CliffsNotes of the Zeitgeist, 101st edition. The Vandal in the museum.

Of all the countries in the world, we and we only have any need to create artificially the patriotism which is the birthright of other nations.

Agnes Repplier, Americanism, in The Atlantic, 1916.

 

A letter from the illegitimate Trump occupational regime in the Oval Office to the Smithsonian:

The Honorable Lonnie G. Bunch III

Secretary, Smithsonian Institution

1000 Jefferson Dr SW

Washington, DC 20560

Subject: Internal Review of Smithsonian Exhibitions and Materials

Dear Secretary Bunch,

We wish to begin by expressing our appreciation for the brief tour you gave us recently of the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and by acknowledging your work on behalf of the Smithsonian Institution, as well as the Institution’s role in shaping public understanding of American history and culture. We are completely aligned with your statement that the Smithsonian is “a welcoming place of knowledge and discovery for all Americans.” We are grateful that you and the Board of Regents have expressed your commitment to the non-partisan, educational mission of this great institution.

As we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Nation’s founding, it is more important than ever that our national museums reflect the unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story. In this spirit, and in accordance with Executive Order 14253, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, we will be leading a comprehensive internal review of selected Smithsonian museums and exhibitions. This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.

This review is a constructive and collaborative effort — one rooted in respect for the Smithsonian’s vital mission and its extraordinary contributions. Our goal is not to interfere with the day-to-day operations of curators or staff, but rather to support a broader vision of excellence that highlights historically accurate, uplifting, and inclusive portrayals of America’s heritage.

The review will focus on several key areas:

1. Public-facing Content: A review of exhibition text, wall didactics, websites, educational materials, and digital and social media content to assess tone, historical framing, and alignment with American ideals.
2. Curatorial Process: A series of interviews with curators and senior staff to better understand the selection process, exhibition approval workflows, and any frameworks currently guiding exhibition content.
3. Exhibition Planning: A review of current and future exhibitions, with particular attention to those planned for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
4. Collection Use: Evaluation of how existing materials and collections are being used or could be used to highlight American achievement and progress, including whether the Smithsonian can make better use of certain materials by digitizing or conveying to other institutions.
5. Narrative Standards: The development of consistent curatorial guidelines that reflect the Smithsonian’s original mission.

Initially, our review will focus on the following museums. Additional museums will be reviewed in Phase II.

• National Museum of American History
• National Museum of Natural History
• National Museum of African American History and Culture
• National Museum of the American Indian
• National Air and Space Museum
• Smithsonian American Art Museum
• National Portrait Gallery
• Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Materials Request

To initiate this process, we respectfully request that each of the museums listed above designate a primary point of contact and provide the following materials to our team (including for online content):

1. 250th Anniversary Programming
   1. Exhibition plans, draft concepts, and event outlines related to America 250.
   1. Supporting materials such as proposed artwork, descriptive placards, exhibition catalogs, event themes, and lists of invited speakers and events.
2. Current Exhibition Content
   1. Catalog and programs for all current and ongoing exhibitions, including budgets.
   1. Digital files of all wall didactics, placards, and gallery labels currently on display.
3. Traveling and Upcoming Exhibitions
   1. Full index of scheduled traveling exhibitions (2026-2029).
   1. Proposals, projected schedules, and preliminary budgets for upcoming exhibitions over the next three years.
4. Internal Guidelines and Governance
   1. Curatorial and staff manuals, job descriptions, and organizational charts.
   1. Documentation outlining the chain of command for exhibition approvals, scheduling, and content review.
   1. Internal communications or memos pertaining to exhibition or artwork selection and approval processes.
5. Index of the Permanent Collection
   1. Access to an inventory of all permanent holdings.
6. Educational Materials
   1. Teacher guides, student resources, and supplementary educational content linked to current exhibitions.
7. Digital Presence
   1. URLs and descriptions of official museum websites and exhibition-related microsites.
8. External Partnerships
   1. A list of active partnerships with outside contributors including artists, historians, nonprofits, and advocacy organizations.
9. Grant-Related Documentation
   1. Copies of grant applications and funding agreements tied to past or current exhibitions, particularly those that influence content or presentation.
   1. Current artists featured in museum’s galleries that received a Smithsonian grant.
10. Surveys and other evaluations of visitor experience
    1. Responses to surveys and other forms of evaluating the experience of visitors to the Smithsonian’s museums and users of digital content.

Timeline

To ensure clarity and coordination across all parties involved, we have developed the following implementation timeline:

Within 30 days of receipt of this letter, we anticipate:

• Each museum to submit all requested materials outlined in the first four bullet points above, including current exhibition descriptions, draft plans for upcoming shows, America 250 programming materials, and internal guidelines used in exhibition development.
• Review of America 250 exhibition and program planning and connect with curators and staff about their specific proposals.
• A staff liaison from each museum will be designated to serve as the primary point of contact throughout the review process.
• Our team will begin on-site observational visits, conducting walkthroughs of current exhibitions to document themes, visitor experience, and visual messaging.

Within 75 days:

• Museums are asked to submit the remaining requested documentation (items 5 through 10), including promotional literature, grant data, educational materials, and guided tour content.

• Our team will begin scheduling and conducting voluntary interviews with curators and senior staff. These conversations will help us better understand each museum’s goals and the broader curatorial vision guiding the institution.
• Each museum should finalize and submit its updated plan to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary and ensure coordination with the White House Salute to America 250 Task Force to align messaging and public engagement.

Within 120 days:

• Museums should begin implementing content corrections where necessary, replacing divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate, and constructive descriptions across placards, wall didactics, digital displays, and other public-facing materials.

If all benchmarks are met on schedule, we anticipate completing our review and preparing a final report for your review in early 2026. This report will include museum-specific assessments, institutional trends, and constructive recommendations for future exhibition strategy.

We view this process as a collaborative and forward-looking opportunity—one that empowers museum staff to embrace a revitalized curatorial vision rooted in the strength, breadth, and achievements of the American story. By focusing on Americanism—the people, principles, and progress that define our nation—we can work together to renew the Smithsonian’s role as the world’s leading museum institution.

We look forward to working alongside you and your team to ensure these iconic institutions remain vibrant, trusted, and inspiring for generations to come.

Lindsey Halligan

Special Assistant to the President and Senior Associate Staff Secretary

Vince Haley

Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council

Russell Vought

Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Management and Budget

The term "Americanism" goes way back.  I know that it was used by Theodore Roosevelt, for example, who as an advocate of it.  Indeed, he delivered more than one speech on the topic.  I'm a fan of Theodore Roosevelt, although less than I once was, and I don't admire his jingoistic advocation of Americanism, although it has to be realized that it came at a different point in our history, and tended to combat a growing sense of internationalism as well as "hyphenation" in various American identities.  

Starting particularly in the 1920s, Americanism began to change from a focus on celebrating an American identity, to being pro White Anglo Saxon Protestant.  Roosevelt delivered a speech to The Knights of Columbus at  Carnegie Hall on October 12, 1915, for example, which meant that the solidly American former President of Dutch ancestry, who was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church, felt comfortable addressing a body of Catholics.  Indeed, that was somewhat the point as Catholics were by that time a  major voting block, but WASP American culture detested them and saw them as alien.  Roosevelt didn't want them to be alien, but American, meaning he was not only taking a stand against people identifying as "Irish American" or "German American" (two major Catholic groups), but also as White Anglo Saxon Protestants.  

Roosevelt was not a racist.

By Woodrow Wilson's administration, a lot of Americans were reviving the thought that if you were an American, you needed to be a WASP.  The Red Scare contributed to that in a major way.  The country illegally deported people simply for being on the radical left, including some who were American citizens.

Imagine. . . deporting an American for not being the right kind of American. . . sound familiar?

This sort of Americanism became strong in the 1920s, although roots of it were clearly there before, and it continued on into the 1930s as sort of a plant of some of the opponents of Franklin Roosevelt, although Americanism took a real hit during that time period.  It revived, however, in an ugly fashion after World War Two were it was once again associated with the far right.

It's been a feature of the revived post Reagan far right for some time, and has really been picked up by the populists supporting Trump. They cloak themselves with the flag and tattoo what they think are patriotic things on their forearms, not appreciating that our forbearers' might not necessarily be all that keen on their views.

Part of what is happening here is that Americans have frankly always had a difficult relationship with history, and they still do.  Americans as a group do not know their history well, and tend to reduce it to highlights, and often associate those highlights with patriotic bromides.  The Mayflower passengers were, for instance, a bunch of people seeking religious freedom in the American mind, not a minoritarian Protestant sect that neither the English or the Dutch were keen on tolerating, and they were not tolerant themselves (and, to add to it, most of the Mayflower passengers were not "pilgrims".  The American Revolution was all about and only about liberty, people believe, and didn't start off as a protest over tea tariffs (oh my) and have as a goal unrestrained settling of Native lands and forced conversion of the Quebecois to the Church of England.  Half the country seemingly believes that the Civil WAr wasn't about slavery, when that's all it was about.  The Winning of the West doesn't feature any uncomfortable colonial aspects of it. And the dropping of the Atomic Bomb was certainly moral.

Like many things in our current culture, the counter revolution going on here has its roots in a post Vietnam War revolution which really did go too far.  Early radicals, like those before the end of World War Two, often were in fact really radical, but they often really loved their country two.  One Marine Corps officer who won the Silver Star during the Second World War, for instance, was an avowed Communist who had fought in the Spanish Civil War.  Today people like Donald Trump and Chuck Gray would go into screeds about him, just as Trump has about Zohran Mamdani.  A person doesn't have to be, however, conservative or Christian to genuinely love the United States.

Going back, however, to the post Vietnam War Era, it seemingly was the case that during the war some on the American left came to actively detest their country, and as part of the general culture of the times, the band aid was ripped off of some of our problematic past.  For people with a serious interest in, and knowledge of, history, much of that was irritating, but there were those who were generally shocked by it as their knowledge of history apparently stopped at 4th Grade.  Even now, for example, I'll have people come up to me who are reading A People's History of the United States and cite something as if its a blisteringly knowledgeable new revelation.  I'm not interested in anarcho-socialist Zinn's interpretation of US history much, and I'm always skeptical of anyone who titles anything as "A People's" anything, as that claims too much for your work and yourself, but still, the "revelations" people come up with are topics that anyone who graduated from high school should have a pretty good command of.

But then, many Americans have no real command of history.  Entire events in American history, and world history, are unknown, I think, to the vast majority of Americans, which makes them easy targets for revisionist of the right and the left.

We're seeking a lot of far right revisionism going on right now.  This sort of stuff is part of it.

Last edition:

CliffsNotes of the Zeitgeist, 100th edition. Downfall, Despair, and hoping for DeGaulle.

Labels: Charles de Gaulle, Christian Nationalism, Commentary, Culture, Culture Wars, Greed, National Conservatism, Patrick Dineen, Politics, Populism, R. R. Reno, Stupidity, The Second Trump Administration, United States, Zeitgeist

The Very American Roots of Trumpism | The Ezra Klein Show

This is the first commentary I've seen with a sense of American history and the Trump movement.  Like Klein, I'm not worried that there won't be midterms or a 2028 election.

Worth listening to.

Friday, December 1, 1922. Environment.

Protesters took advantage of the Thanksgiving Holiday to picket the White House regarding those held under sedition charges.

At the Conference of Lausanne, the Turks informed European delegates that Greeks remaining in Eastern Thrace had two weeks to leave.  They numbered 1,000,000.

Monica Cobb appeared at the Birmingham Assizes, acting in the role of a prosecutor.  It was the first appearance by a woman solicitor in court in the United Kingdom. The defendant was charged with bigamy.

A safety parade took place in Washington, D.C., viewed by President Harding.

 

Environment, a silet move about the trials of a female ex con, was released:

Saturday, April 29, 1922. The Auctioneer

The Saturday magazines were out, of course.  Country Gentleman had a Norman Rockwell on its cover, of an auctioneer.  A better Rockwell was on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post, showing a thin young man lifting weights while looking at a photo of a body builder.

A protest took place in Washington D.C. featuring children, hoping for the release of those imprisoned due to the Sedition Act.

In China, warlord Zhang Suolin began a campaign that would ultimately see him rise to power in China, fall, and then lead to his assassination.

January 8, 1920. Snippets.

Anna Manson, a Russian woman who was arrested in the offices of a Russian publication in New York City and sent to Ellis Island to be deported. The New York Herald, January 8, 1920.

William Jennings Bryan, photographed at Democratic National Headquarters in Washington.  January 8, 1920.

Wilbur W. Marsh, Treas. of the Democratic National Committee and S.W. Fordyce of Saint Louis, photographed at Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C. January 8, 1920.

January 3, 1920. A Roaring Start

1920 was certainly off to a "roaring" start.

The news on January 3 was all about the Palmer raids of January 2, which came one day after the first Palmer raids on January 1.  A huge sweep of the nation had rounded up a lot of "Reds", which in this context were simply radicals of all stripes.  Indeed, in Russia, where the civil war was raging, the Reds of the Communist Party had proven to be bad news for the socialist left, even the radical socialist left, as well as for anarchists.  In the US, however, they were all being rounded up together.

Radicals were even reported lurking in Denver stores.

The Press, which was generally Progressive, didn't shed any tears for the radical right. Now the Palmer Raids are regarded as an embarrassment, but the time, not so much. . . at least for awhile.

Mexico was showing up again on the front page and had been for some time, we'd note.  Fighting was still ongoing and an election was scheduled.  In the midst of it, Carranza had decided to try to reorganize the Mexican Federal army.

Radicals in store or no, the National Western Stock Show, a big even that's still held annually in Denver, was about to get rolling.

In Washington D. C., famous figures of the recent war continued to visit.

Admiral Jellicoe with Admiral Niblack on the latter's arrival at the Union Station, Washington D.C., January 3, 1920

January 2, 1920. The peak of the Palmer Raids . . .

came today, although the news was reporting on the raids of yesterday.   Technically, the raid of January 1 was a Chicago Police Department raid, although in coordination with the Federal government.  Chicago was complaining today about the lack of help from yesterday.

By the end of the raids about 10,000 people would be arrested.

A lot of the warrants were soon cancelled as illegal.  556 resident aliens were deported.  Originally the government reported having found a couple of bombs but later the news on that stopped, so whatever the truth of it is, it's vague.  Only two pistols were seized.  Public opinion turned against Palmer quickly and he went from being a probable contender for the Presidency to not being one.

January 1, 1920. New Year's Day. Revelry and Raids.

And so the violent 1910s had end and 1920, not yet roaring, was ushered in. . .ostensibly dry although efforts were already being made to evade Prohibition, both great and small, as the Chicago Tribune's Gasoline Alley made fun of.

January 1, 1920.  Gasoline Alley:  Happy New Years On Avery

On this day in Chicago undoubtedly sober agents conducted raids on suspected Reds in various gathering places they were known to frequent, arresting 200 people.  The same was conducted across the country under J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI, with about 6,000 people being arrested as a result.

U.S. Attorney General Alexander Palmer.

November 12, 1919. Crowds

Gunston Hall students awaiting the Prince of Wales departure from the French Embassy, Washington, D.C.  The Gunston Hall School for Girls was a highly respected girls school in Washington D. C. that closed at the start of World War Two.

Edward, the Prince of Wales, continued his tour of Washington D. C. on this day in 1919 and was drawing admiring crowds.

Leaving the French Embassy.

I frankly don't really "get" royalty, so the crowds baffle me.  I'd be inclined to try to contrast this to our current era, but you really can't. The English Royal Family continues to draw crowds wherever it goes today.

Prince of Wales at Walter Reed

Edward came close to bringing that royal family down.  He'd be crowned King Edward VIII in January 1936 and occupy that office for less than a year, when he abdicated due to his intent to marry American divorcee Wallace Simpson. 

Arriving at Walter Reed.

A dedicated womanizer, the Prince's earlier relationships had caused so much stress to the Royal Family that his father held the view that it would be better if his brother, George, became king. There was some speculation that Edwards suffered from a psychological problem that contributed to his reckless behavior with women, although he may simply have been a bored lech.  His father was known to have stated that he hoped Edward would remain childless so that the crown could be inherited by George or one of his descendants.

Miss Dorthy Brown Priming of the Red Cross and the Prince.

As it happened, the relationship with Simpson in fact lead to that result. His intent to marry the difficult Simpson made his occupation of the position of monarch impossible as the Church of England did not recognize, and at least technically still doesn't approve of, divorce.  Due to that a church marriage should have been a technical impossibility, although a willing Anglican priest was found for the service in France, and his role as head of the Church of England, which the monarch occupies, would have been problematic at best.

The relationship with Wallace Simpson had an odd Wyoming connection as it seems that the couple may have been introduced, oddly enough, by Mildred Harris, Charlie Chaplin's first wife, at a party.

The monarchy of course managed to survive the scandal and King George VI went on to be a great example of a modern English king.  His daughter, Elizabeth II, remains the Queen.  But the entire event does give ample evidence both of the absurdity of modern monarchy and how teetering all monarchies were following World War One.  Edward gives a blatant example of how the assumptions made by the fans of monarchy are so far off the mark.  Edward was situated to be head of the English nation and its state church when at least up until his marriage his personal conduct would lead a person to really question his suitability for either role.  The near collapse of the monarchy in 1936 due to his marriage to Simpson shows how badly damaged all monarchies were following the Great War.

Elsewhere, the events in Centralia Washington were taking headlines all over the country. We noted that event a bit yesterday.

But only a bit.

This was an inexcusable omission, but readers here are already aware that this was a period of massive civil strife. The Centralia event was an extreme example of it.

It's also example of how such things achieve mythical status from which they can't be separated. What's clear is that hostility between the IWW and the American Legion erupted on Armistace Day resulting in five members of the Legion being killed and IWW leader Wesley Everest being lynched by being seized by a mob and hung off a bridge. The entire thing was brutal.  Newspapers of the day sided with the Legion on the matter, but rather obviously the entire thing was out of hand.

Armistice Day, 1919.

Today was the first Armistice Day, now converted into Veteran's Day, in U.S. history.  It came, of course, one year after the Armistice that had brought about an end to the fighting on the Western front in November, 1918.

Plans had been made in advance to celebrate the day, which of course was celebrated around the country.

In Central Wyoming the day's events were muted by the arrival of snow.

Which makes the day in 2019 a nice bookend.  Snow again.

In Washington, the Prince of Wales was visiting and marked the day, which was likewise being celebrated in English speaking countries around the world.

In Centralia, Washington, violence erupted between the American Legion and the Industrial Workers of the World, resulting in six deaths.

October 6, 1919 Reds Win Again, Red Summer Continues On

Cincinnati's Hod Eller.

The World Series resumed in Chicago after a day's delay due to rain.  By this time, additional gambling money had been distributed to the Chicago players in the plot.

In spite of that, both teams played well and the Reds won by only one hit.  Cincinnati's Hod Eller pitched so well that he achieved a record for the most batters struck out in a row that was not tied until 1966, and has not been surpassed.  Of course, the record is marred by the history of this Series.

The headlines were also full of news of race riots that were raging throughout much of the country. The Red Summer was continuing on into the fall.

And Woodrow Wilson was reporting to be recovering.

Secretary of Labor Wilson, no relation to the President, spoke at the opening day of a labor conference that had been called by the President.

Cardinal Mercier of Belgium was touring the United States.

Daylight savings ended on this day in 1919.

Saint Catherine Hotel, Avalon California.  October 6, 1919.

If Labor Day seems like the official end of American summer, perhaps the end of Daylight Savings Time feels like the hard set of American fall.  Perhaps that's what caused the Gasoline Alley gang to seek out drinks, even if only soft drinks were now in the offering due to Prohibition.