Trump's Push To Restore 'Truth and Sanity in American History' Tests Nonpartisan Institutions
Politically-motivated firings and increased executive branch scrutiny set “a dangerous precedent,” warns a former archivist of the United States.
Last May, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to restore "Truth and Sanity in American History." The order called on the federal government to challenge a "concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation's history" and "restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness."
In the months since, the Trump administration has successfully pressured the Smithsonian to do the very thing the order aimed to combat: rewrite American history. Last week, the National Portrait Gallery "removed a swath of text that mentioned President Donald Trump's two impeachments and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection," The Washington Post reported. These materials were replaced by an updated portrait of Trump. On Wednesday, the institution turned over photographs of labels, placards, text, and additional materials on exhibits to the White House for review. This was in response to a December letter that threatened to withhold federal funds if the Smithsonian did not "submit extensive documentation for a sweeping content review" to weed out materials that the White House deemed to contain "improper ideology," according to the Post.
In a recent interview with Reason's Eric Boehm, former U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan warned about the damage that actions like these could cause to historically nonpartisan institutions.
As archivist, Shogan oversaw the National Archives and Records Administration, which referred Trump's handling of presidential records to the Justice Department after documents were not returned at the end of his term, helping trigger an investigation that led to felony charges against Trump. Shogan, who was not in charge of the Archives when the investigation began, was fired in May 2025 and replaced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Firings like hers and former Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, which some people deem to be ideologically motivated, are worrying, says Shogan. "I'm very concerned about what will happen in the future. To places like the Archives, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, because what these institutions should not be is a political seesaw back and forth," she says.
Making these institutions more partisan sets "a dangerous precedent for the future," she adds. "If we remove that from our ecosystem, we're really giving something up as a democracy."
Since leaving the National Archives, Shogan has transitioned into a new role overseeing "In Pursuit," a project that will feature a series of essays on key political figures in U.S. history. Shogan says this project is intended to fill the void she sees in the U.S.' lack of "a large-scale national program that uses history as a way for us to learn the lessons of our present and, of course, inform our future."
"In Pursuit" will include pieces authored by former presidents, first ladies, and leading cultural pundits. This includes George W. Bush writing about George Washington and an essay about Jackie Kennedy penned by Michelle Obama. The first article will be released on President's Day.
Trump's push to restore "truth" in history has predictably led to more chaos and confusion at historically nonpartisan institutions. While this is concerning, efforts like "In Pursuit" show that the private sector will always be ready to step up when the government fails.
