Submitted by Emily Arendt
June 11, 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?
- At sites administered by organizations under the Department of the Interior, June 2025
What changed?
- A Department of the Interior memo dated June 9 is calling on the NPS to post signs at all sites by June 13 to “encourage public feedback” on “any signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features.”
Why does the change matter?
- In keeping with the Trump administration’s March executive order “restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” this measure will ensure the erasure of historical narratives from public spaces administered by the NPS, which has until mid-July to review sites for disparaging information. The order excludes most properties located on Native American lands, but includes sites administered by other groups under the umbrella of the Department of the Interior, including the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs. The erasure of historical narratives from these places diminishes their value to the public and will result in falsified and biased interpretations of the American past.
Evidence of change?
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