A recent White House report alleges that the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) has become an institution of "ideological capture" and "extreme political activism," abandoning its mission of straightforward historical education.

The 162-page report, titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," was released on July 4 and follows a March executive order by President Donald Trump. It contends that under current leadership and interpretive ideology, the museum cannot be trusted to present an honest and unifying American story.

According to the report, the NMAH treats the American story as a political tool rather than a shared national inheritance. It states that visitors should encounter the U.S. story told with "honesty, seriousness, and pride," helping them understand "where America came from, what makes it distinctive, and why it is worth preserving."

Instead, the report found the museum has moved away from historical education and scholarship toward activism. NMAH Director Anthea Hartig is quoted in the report as stating that she views history as a "prime tool of social justice" and sees her role as connecting "research and scholarship to activism and advocacy." The report also notes Hartig's comments about reframing the "traditional celebratory narrative of U.S. history" and her personal reflections on "whiteness and the pillows of the bourgeoisie," which the report characterizes as the words of an activist rather than an objective historian.

The report outlines five key conclusions about the museum:

  • It has attempted to "subvert" America's founding and founders, focusing on their ties to slavery while minimizing their contributions.
  • It "problematized" the 250th anniversary of America’s founding.
  • It has adopted modern political activist terms instead of historical language.
  • It has "abandoned historical scholarship for political activism."
  • It has failed in its "obligations" to the American people.

The report highlights the absence of major exhibits dedicated to the American Founding era, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or key moments of the American Revolution. It notes that when founders like Benjamin Franklin are presented, it is primarily through their connection to slavery, with their roles in building the Republic and anti-slavery efforts minimized.

The NMAH is accused of presenting revisionist history using contemporary terms such as "Critical Social Justice." The report states, "The Museum is not merely neglecting America’s central story. It is intentionally withholding and subverting it."

Furthermore, the report criticizes the museum's revised mission statement, which replaced phrases like "infinite richness" and "American history" with language about empowering people to create "a more just and compassionate future" by exploring "the complexity of our past." The shift from scholarship to activism is evidenced, according to the report, by leadership's statements tying "research and scholarship to activism and advocacy," dismantling inherited narratives, using history as a "prime tool of social justice," reframing American history, and employing terms like "reparations," "restorative history," "systemic intervention," and "decolonization."

The report also criticizes the museum's approach to race, immigration, gender, and sexuality, asserting that exhibits and programming are shaped by modern activist priorities rather than neutral historical scholarship.

The Smithsonian Institution receives over $1 billion annually in taxpayer support. The White House Domestic Policy Council's report argues that the museum's ideology does not align with initiatives aimed at removing political influence from government entities. The report concludes that this "ideological capture" has moved the museum's mission away from historical education and scholarship toward "extreme political activism that seeks to transform our country."