PHILADELPHIA (AP) \u2014 The Trump administration on Wednesday replaced an exhibit on slavery at the site of President George Washington\u2019s home in Philadelphia with a version that historians say whitewashes the nation\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
The new exhibit was installed in the same area where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. <\/p>\n
\u201cOvernight, under the cover of darkness, the federal government removed panels at the President\u2019s House that told a thorough history of Philadelphia,\u201d Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said. \u201cIt was allowed to do this by the decision of the federal court, but that it did so at night shows it understands this action is shameful, that it violates community trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
The original panels were put in place in 2010 and told the story of how nine slaves lived in the home along with George and Martha Washington in the 1790s, when Philadelphia was briefly the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n
The changed exhibition comes as President Donald Trump has made dismantling diversity and inclusion initiatives a priority in an aggressive campaign to overhaul some of America\u2019s most sacred cultural, historic and educational institutions. <\/p>\n
Trump issued an executive order<\/a> in 2025 that called for federally owned or controlled historic sites to not display information to \u201cdisparage Americans past or living\u201d and to focus on the \u201cgreatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n The directive has raised concerns about sanitizing and erasing dark sides of American history.<\/p>\n Trump has continued a broadside against culture he deems too liberal. In March, Trump revealed his intention to force changes<\/a> at the Smithsonian Institution<\/a> with an executive order<\/a> that targeted funding for programs that advanced \u201cdivisive narratives\u201d and \u201cimproper ideology.\u201d He has also pressured organizations outside of the government, including universities, to take similar actions with the stated aim of eliminating what he says are discriminatory practices.<\/p>\n The Trump administration first installed the new panels earlier this year, but a lower court forced the federal government in February<\/a> to remove them. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 3rd Circuit of Appeals reversed that and ruled July 3<\/a> that the work could continue.<\/p>\n The three-judge panel praised the plans for the replacement installation, writing that they were \u201cfull of historical context,\u201d despite objections from historians and city officials that the content appears whitewashed.<\/p>\n