?
- Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Department_of_Defense_censorship_of_DEI-connected_material
- Created March 20, 2025
What changed?
- “U.S. Department of Defense censorship of DEI-connected material” is a Wikipedia page created in March 2025 that documents removals of DEI-related materials by the DOD.
Why does the change matter?
- The Wikipedia page is a centralized, publicly accessible source and record of federal efforts to edit or erase DEI-related historical or interpretive content, including material tied to early American history. Like the Early Republic Tracker, as official government websites have removed or obscured documentation of Black, Indigenous, and women’s contributions to the Revolutionary era and Early Republic, this page now functions as a provisional archive for what was deleted. The page also contextualizes the ideological project behind the removals.
Website/location/document where change was made?
- Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Department_of_Defense_censorship_of_DEI-connected_material
Evidence of change?
- DOD Statement on Reassessment of Removals: https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4130360/defense-department-reassesses-archived-content/
Additional sources?
