Executive Order 14253
| Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History | |
 | |
 Front page of Executive Order 14253 | |
| Type | Executive order |
|---|---|
| Number | 14245 |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Signed | March 31, 2025 |
| Federal Register details | |
| Federal Register document number | 2025-05838 |
| Publication date | April 3, 2025 |
| Summary | |
| |
Executive Order 14253, titled Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, is an executive order signed by Donald Trump on March 31, 2025.
It seeks to shape how the Smithsonian Institution and it's properties cover American values, calls to restore it to "its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness" and "remove improper ideology from such properties".
The order also orders the Department of Interior to determine whether, since January 1, 2020, if any monuments, memorials, statues and markers, within the departments jurisdiction contain any descriptions, depictions, or other content that "inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times)". Additionally it orders the department to reinstate any pre-existing monuments, memorials, statues and markers that have been removed or changed to "perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology."[1][2][3]
Provisions
[edit]Under the order the Vice President, the Secretary of the Interior, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget working with Congress, the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Senior Associate Staff Secretary Lindsey Halligan, through his role as a member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, are ordered to carry out various actions to advance the policy in the order.
Most notably the order seeks to effect how the Smithsonian Institution and it's properties cover American values and calls to restore it to "its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness."[4][2]
In regards to the Smithsonian it orders the Vice President, in consultation with the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Associate Staff Secretary, Lindsey Halligan, through his role on the Smithsonian Board of Regents, to put into force the policies of the order, including "by seeking to remove improper ideology from" Smithsonian properties.
Additionally Vice President and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget are ordered to work with the Congress to ensure that future appropriations to the institution "prohibits expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy" and "celebrate the achievements of women in the American Women's History Museum and do not recognize men as women in any respect in the Museum."[2]
The order also directs the Secretary of the Interior to determine whether, since January 1, 2020, if any monuments, memorials, statues and markers, within the departments jurisdiction contain any descriptions, depictions, or other content that "inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times)". The department is also ordered to reinstate any pre-existing monuments, memorials, statues and markers that have been removed or changed to "perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology."[3][5]
Background
[edit]Smithsonian Institution
[edit]The Smithsonian Institution (/smɪθˈsoʊniən/ smith-SOH-nee-ən), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, education and research centers, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge".[6][7][8] Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as a trust instrumentality[9] and is not formally a part of any of the three branches of the federal government.[10] The institution is named after its founding donor, British scientist James Smithson.[11] It was originally organized as the United States National Museum, but that name ceased to exist administratively in 1967.[12]
The Smithsonian Institution has historical holdings of over 157 million items,[13] 21 museums, 21 libraries, 14 education and research centers, a zoo, and historical and architectural landmarks, mostly located in Washington, D.C.[11][14][8] Additional facilities are located in Maryland, New York, and Virginia. More than 200 institutions and museums in 47 states,[15] Puerto Rico, and Panama are Smithsonian Affiliates.[16][17] Institution publications include Smithsonian and Air & Space magazines.
Almost all of the institution's 30 million annual visitors[18] are admitted without charge,[8] the exception being visitors to Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, which charges an admissions fee.[19] The Smithsonian's annual budget is around $1.25 billion, with two-thirds coming from annual federal appropriations.[20] Other funding comes from the institution's endowment, private and corporate contributions, membership dues, and earned retail, concession, and licensing revenue.[11] As of 2023,[update] the institution's endowment had a total value of about $2.4 billion.[21]Restoration of Confederate monuments and memorials
[edit]More than 160 Confederate monuments and memorials to the Confederate States of America (CSA; the Confederacy) and associated figures have been removed from public spaces in the United States, all but five of which have been since 2015. Some have been removed by state and local governments; others have been torn down by protestors. At least 90 monuments were removed in 2020, the most since 2009, the first year that removals occurred.[22]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Trump signs order to 'restore' American history with Smithsonian Institution overhaul". NPR. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ a b c Schuessler, Jennifer (March 29, 2025). "What to Know About Trump's Order Taking Aim at the Smithsonian". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ a b "Trump wants to restore statues and monuments. Will that happen?". NPR. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ "How will Trump's executive order affect the Smithsonian?". NPR. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History". Federal Register. April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ Watson, Robert (March 25, 2012). "Smithsonian wasn't always beloved". Sun Sentinel. Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on July 2, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
- ^ Barlow, William (1847). The Smithsonian Institution, "for the Increase and Diffusion of Knowledge Among Men": An Address on the Duties of Government, in Reference Chiefly to Public Instruction: with the Outlines of a Plan for the Application of the Smithsonian Fund to that Object. B. R. Barlow.
- ^ a b c "How Many Museums Are in the Smithsonian Institution?". TheCollector. December 26, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
- ^ Kmiec, Douglas W. (June 30, 1988). "The Status of the Smithsonian Institution Under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act". U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
- ^ "Legal History". Smithsonian Institution.
- ^ a b c "About Us". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
- ^ "Smithsonian History > National Museum of American History". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on June 23, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
- ^ "National Collections". Smithsonian National Collections Dashboard. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ Leaf, Jesse (March 13, 2007). The Everything Family Guide to Washington D.C.: All the Best Hotels, Restaurants, Sites, and Attractions. Everything Books. ISBN 978-1-4405-2411-0.: 57
- ^ States without Smithsonian Affiliates: Idaho, North Dakota, Utah.
- ^ Kurin, Richard (October 29, 2013). The Smithsonian's History of America in 101 Objects Deluxe. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-698-15520-6.
- ^ "Smithsonian Affiliate Directory". Smithsonian Affiliations. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ "Visitor Statistics". Smithsonian Institution. May 31, 2013. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
- ^ "Plan Your Visit | Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum". cooperhewitt.org. December 6, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
- ^ "Budget/Federal Appropriations". Smithsonian Dashboard. Smithsonian Institution. 2015. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
- ^ "2023 Annual Report". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
- ^ "A record number of Confederate monuments fell in 2020, but hundreds still stand. Here's where". Washington Post. Retrieved April 4, 2025.