Trump admin completes replacement of slavery-focused historic panels on George Washington's home

The Trump administration completed its promise to replace historic educational panels on the site of George Washington's home in Philadelphia with new panels that don't focus on Washington's owning of slaves. 

The National Park Service installed the new panels Wednesday morning on the the site, which is near where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, the Associated Press reported. 

In 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federally owned historic sites not to display information that would “disparage Americans past or living” but rather highlight the “greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.”

The Trump administration panels still have information on enslaved people living in the household, as well as details on the abolitionist movement, how the Constitution treated slavery, and other historical information about the practice. However, the panels remove some details, such as a map of the slave trade route and a timeline on slavery. They also removed titles like "The Dirty Business of Slavery.”

Academics and other critics were concerned the change wouldn't focus heavily enough on America's sins in the past in favor of a perspective that focuses too much on America's qualities. 

An appeals court earlier this month ruled that the Trump administration could reinstall the panels. The ruling was a technical one that allowed the implementation of a ruling last month. In that ruling, the appeals court said a lower court was wrong to order the federal government to take down the new panels.