USA Trump wants to rewrite American history by decree
US President Donald Trump wants to reinterpret the history of the USA and has tasked his Vice President J.D. Vance with working towards representations in line with the new administration, particularly in museums.
28.03.2025, 03:11
SDA
Over the past decade, there have been "concerted and widespread attempts to rewrite the history of our country and replace facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth", Trump wrote in a decree entitled "Restoring Truth and Reason to American History".
The Republican blamed a "revisionist movement" that had been promoted by the previous Democratic administration. "Our nation's incomparable heritage of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness has been portrayed as racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably tainted," the decree reads. The famous Smithsonian Institution, which operates a number of museums, particularly in the capital Washington, is cited as an example.
The Smithsonian has come under the influence of a divisive ideology based on ethnicity in recent years, Trump criticized. The decree explicitly mentions the exhibition "The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture", which argues, among other things, that differences between people are used to disempower them and maintain power relations. Sculpture is also presented as an effective tool for promoting scientific racism.
Vance aims to protect "shared American values"
The relatively new National Museum of African American History and Culture, which is dedicated to African American history, also drew Trump's ire. It claims that "hard work", "individualism" and the "nuclear family" are aspects of "white culture", according to the decree. Trump also expressed his disagreement with the way the American Women's History Museum operates.
The President instructed Vance to implement changes at the museums and the Washington Zoo, which is also part of the Smithsonian. He was to work towards ensuring that "inappropriate ideology" no longer had a place there and in research centers. Vance should also ensure that in future no more money is spent on exhibitions that disparage "common American values".
