Donald Trump Can't Erase History
It’s easy to describe what we are witnessing as an attempt to erase history. From the flagging of tens of thousands of historical photos on federal government websites to the firing of staff at the National Archives and National Park Service to the deletion of webpages at Arlington National Cemetery—all if it should be concerning to every American.
At times, I have described this as an erasure of the past, but as my friend and fellow historian Bob Beatty has suggested, in doing so we are making the same mistake when describing the removal of a statue or monument as tantamount to erasing history.
He’s right.
It’s a point I have made over and over. The removal of monuments is a statement about what we believe about ourselves as a society—something that is constantly evolving. They reflect the values that we claim to embrace through a shared connection to a common past. In recent years communities across this country have had to face the fact that monuments celebrating the Confederacy no longer (or in many cases never) truly represented the entire community.
The removal of hundreds of Confederate monuments has had no impact on our ability to study the history of the Civil War. This history is as accessible today as it was the day before the first Confederate monument came down.
Rather than erasing history, we need to recognize that the Trump administration is taking steps to influence how Americans think about and remember their history and how that history shapes how we see ourselves in relationship to others today.
One particular example that came to light over the weekend neatly sums it up for me. Brandon Friedman, an MSNBC columnist posted the following on Bluesky over the weekend.
The story has since been picked up by a number of news agencies, not unlike what I experienced after first reporting on the deleted webpages at Arlington National Cemetery.
Infuriating? Yes. Racist? Absolutely. But however the Trump administration attempts to distort the history of this American hero for its own nefarious purposes, they will never be able to erase history.
The larger point here is important. While the Trump administration hopes to use this issue to divide Americans even further, it turns out that we are not so divided over how we understand American history and how we expect it to be taught to our children.
We Are Not So Divided Over History Education
Despite the passage of legislation in multiple states across the country banning Critical Race Theory (which is not part of any state history curriculum) and the 1619 Project from the classroom, a recently-released report suggests that overall parents are satisfied with what their children are learning.
In fact, I would suggest that the sweeping nature of the changes that we are seeing right now is itself an admission that the Trump administration will ultimately fail. It’s not unlike the attempt on the part of certain states, who have taken steps to pass legislation preventing communities from removing Confederate monuments. The fact that the legislation is necessary at all is an indication that their time has passed.
Federal agencies like the National Park Service and US Army are not staffed by a bunch of progressive radicals. When it comes to how history is interpreted, these institutions largely follow trends in scholarship and changes in the broader culture. The historical content that is being removed or revised is already well established throughout our country.
Today The Washington Post ran a story about a school in DC that held a special program over the weekend celebrating American history.
On Saturday, dozens of 5-to-17-year-olds wore makeup and fashions of the era to depict historical figures and highlight their achievements with Blacks in Wax. The annual event is a double feature of performance art that first winds patrons through a museum-like experience with live characters before a series of stage scenes portraying key moments and people in American history.
This year, the program celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, along with the sacrifices and speeches of those who marched and died to make the legislation possible. The play also highlighted the many Black elected officials who rose to power and prominence by serving as mayors, in Congress and in the White House.
Thennie Freeman, the director of the D.C. Parks and Recreation Department, which helped to sponor this program had this to say:
As they learn a character, they also are developing character. By having them learn the history of the person, dress up as the person and bring that person to life, it’s a moment they will never forget.
It’s stories like this and kids like this that give me hope.
I am certainly not suggesting that there is nothing to worry about. What we have already witnessed throughout our federal government is likely just the beginning. It is going to take years to undo the damage that has been done. We need to remain vigilant, but we do need to stay focused on what is ultimately at stake.
We need to remember that it’s not history as historical record that is being undercut by the Trump administration, but a broader vision of who we are as a nation and what it means to be a citizen of the United States.
That has always been worth fighting for.
Just saw this re: the storied, 442nd, the Japanese-American unit in WWII that has so many medal of honor winners. https://www.khon2.com/local-news/army-removes-reposts-website-documenting-japanese-american-wwii-soldiers/
Good that the US Army is outing it back up, but, like with all this stuff about USCT in the civil war , etc….what was the need to take it down in the first place??
Paul Krugman has a post today on his Substack page called Destroying America’s Brand. Although it is focused principally on economics, that is what is happening here. I’m going to digress but I used to live overseas and the Voice of America was a vital lifeline (especially when you lived in a dictatorship as I did, in Spain). He’s now closed that too. I can’t tell you how upsetting that is to me personally. Without the VOA people in the Iron Curtain wouldn’t have had access to real information. Well, that’s gone now, hopefully not forever.