As the United States marks its 250th birthday, the official celebrations under the Trump administration have sparked controversy over whose history is being told. The White House's Freedom 250 series, featuring mobile museums called "Freedom Trucks," has been criticized for presenting a sanitized, predominantly white and male version of American history, omitting critical examination of race, slavery, and civil rights.
Whitewashing History: The Removal of Plaques
In Philadelphia, the National Park Service removed information plaques at the President's House, where George Washington lived with nine enslaved people. The plaques were pried off following Trump's executive order titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History." Local activists have taped up printed papers explaining the plaques' absence, calling it a "slap in the face" after years of advocacy to have them displayed.
Melissa Hellmann, senior reporter on the race and equity team for Guardian US, notes that many feel the executive branch is ignoring a crucial part of American history. "A lot of people just feel that's a slap in the face because for years activists fought to have those plaques displayed in the first place," she said.
Active Forgetting and Reclaiming Narratives
Princeton professor Eddie Glaude Jr describes this as "active forgetting," where Black Americans are made to play minor roles to protect the country's innocence. Communities are working to highlight the paradox of a nation founded on freedom while practicing enslavement. The Gullah Geechee people, descendants of formerly enslaved individuals, are being spotlighted for their contributions to the American Revolution, despite being denied freedom themselves.
Elsewhere, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is collaborating with Indigenous creators to interrogate nationhood, including how the Mohawk Nation remembers George Washington as "Town Destroyer."
Pessimism and Anticlimax
The 250th birthday arrives amid widespread pessimism. According to a Pew Research Centre poll, three in five Americans believe the country's best days are behind it, and seven-in-10 are dissatisfied with democracy. The ongoing war with Iran has also dampened spirits, with a majority of Americans believing it has negatively affected national interests.
"There's been a lot of pomp and circumstance around [the 250th], but then as it's actually approached, it's been pretty anti-climatic," Hellmann said. A record-setting heatwave has forced many celebrations to be delayed or amended.
Rollback of Rights and Wins
The backdrop includes the gutting of the Voting Rights Act by Supreme Court justices, cancellation of temporary protected status for Syrians and Haitians, and aggressive ICE surveillance. Queer families in New York noted the dissonance of celebrating amid severe curtailment of trans healthcare and heavy policing at pride parades.
However, there are wins: the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship on Tuesday, though Trump threatened to abolish it through Congress. Democratic socialists saw victories in New York and Colorado primaries. Hellmann emphasized a quiet determination to continue telling the full story of America beyond the holiday weekend.
Excess Deaths from US-UK Trade Deal
Separately, analysis found that the US-UK trade deal agreed in December could lead to 229,000 excess deaths as the NHS diverts billions to pay for new medicines. Ministers defend the deal for helping British drug exports avoid US tariffs, but critics accuse Labour of caving to Trump.
