Trump Administration Installs New Slavery Panels At Washington Home Site
Federal workers removed 2010 slavery exhibit panels at the President's House site in Philadelphia and installed new panels overnight into Wednesday, July 15, 2026.[1]
The Interior Department says the new panels retain stories of the nine enslaved people who lived there with George and Martha Washington in the 1790s.[1] It says the panels add context on abolition, slavery in the Constitution and Pennsylvania's end of slavery.[1]
A July 3, 2026, ruling by a three-judge 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel reversed a lower-court order and allowed the replacement panels to proceed.[1] The changes are being implemented under a 2025 Trump executive order that requires federal historic sites to avoid displays that "disparage Americans" and to focus on national achievements.[1]
The President's House site is part of Independence National Historical Park and sits at the location where the Declaration of Independence was adopted.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- Overnight into Wednesday, July 15, 2026, federal workers removed 2010 exhibit panels at the President's House site in Philadelphia and installed new ones.
- The site is part of Independence National Historical Park, at the location where the Declaration of Independence was adopted and where nine enslaved people lived with George and Martha Washington in the 1790s.
- A July 3, 2026 ruling by a three-judge 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals panel reversed a lower-court order and allowed the replacement panels to proceed.
- The Interior Department says the new panels retain stories of the nine enslaved people and add context on abolition, slavery in the Constitution and Pennsylvania's end of slavery.
- The changes are being implemented under a 2025 Trump executive order requiring federal historic sites to avoid displays that "disparage Americans" and to focus on national achievements.
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