Smithsonian Museum Labels George Washington 'Town Destroyer' as Trump Orders Review Ahead of 250th Anniversary
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 15
Smithsonian Museum Labels George Washington 'Town Destroyer' as Trump Orders Review Ahead of 250th Anniversary
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 15
Summary
Fox News Digital reported that the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Manhattan presents George Washington and the Revolutionary War in sharply critical terms, including a central display calling him “town destroyer.”
The report says the exhibit highlights the destruction of 40 Haudenosaunee towns but gives little prominence to the 1778 raids on New York and Pennsylvania settlements that the National Park Service cites as the trigger for Washington’s campaign.
Other displays and school materials similarly frame colonists negatively, including a placard saying life was peaceful “until the white men began their revolution” and a student video calling the War for Independence a “disruptive and dangerous project.”
The findings land as President Donald Trump presses the Smithsonian to revise what his administration calls divisive or inaccurate portrayals of U.S. history, with funding and federal support under threat ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The Smithsonian did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, while the dispute broadens scrutiny of how the institution presents America’s founding and Native history.