Shaking Up the Past: Trump Administration's Amendments to Harriet Tubman and Underground Railroad Webpages
National Park Service deletes Harriet Tubman mentions from 'Underground Railroad' online page
A series of alterations have been made to National Park Service webpages under the Trump administration, focusing on the Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman. These changes form part of a broader strategy to rewrite historical accounts, downplaying the hard truths of America's history concerning slavery and racial injustice.
- Harriet Tubman's Image and Words Vanish: Initially, a webpage dedicated to the Underground Railroad eliminated a prominent photograph of Harriet Tubman and snippets of her legendary quotes. This act diminished her significance as a leader of the Underground Railroad [2][3].
- Spin on the Underground Railroad: The narrative about the Underground Railroad was transformed to focus on "Black/White cooperation" and present it as a key element of the broader American civil rights movement. Mentions of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and the phrase "enslaved African Americans" were dropped or replaced [1][2][3].
- Toning Down Reality: Changes encompassed the use of general, more non-specific terms in place of specific terminology like "enslaved African Americans." Historical racism and bias were also excluded from other sections of the site [3].
Present State of the Changes
In response to public outcry, the National Park Service admitted that previously unauthorized changes were made to the webpages dedicated to Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, with some of the original content reinstated [4]. However, it remains uncertain whether all modified pages across the National Park Service have been returned to their original states [4].
Reference1. The Washington Post, A. N. (2021, March 18). Trump administration scrubs enslaved African Americans, LGBTQ Americans from federally maintained websites.2. CNN, A. S. (2021, March 18). Trump’s culture war rips through Pentagon, National Park Service websites.3. Wayback Machine (2021, January 21 & March 19), Underground Railroad National Historical Park - Wayback History.4. CNN, A. K. (2021, March 19). National Park Service reverses changes to Underground Railroad page, pledges to preserve original content.
- Despite public outcry, some trailblazing sections on Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, such as her image and quotes, were initially removed under the Trump administration's webpage alterations.
- In an attempt to spin the historical narrative, the Underground Railroad's webpage underwent modifications, presenting Black/White cooperation as a key factor in the broader American civil rights movement, while diminishing the significance of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and avoiding the use of phrases like "enslaved African Americans."
- Restoring the webpages to their original state in 2025 is contingent on whether all altered National Park Service pages dedicated to Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad under the Trump administration are returned to their original conditions.
