Some historians have observed that the average empire lasts 250 years, but I view it less as a prediction of decline and more as a potential turning point. The Trump administration has recently launched the “Salute to America 250 Task Force,” aimed at developing patriotic celebrations and honoring American history. However, the nationalistic framing of Trump’s celebrations is reminiscent of the messaging used by historical strongmen or emperors. As the administration tightens its grip on American history education through the elimination of DEI programs in schools, censorship and modification of museums, and the release of politically-slanted American history videos on the White House website, the 250th year of America’s existence draws near.  We don’t know what the future holds, but one thing is clear: we should hope that this turbulent time in our country’s history marks neither the beginning of an empire nor the end of a nation.

A strange and altered view of American history

Plastered on the White House website is the “Story of America” video series, a history series that the America 250 Task Force created with the help of Hillsdale College. The videos intend to “highlight the stories of the crucial characters and events that resulted in a small rag-tag army defeating the mightiest empire in the world and establishing the greatest republic ever to exist.” 

The first video focuses on a brief history of America by Larry P. Arnn, the president of Hillsdale College. He encourages viewers to read the Declaration of Independence and speaks about the college’s connection to Abraham Lincoln, who knew the former president of Hillsdale College. However, the tone shifts when Arnn compares Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan and his policies to Lincoln’s effort to restore national principles. 

“Part of the purpose of this series of lectures is to remember. President Trump does this…he has a famous slogan that I will not repeat here, but everybody knows what it is, and it ends with the word ‘again.’” 

As emotional music and nostalgic American video footage plays, Arnn continues, “He wants to do something again – something that has already been done, he wants to see it be done again. This places him somewhere near the politics of Abraham Lincoln, I think.”

The suggestion that Trump should be viewed on the same level as Lincoln was shocking, but not surprising: Trump has repeatedly referred to himself as superior to Lincoln during campaign speeches and even during a video introducing his digital trading cards in 2022. He has also acted as if he is greater than Lincoln by criticizing Lincoln for not settling the conflict between the North and South before the start of the Civil War, just as he claims the Ukraine-Russia war would not have happened had he been president, demonstrating his strange and altered view of American history. 

In reality, the Civil War stemmed from a long-standing national conflict revolving around the cultural and ideological differences between the North and South, and several southern states even seceded from the nation before Lincoln was inaugurated, so suggesting that he could have prevented the Civil War and abolished slavery at the same time is incredibly unrealistic. Lincoln spoke openly about fighting for emancipation and believed in the principle of human equality and rights outlined in the Declaration of Independence. Meanwhile, Trump’s policies are aimed at minimizing the role of race and injustice in American history. 

Erasing racial injustice

Not only has Trump ordered the shutdown of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs that work to create equal opportunities and eliminate discrimination and bias, but his executive order ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History’ actively works to diminish the existence of racial injustice in America’s history. In the order, Trump writes that America is undergoing a ‘revisionist movement’ aimed at casting America in a negative light, as a country that is racist, sexist and flawed, instead of a nation that fights for freedom and individual rights. 

He cites the Smithsonian Institution as an example, since it features an exhibit called “The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture,” which states that “[s]ocieties including the United States have used race to establish and maintain systems of power, privilege, and disenfranchisement.” 

As a high school student who learned about these systems in American history classes and knows how they have affected my own family, I seriously don’t understand how the administration can deem this exhibit anti-American. It’s heartbreaking to think that people want to push aside the suffering that minorities have faced throughout American history for the sake of promoting patriotism. 

Trump specifically attacked this Smithsonian exhibit because it “claims that ‘sculpture has been a powerful tool in promoting scientific racism’ and promotes the view that race is not a biological reality but a social construct, stating ‘Race is a human invention.’”

Considering Trump is so intent on celebrating American history and making this country ‘great again,’ it’s ironic that the executive order criticizes the exhibit for sharing historical facts. Race has no biological basis, just as the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) explained in a book published in 1950, the same time period of ‘American greatness’ that Trump wants to bring the nation back to. 

To fix the damage Trump says the museum has caused by its promotion of “ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,” the administration plans to “restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness.” 

In other words, the vice president and White House advisors will work with Congress to ensure that Smithsonian funds will not be used for programs that “demean” American values, and he will appoint new citizen members to the Smithsonian’s board who will further this agenda. 

Rewriting the nation’s legacy 

Ironically, as Trump tries to promote himself as a patriotic leader, putting himself on the same pedestal as the Founding Fathers, historians grow concerned about his attempts to rewrite American history. 

In an article by the Guardian, US history professor at Western Washington University Johann Neem pointed out Trump’s commission of the 1776 Report towards the end of his first term that outlined plans for a patriotic education that excludes teachings on systemic racism and the critical race theory. The Report was created in response to the New York Times’ 1619 Project, which aims to teach Americans more about slavery and black Americans’ contributions to the nation through a series of essays and photo galleries. 

Trump originally reacted to the 1619 Project’s creation at a history event in the White House in 2020, saying, “This project rewrites American history to teach our children that we were founded on the principle of oppression, not freedom.”

 Neems deemed Trump’s views as a “hyper-nationalist overreaction,” saying, “Anybody who teaches about the American revolution knows that the thing the founders feared the most is someone like Donald Trump – someone who would be lawless and have arbitrary power, that’s not limited by the rule of law.”

 America’s founding ideals were revolutionary, but all nations have flaws

America’s great ideals of liberty and equality only held true for a small portion of the population for most of American history, as most know. That doesn’t mean that America’s founding ideals weren’t revolutionary; all nations have flaws. No country or person should view themselves as the most superior or greatest. That is dangerous thinking – the very same thinking that led to the development of scientific racism and white supremacy. The Smithsonian, and American schools, should continue to teach about these histories, not to encourage national shame, but to help Americans reflect on our progress and understand how we can continue to grow. Learning about the nation’s history does not make Americans weaker – it makes us stronger, and might allow us to last another 250 years.