Submitted by Kate Tyler Wall

September 8, 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?

• Happening now in Iowa

What changed?

• Due to a purported “budget shortfall,” the State Historical Society of Iowa is at risk of closure by the end of the year. Staff and hours have already been reduced. As prominent historians Linda Kerber and David Blight point out in an op-ed in the Des Moines Register entitled “What we’ll lose if Iowa’s history shutdown succeeds,” it is not just at the national level that history erasure is occurring.

Why does the change matter?

• The closure of the State Historical Society of Iowa raises questions that every museum, historical society, archives, library, and cultural institution need to consider, whether or not they depend upon federal funding. There are other ways to prevent accurate history from being taught and portrayed, using state and local governments as the intermediary. Kerber and Blight also point out the potential for dangerous loss of knowledge, expertise, and irreplaceable artifacts—in essence, destroying evidence.

Evidence of change?

• Linda K. Kerber and David W. Blight, “What we’ll lose if Iowa’s history shutdown succeeds,” Des Moines Register, Sept. 1, 2025.
• Lucia Cheng, “Historians outraged over Iowa historical society cuts,” Iowa Public Radio, July 7, 2025.

Additional sources?

• AHA Sends Letter in Support of the State Historical Society of Iowa Research Center
• Change.org “Save Iowa History 2025 Redux” Petition