National Park Service Directed to Revise Historical Displays Under Executive Order

The National Park Service (NPS) has begun implementing changes to visitor information displays following President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14253, signed on March 27, 2025. Titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” the directive instructs the agency to remove signage or exhibits that portray the United States in what the administration deems a negative light.

The scope of this undertaking is substantial. More than two-thirds of the country’s 433 national park sites are specifically dedicated to preserving and interpreting American history and culture. The NPS currently manages over 26,000 historic structures and houses nearly 185 million artifacts across these locations.

University of Arkansas History Professor Matthew Stanley has voiced concerns about the order’s implications, suggesting it contradicts the fundamental purpose of national parks as educational institutions.

“People don’t come to National Parks or museums to encounter a simple, sanitized, glorious, triumphalist, uncomplicated, mythologized version of the past that a first grader might comprehend,” Stanley told Little Rock Public Radio and KUAF. “That’s not what they come for. Most people come because they’re curious.”

Public opinion appears to align with Stanley’s assessment. A recent poll conducted by YouGov for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) found that 78% of Americans across the political spectrum believe national parks should not remove materials that present factual aspects of American history, even when uncomfortable.

The representative survey of 3,000 adults was conducted between October 27 and November 2, 2025, with a margin of error of +/-2.14%. These findings directly challenge the administration’s approach to historical presentation at federally managed sites.

In Arkansas, specific changes have already begun. At the Fort Smith National Historic Site, maps are being altered to replace “Gulf of Mexico” with “Gulf of America.” Stanley warns that such revisions to historical narratives could exacerbate societal inequity.

“We don’t want a version of history that conforms to the interests and prerogatives of the super-rich and the elite of the ruling class,” Stanley explained. “We want one that includes a variety of sources and perspectives that encompasses all Americans and everyone who’s helped shape the story of this country for better or worse. And that’s just not what the Trump Administration is interested in.”

Materials flagged for removal under the executive order’s provisions include exhibits related to slavery, racism, historical discrimination, environmental pollution, climate change, and any references to transgender people. The administration has characterized such content as reflecting “corrosive ideology” that disparages historic American figures.

Stanley offered a stark assessment of the situation: “When uncomfortable facts are called subversion, or woke, or something to be suppressed—there’s a word for that. And it’s state propaganda.”

The changes come at a time when public discourse about how American history should be taught and presented has become increasingly politicized. Critics argue that sanitizing historical narratives undermines educational integrity and historical accuracy, while supporters maintain that national parks should emphasize more positive aspects of American heritage.

As the NPS continues implementing these directives across hundreds of sites nationwide, the debate over who controls historical narratives—and how they shape public understanding of American identity—remains at the forefront of cultural discussion.