Overview
- The National Park Service put up new information panels at the President’s House overnight on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, replacing displays that had been in place since 2010.
- A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit cleared the way for the reinstallation after months of court fights and stays, and the City of Philadelphia said it will seek a rehearing and continue litigation.
- The new panels still mention the nine people Washington enslaved but remove a slave-trade map, a slavery timeline, and blunt headings like “The Dirty Business of Slavery,” while adding material that emphasizes Washington’s changing views and broader constitutional context.
- Philadelphia officials, local activists and historians say the revisions downplay Washington’s role as an enslaver; protesters and advocacy groups have continued daily monitoring and demonstrations, and Park Police were present during the overnight work.
- The change implements President Trump’s March 2025 executive order to revise federal historical displays and could set a legal and practical precedent for how the Interior Department governs interpretive content at national parks and memorials.