Submitted by Emily J. Arendt

January 23, 2026

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?

• The President’s House Site in Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia on Thursday, January 22, 2026.

What changed?

• The National Park Service removed a slavery exhibit from the site of George Washington’s first presidential residence in Philadelphia. The interpretive material discussed the history of slavery and Washington’s role as an enslaver.

Why does the change matter?

• The removal is in keeping with the push by the White House to remove and revise interpretive materials following a period of review, beginning in 2025, designed to root out what President Trump has described as a “false reconstruction of American history” (Executive Order: Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, March 2025). In particular, interpretive content relating to the history of race, gender, and sexuality has come under assault. Removals of exhibits on slavery in early America threatens to erode the public’s understanding of a core facet of the American past.

Evidence of change?

• Fallon Roth and Maggie Prosser, “The Slavery Exhibits at the President’s House Have Been Removed Following Trump Administration Push,” Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 22, 2026.
• Kanishka Singh, “US National Park Service Removes Slavery Exhibit in Philadelphia,” Reuters, Jan. 22, 2026.