Letters from an American – “Turning Out For History”

Host: Heather Cox Richardson
Date: March 30, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Heather Cox Richardson explores the collision between government-mandated historical revisionism under President Donald J. Trump and the energetic grassroots efforts by Americans to preserve a true, complex account of their nation’s history. Richardson traces how new executive orders seek to “restore truth and sanity” to American history by imposing a simplistic, triumphalist narrative, and reveals the rising resistance of historians, volunteers, and everyday citizens who refuse to let nuanced, often difficult truths be erased.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Presidential Orders to “Restore” American History

• On March 27, 2025, Trump issued an executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” grounded in the claim that there’s been a coordinated effort to “rewrite” U.S. history with a left-wing ideology that casts America as inherently flawed.
• The order directs the Secretary of the Interior to review monuments, museums, and sites for any “false reconstruction” or “improper partisan ideology,” instructing the restoration of prior, more celebratory presentations.

  “Trump echoes 20th-century fascists who promise to return their country to divinely inspired rules that if ignored, would create disaster.” [00:40]

2. Reshaping National Symbols and Institutions

• The executive order tasked officials to ensure that museums, especially in D.C., are “places where individuals go to learn, not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives.”
• Trump appointed a three-person review team, including his defense attorney Lindsay Halligan, whose eligibility was based on personal disapproval of certain exhibits, and Russell Vogt of Project 2025.
• The review targets significant Smithsonian museums: National Museum of American History, African American History and Culture, Museum of the American Indian, Air and Space, and more.

3. Early Acts of Revision: Erasing Difficult Histories

• The administration’s first actions included:

  • Removing displays honoring Black U.S. soldiers at a military cemetery in the Netherlands.
  • Flagging educational exhibits on climate change, slavery, and Native American imprisonment as potentially “disparaging.”

• Trump’s White House attached partisan commentary to the Presidential Walk of Fame, disparaging Barack Obama and Joe Biden while praising Trump’s own legacy.

• The National Portrait Gallery, under pressure, removed references to Trump’s impeachments and 2020 election loss.

  “We wish to be assured that none of the leadership of the Smithsonian museums is confused about the fact that the United States has been among the greatest forces for good in the history of the world.” (Smithsonian letter, [06:54])

4. Legal and Cultural Pushback

• After historical content was removed from the George Washington home site in Philadelphia, the city sued. Federal Judge Cynthia Roof ordered the restoration of the materials, quoting Orwell’s “1984” to underline the danger of state-imposed historical amnesia.

5. Grassroots Mobilization: The Preservation of Truth

• In response, Richardson highlights a surge of activism:

  • Save Our Signs Project: A crowdsourced archive preserving park signage that might be lost to revisionism.
  • Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian: Volunteers, including scholar James Millward, documenting and disseminating museum content before it’s censored.
  • HARP (History, Archives and Records Preservation Project): Professional historians recording and resisting changes since January 2025.

• Mass Protest:
  Millions joined over 3,100 “No Kings” events in a historic one-day protest for accurate history and self-governance.

  “Instead of accepting the destruction of the true lessons of our past, we are bringing them back to life.” [11:40]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trump’s Motives:

  “Trump echoes 20th-century fascists who promise to return their country to divinely inspired rules that if ignored, would create disaster.” [00:40]

• On the Smithsonian Review:

  “We wish to be assured that none of the leadership of the Smithsonian museums is confused about the fact that the United States has been among the greatest forces for good…” [06:54]

• On Citizen Response:

  “A funny thing happened on the way to the erasure of American history. In favor of a whitewashed authoritarianism, the American people began to preserve the truth of who we have been.” [10:20]

• On Mass Action:

  “Millions of Americans and their allies turned out today for more than 3,100 No Kings events in all 50 states… in what appears to be the largest one day protest in American history.” [11:20]

• Closing Thought:

  “Instead of accepting the destruction of the true lessons of our past, we are bringing them back to life.” [11:40]

Key Timestamps

• 00:00–02:50 — The Executive Order & Its Language
• 02:50–05:10 — Directives to Monuments, Museums, Federal Sites
• 05:10–07:30 — The Review Team and Early Acts of Historical Alteration
• 07:30–09:10 — Escalation: Text Removed, Sites Sued, Court Orders Issued
• 09:10–11:20 — Grassroots Projects & Citizen Action
• 11:20–12:15 — Historic Mass Protest & Closing Reflections

Conclusions

Richardson presents a vivid account of how top-down efforts to sanitize and control America’s historical narrative are being countered from the ground up. The erasure of uncomfortable truths is met with broad, spontaneous resistance—historians, volunteers, and everyday citizens working tirelessly to keep the full, nuanced story alive. In a testament to civic engagement and memory, the episode ends not with defeat but with hope and resistance, as Americans demonstrate their enduring commitment to historical truth and self-governance.