One month ago, President Donald Trump sent a letter to Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie Bunch indicating that certain museums and exhibitions would be audited for "historically accurate, uplifting, and inclusive portrayals of America's heritage." While the White House claims the executive order is to shine a light on "unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American experience," President Trump's critics are screeching about his rewriting of history, but is he really?

The Smithsonian Institution is a taxpayer-funded network of museums, preservation and conservation efforts, and research initiatives that combine to make the world's largest cultural and historical repository. According to the Smithsonian website, its own vision statement clearly states that it works to shape "Our Shared Future"; the capitalization is theirs. Well, isn't that an interesting purpose for an organization most people associate with historical preservation?

History undoubtedly coaches the present along its course as we learn from our predecessors' mistakes and successes, but is the purpose of history to determine the future? That's a hard "no" from me. History is recorded to show generations where we have been and empower them to choose the way forward. Politicizing history is nothing new. 

Take the 1945 atomic bomb drop on Japan. History would simply be recorded as "The United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima." The bias, however, depends on which side of the event you are on:

Same event with a winner and a loser, and both sentences are true, but the context of presentation determines what you, the audience, think of it. This understanding of history, its bias, and contextual presentation is vital for anyone entrusted with the responsibility of preserving human events. It is alarming that professionals in the field, such as social studies teachers, museum curators, and media commentators, either do not have this knowledge or choose to ignore it.

The Smithsonian and other historical entities offer lesson plans and supplemental materials for grade school teachers to use. This last year, I used the animated maps and virtual tours from American Battlefield Trust to help students better understand the Civil War. These materials are easy to use and, in some cases, come with pre-written lesson plans that align with grade-specific learning standards. This, dear reader, is where the Smithsonian Institute makes good on its vision of making the future, and where President Trump is drawing the line on indoctrination.

In the Smithsonian's Learning History Through Objects: American Civil War collection, there is an interview with Christy Coleman when she was CEO of the American Civil War Museum for students to watch and then answer questions about the causes of the war. In this four-minute video, Coleman states that the two fundamental beliefs of the southern states were "slavery was the natural position for Africans" and "white folks were superior"; she goes on in the next breath to claim "they were willing to build a nation on those two cornerstone concepts, and they did."

I have never, will never, and am not now defending slavery. Full stop. To say that the Southerners' desire to preserve slavery as the exclusive cause of the American Civil War, though, is dishonest. This is where President Trump is going, and we should go with him. In this singular example, there are three concerning facts.

Seventy-four years separated the American Revolution from the American Civil War; for context, World War II ended 80 years ago. The war for independence was fought because the European monarchies ruled with tyranny, that is, absolute power derived from fear and violence. Kings did not allow for amassed wealth, free speech, religion, or an armed citizenry. If you are wondering what life was like as a colonist, look at the Bill of Rights and ponder why the Founding Fathers felt the need to guarantee trials by jury, protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, and a free press. The Constitution was written to keep the federal government in a small box in order to give the states and We the People the freedom that had been purchased with their grandfathers' blood.

Antebellum Americans in the South were absolutely distressed when the federal government positioned itself to interfere in the institution of slavery, stopping its spread as the country grew westward. To slaveholders, the writing was on the wall: if the newest states added to the Union were free states, then those delegates elected to Congress would soon outnumber the representatives from slave-holding states. The power balance would be disrupted and the promise of equal representation would be broken, so South Carolina and a slew of other states seceded and made their own federal government--they were going to be free from what they saw as another tyrant, dictating who could and couldn't be rich, who could and couldn't have rights.

Adding fuel to the fire, the Confederacy started seizing military installations that ultimately belonged to the federal government in Washington. This led to the Battle at Fort Sumter, wherein South Carolina sought to take control of its harbor, fired upon foreign occupation, and forced Lincoln's unit back to Maryland. It was here, in this mindset and this historical context, that the Civil War began. Was slavery involved? Without a doubt. Was slavery the only factor? No.

If the picking and choosing of facts is in this singular entry within a database of thousands, then we would be prudent to ask where else these half-truths are hidden.

It is natural to think these resources from The Smithsonian are reputable, but just a click away is an agenda. Coleman's interview is sourced from the YouTube Channel named "Learning for Justice." From its own channel description:

Learning for Justice seeks to uphold the mission of the Southern Poverty Law Center: to be a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements and advance the human rights of all people. (emphasis added)

Welcome to the reality of your kids' classrooms. I am going to go out on a branch here and say a far-left hate group dedicated to destroying its opponents is probably not the best source for anything, especially something as nuanced as this. @TeachingTolerance, the official channel handle, was a deliberate word choice; not teaching truth or teaching critical thinking and tolerance, and that means forced acquiescence. 

Again, if the Smithsonian is sourcing materials for its classroom instruction from radical and racially-charged groups, is it a stretch to think they might just be doing the same in their museums? If there's nothing to hide, then the White House team should be confidently ushered in and given easy access to it all.

Opponents of the Trump administration accuse the audit of whitewashing black history, making it seem better than it was. Again, this argument is intellectually dishonest. President Trump has not indicated he wants to remove the blights of the past from the experience.

Slavery was and is an abhorrent practice that should be abolished globally. The relics of the past prove to anyone with two brain cells to rub together that our rights come from God and human dignity must be afforded to every human being. But do we want to live in the shame, filth, and depraved era of slavery, or do we want to pivot to celebrate how far we have come as a nation in the ways of equality, liberty, and inclusion? I'd rather go to a party celebrating someone's promotion than an endless criminal court case of hand-wringing and finger-pointing.

By choosing to inundate visitors from all over the country and the world with images and narratives of how awful America was, the Smithsonian is telling people that our country is still hateful, unjust, and violent. Is that really what we want people to think? This is a deliberate choice made by the echelons of authority at a taxpayer-funded institution. In other words, We the People are paying one of our most renowned establishments to paint us — me and you — as racist bigots.

All President Trump is asking is that we consider the other side of historiography, the one where America is moving forward toward realizing the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. History has always been political, which is why the winners write it; the losers drift away into relative oblivion. In making America great again, our 47th president is seeking a more comprehensive perspective on our legacy of innovation and exceptionalism. Is that too much to ask?

If you're wondering why I am not teaching social studies this year, it's because North Carolina requires me to go to college for 24 credit hours (8 classes) of teacher behavior. There's a whole list of standards for me to meet before I can get a license, and none of them have to do with history, economics, or geography. North Carolina would rather have me be savvy in leadership, "uncovering solutions," whatever that means, global awareness, and technology, than actually have a deep appreciation of what I'm teaching your kids. 

I want to teach children how to think critically, respectfully, and intellectually challenge authority, and see themselves within the greater tapestry of American exceptionalism. Our country is in a teacher shortage so severe it's reached the "crisis" label, and it's not just because the pay is so terrible — it's because we are discouraged from chasing our passion for knowledge and pushed by the government into Critical Race Theory and Diversity-Equity-Inclusion cubicles. An individual school might be wonderful, but the beast that issues licenses has its own agenda, the same as the Smithsonian, and I'm not paying thousands of dollars to pretend to be indoctrinated. Based on the statistics, I'm not the only one.

Who knows, maybe I'll get a Master's in American History just because it would be fun. What is certain is that I am going to boycott the Divide-Eviscerate-Infiltrate licensure system. With any luck, President Trump can Make Teaching Great Again.

Here at PJ Media, we are dedicated to giving you the commentary and insight you won't see on the talking head shows. We want you on our team as we record, analyze, and preserve the history that's being made today. Use the promo code FIGHT for a VIP Membership and support truth, candor, and the big, beautiful First Amendment.