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The historian and author Gore Vidal once called the United States the “United States of Amnesia.” Nowhere is that amnesia more weaponized than in the Trump-era battle over American history. Among the many fronts in Trump’s culture wars, perhaps none is more consequential than his administration’s effort to whitewash the nation’s past. Dr. Jerry W. Washington, an education scholar writing on Medium, described it as “the fight over American memory.”

On September 9, CBS News Philadelphia reported that “dozens of Philadelphia history organizations” had come out against the Trump administration’s proposed changes to Independence National Historical Park. The backlash followed a March executive order mandating the “restoration” of federal historic sites—specifically by removing what the administration called “ideological indoctrination” and “divisive narratives.”

In a memo to staff, Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, the first African American to lead the Smithsonian Institution, acknowledged the White House’s directives but firmly reaffirmed the museum’s autonomy. “Our independence is paramount,” Bunch wrote, signaling that the Smithsonian would not compromise its integrity in the face of political pressure.

Stacy M. Brown, senior national correspondent for Black Press USA, reported that earlier this year Bunch sent a letter to staff reinforcing the Smithsonian’s commitment to “truth, transparency, and historical scholarship.” In the letter, obtained by BlackPressUSA.com, Bunch wrote: “We remain steadfast in our mission to bring history, science, education, research, and the arts to all Americans. We will continue to showcase world-class exhibits, collections, and objects, rooted in expertise and accuracy.”

On March 27, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order titled Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, directing the Department of the Interior to identify and restore any monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar installations removed or changed since January 1, 2020, that the administration considered to represent a “false reconstruction of American history” or that “inappropriately disparage Americans.” It also mandated that such public symbols should instead emphasize the “greatness of the achievements and progress” of the American people.

The Associated Press reported that “Trump singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016 near the White House, the Women’s History Museum, which is in development, and the American Art Museum for criticism. ‘Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,’ he said.

Writing for the New York Times, Kevin Sack pointed out that Trump’s order is clearly antihistoty: “The intent seems clear. Mr. Trump aims to sand down — if not altogether erase — some of the more inglorious episodes of American history, particularly those involving racial and ethnic subjugation, to feed the ravenous maw of white grievance that fuels so much of today’s political discourse.”

Sack, the author of Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church, added, “If we ever aspire again to become one nation, the entirety of our past, including the enslavement of an estimated 10 million people, must be acknowledged as our shared history.”

Trump’s move to “reshape” institutions like the Smithsonian is not only about specific exhibitions. It’s a much broader attempt to influence how Americans understand their past—promoting a sanitized, celebratory version of U.S. history and minimizing narratives about systemic oppression, racism, or other challenging aspects.

These actions, that critics interpret as a politically motivated effort to reshape public memory, will lead to the stifling of dialogue in education, and centralize a narrow, celebratory version of American history.

The Associated Press’ Dorany Pineda recently reported, “The administration said it would remove all “inappropriate” material by Sept. 17, according to the New York Times, citing internal agency documents.”

“Pretending that the bad stuff never happened is not going to make it go away,” said Alan Spears, a senior director with the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonpartisan group separate from the national parks system that advocates for it. “We need to be able to talk about these things if we’re going to have any hope of bringing people together.”

The post The Great Whitewashing of American History Orchestrated by Generalisimo Donald Trump first appeared on Dissident Voice.

This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.