The National Park Service “is nearing completion of” a renovation of the Jefferson Memorial that turns the site into “a condemning portrayal” of the president’s legacy, City Journal recently <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/a-woke-jefferson-memorial">reported</a>.
The project aims to “completely renovate” the basement exhibit level of the memorial to “[provide] more perspectives as it shares Thomas Jefferson’s multi-faceted story,” a 2021 NPS press release said.
NPS signage at the memorial describes the upcoming exhibits, according to City Journal.
“The memorial’s designers sought to convey their mid-1900s version of US democracy,” it said. “Thomas Jefferson became the face of that endeavor. … In crafting this image, they selected specific materials, details, and excerpts from his writings. Studying these choices reveals their motives.”
But instead of informing visitors about Jefferson’s life, the new exhibits will undermine Jefferson’s legacy, City Journal said.
Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst <a href="https://wtop.com/dc/2021/12/2-year-jefferson-memorial-renovation-project-begins/">said</a> in 2021 that the new exhibits will “certainly … take a look at the paradox of the author of the lines ‘All men are created equal’ who owned more than 600 slaves in his life.”
The renovation is funded in part by $10 million from David M. Rubenstein, the NPS press release said. Rubenstein previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/post-modern-mischief-at-americas-national-parks-and-museums">funded</a> exhibits about slavery at Montpelier, the home of James Madison, and Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.
In 2019, Rubenstein <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/philanthropist-donates-10-million-jefferson-memorial-museum-180973445/">said</a> he donated to the project “so when people go, they can actually learn about Jefferson.”
But what does Rubenstein want people to learn about Jefferson, exactly? In a piece announcing Rubenstein’s donation, Smithsonian Magazine called Jefferson “a man of huge contradictions.” The memorial renovation will focus on “reinterpreting” Jefferson, particularly in light of allegations that Jefferson had four illegitimate children with Sally Hemings, one of his slaves.
The magazine ignored a scholarly commission that <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56d77a9ad51cd4a272d514c0/t/63d84b8a2683c7769f1972a1/1675119505362/Scholars-Commission-Report-1.pdf">found</a> that “the allegation is by no means proven” after examining available DNA evidence, as City Journal reported.
The old museum “focused on Jefferson’s own words, life, and ideas,” City Journal said. While the memorial above tried to present Jefferson in line with the New Deal policies of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt — who dedicated it in 1943 — the museum below showcased “Jefferson’s commitment to limited government and local control.”
Plans for the renovation of the Jefferson Memorial began in 2017. Kate Greenberg, then-vice president of marketing and communications for the Trust at the National Mall, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jefferson-memorial-exhibit-to-feature-update-addressing-slavery">said</a> the renovation would include the “most inclusive and accurate information” available.
The renovation is continuing despite an executive order from President Donald Trump that <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/restoring-truth-and-sanity-to-american-history/">aims</a> to purge “anti-American ideology” from museums, parks, and monuments, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-signs-executive-order-targeting-anti-american-ideology-at-the-smithsonian">reported</a>.
“Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,” the order said.
The order instructs Secretary of the Interior Mark Burgum to ensure that monuments “do not contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times), and instead focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.”
Although the order has been in effect since March, the renovation project continues and plans to open in 2025, City Journal said.

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National Park Service Renovation To Focus On ‘Reinterpreting’ Thomas Jefferson

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National Park Service Renovation To Focus On ‘Reinterpreting’ Thomas Jefferson