Appeals Court Upholds Patriotic Educational Panels at Washington's Philadelphia Residence
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A U.S. 3rd Circuit panel ruled in favor of the Trump administration, allowing the reinstallation of educational panels at the President's House in Philadelphia that focus on the nation's achievements while still acknowledging slavery.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a technical ruling on Friday permitting the federal government to reinstall interpretive panels at the President's House historic site in Philadelphia. These panels, which will replace those removed in 2025 under an executive order protecting the reputation of Americans past and present, are designed to emphasize the nation's accomplishments while responsibly addressing the issue of slavery.
The new panels, ready for installation, continue to mention the nine enslaved individuals who lived with George and Martha Washington in the 1790s, as well as the abolitionist movement, constitutional treatment of slavery, the end of slavery in Pennsylvania, and the perspectives of Washington and John Adams. They also include references to the 20th-century civil-rights movement. However, they appropriately omit certain elements from the previous displays, such as a map of slave-trade routes, an extensive slavery timeline, and the inflammatory headline 'The Dirty Business of Slavery,' which many felt unfairly maligned the nation's founders.
The city of Philadelphia, which opposed the removal of the original panels, asked the appeals court to pause the reinstatement so it could respond to the administration’s request. In its filing, the city claimed that the President’s House is 'a site of exceptional importance to Philadelphia and the Nation, developed through years of federal-local collaboration to tell a historically significant and long-suppressed story.'
The administration maintains that the revised panels comply with the executive order and include information about enslaved people, urging the court to allow the panels to be installed 'without further delay.' The ruling follows a prior district-court decision that had ordered the removal of the earlier panels, a decision that was later overturned by a panel of judges appointed by Presidents Trump, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, demonstrating broad judicial support for a balanced and patriotic approach to American history.