The Trump administration has initiated a broad review of content within national parks, aiming to restore a sense of national pride and end what it terms the “radical left’s divisive and inaccurate characterization” of American history. This effort, driven by President Donald Trump’s executive order from March 2025, seeks to remove public content deemed to inappropriately disparage Americans, past or living, from exhibits, films, pamphlets, and signs across national monuments.
The Interior Department confirmed that a sign at South Carolina’s Fort Sumter National Monument, which detailed climate change impacts like rising seas, was removed as part of this initiative. The department stated its action was to replace materials not grounded in real science with information that is accurate, evidence-based, and aligned with how the world actually works.
President Trump’s March 2025 executive order, issued one year and two months ago, directed the Interior Department to take action against public content that inappropriately disparages Americans, past or living. This directive led the National Park Service to encourage visitors to submit comments on signs, specifically asking if they noticed any negative messaging about Americans, with items inconsistent with the order subject to removal or replacement.
An internal National Park Service database, reviewed by CNN, revealed that hundreds of displays were flagged for review under the new directive. The flagged content included books about slavery, exhibits on the forced internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and a film about 19th-century mill workers in Massachusetts.
One flagged display concerning abolitionist Elijah Parish Lovejoy’s killing included a comment questioning if the phrase “mob murders” denigrated the murderers, suggesting rewording to “Abolitionist editor Elijah Lovejoy is murdered for his views.” A panel at a National Park in St. Croix was also flagged for discussing the slave trade and its connection to the sugar industry, with a note indicating some might find it disparaging or inappropriate.
Reclaiming the National Story
The sign beneath Gustavus Cheyney Doane’s statue at a Grand Teton National Park visitor center was removed; it had asked visitors, “How do we acknowledge the good and bad of a figure?” and noted Doane’s expedition led to the designation of the first national park, but also his role in a massacre of at least 173 members of the Piegan Blackfeet. This removal was cited in a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior as one of many changes stemming from the March 2025 executive order.
In California’s Muir Woods National Monument, signs detailing the contributions of Native Americans and women were removed. This included a note informing visitors that John Muir had used racist language in his diaries and ignored the genocide indigenous people survived, with the removed sign stating, “This contributes to an idea that indigenous people don’t belong in parks.” A new panel on founding father George Mason in Washington, DC, now omits any mention of him being a slaveowner.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers affirmed that President Trump is honoring our country’s extraordinary heritage and restoring a sense of national pride. Rogers stated that the President has put an end to the radical left’s divisive and inaccurate characterization of our nation’s history, which infiltrated national parks and museums, and is restoring truth and sanity.
Elite Resistance to Historical Correction
Critics, including Democrats in Congress and various advocacy groups, have voiced opposition to these changes, framing them as an attempt to erase elements of the nation’s past. Tom Rodgers, a member of the Blackfeet Nation, referred to the Doane sign removal as “killing them all over again” and called the administration’s actions “Orwellian,” accusing them of attempting to spin Doane’s legacy.
Elizabeth Villano, a co-creator of the Muir Woods sign, stated in a LinkedIn post that the administration is erasing half of the narrative. A lawsuit filed three months ago, in February 2026, by a coalition of conservationists and advocates accused the administration of mounting a sustained campaign to erase history and undermine science.
Last month, a federal court blocked the National Park Service from proceeding with plans to replace slavery-related exhibits at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia. Critics of these proposed changes claimed the new panels sanitized the exhibition, which was originally erected to recognize individuals enslaved by George Washington.
Democrats in the House and Senate, including Sen. Martin Heinrich and Reps. Sharice Davids and Jared Huffman, have sent letters to Interior Department leadership asking for clarity about the review, with no response from the department. Rep. Huffman stated in a February hearing that “Actual history is getting whitewashed and censored from national parks and museums.” Alan Spears, a senior director at the National Parks Conservation Association, dismissed the administration’s efforts as a “red herring,” arguing it tries to resolve a problem that does not exist.
The Battle for America's Past
The Interior Department maintains that experts and local park leaders were consulted as appropriate for removal decisions, arguing the directive strengthens public trust and helps visitors better understand the complexity of America’s story. The department also claimed the internal database was edited before being inappropriately and illegally released to the media in ways that misrepresented the status of this effort, vowing to hold employees accountable who altered internal records and leaked information to harm the Trump administration.
Kym Hall, a former National Park Service regional director who retired one year and seven months ago in October 2024, reported hearing from current agency staff that they are burned out and demoralized by being required to carry out sign changes and removals. Hall stated, “This isn’t what I signed up for because this isn’t who we are as an organization.”
These removals coincide with America entering a period of reflection on its history, with celebrations planned throughout this year to commemorate its 250th birthday. The administration’s actions are presented as a timely effort to ensure the nation’s heritage is portrayed in a positive light, countering narratives perceived as divisive and inaccurate.