The Trump regime has ordered the removal of exhibits related to slavery at several National Park Service (NPS) sites, including Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, which memorializes the famous 1859 raid against Virginia slaveholders led by John Brown, whose home was at that time located in the Adirondacks.
The mandate stems from a March 2025 executive order targeting content that promotes a “corrosive ideology” or “inappropriately disparages Americans.”
The March 2025 order directed the Department of the Interior to remove or cover up materials deemed to “disproportionately emphasize negative aspects of U.S. history.”
Staff at Harpers Ferry, where Brown was captured and hung for opposing slavery with force, flagged around 30 exhibits for potential removal or revision. These items reportedly included information about racial discrimination and hostility toward formerly enslaved people.
Exhibits at Harpers Ferry that discuss slavery include displays detailing John Brown’s Raid, which aimed to arm enslaved people, and stories of formerly enslaved people who sought education in the town.
An anonymous NPS employee confirmed to reporters that they had been ordered to remove or cover up the materials.
The executive order has been interpreted broadly by the administration, also leading to the removal of a famous 1863 photograph of an enslaved man’s scarred back, known as “The Scourged Back,” from at least one national park.
Advocacy groups like the National Parks Conservation Association and the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia have strongly condemned the action. They argue that censoring history prevents informed citizenship and that “great countries don’t hide from their history.”
They issued a press release demanding that the “History of Slavery Cannot Be Erased From Our Parks.”
The order has also created distress and frustration among park historians and interpreters who have worked to build more inclusive and accurate exhibits over decades.
The John Brown Farm in Lake Placid is a New York State operated historic site.
New York Almanack is reporting on the Trump regime’s impacts in New York State, but we can’t do it without your help. Please support this work.
Illustration: Detail original photo, “Scourged Back” by McPherson and Oliver, circa 1863.
In the end, the truth will prevail, but that does not make this brazen attempt by Trump and his goons to “white wash“ ( pun intended) history.
The thought of another 3+ years of the current regime sickens me. We get slammed each and every day with yet a new attack to limit our freedoms and history. Hopefully people will think about this on election day this coming November. The one thing that sticks in my mind is this statement he made during his campaign, “You’ll never have to vote again!”
Yup!
This is why we all should be scared shitless and this active in resisting the Schmuck-in-Chief every way possible except with violence.
It seems to me that anyone intent on hiding shameful parts of a country’s past shows cowardice. A truly strong country (and leader) would instead want to highlight how far we’ve come. Even if our progress is far too little and far too slow, it is still movement in the right direction (until this administration). Any forward movement is a positive. The current administration would do better to follow Germany’s example: dealing with a horrific past head-on and without trying to sweep it under the rug or trying to justify it.
Remember that Donald & his father’s first conviction was for discriminating in their housing against non-white residents. This isn’t someone else, it’s DONALD himself that was convicted for this. Obviously he wants to pretend this wasn’t dispicable
behaviour.at the beginning of his career. Nothing’s changed, just a bigger platform to continue these actions.
The things that make you go Hmmm!
IN this historian’s opinion, when has Donald Trump ever shown historical awareness, insight or even competence?
Never! That’s my opinion!
And it’s my opinion history will judge Trump and his cronies harshly.