\n<\/p>\n
Video by Zack Wittman for The New York Times<\/span><\/p>\n The museums, designed by conservative nonprofits and Trump appointees, tell the story of early America, from colonization to revolution. The one exhibition looking beyond the early years is the \u201cWall of American Heroes.\u201d It is a list of 51 people, chosen to illustrate 250 years of American history.<\/p>\n A White House spokesman said they were \u201cindividuals who shaped this nation\u2019s history, culture and spirit across generations.\u201d<\/p>\n The people pictured on this national honor roll \u2014 and the people left out \u2014 help illustrate what this administration sees as the highlights of American history.<\/p>\n Amid the administration\u2019s efforts to reshape the nation\u2019s relationship with its past, Trump appointees heavily weighted the list toward a single era of American history \u2014 and a few specific kinds of hero.<\/p>\n MOUNT RUSHMORE, 1927<\/p>\n 1936-1937<\/p>\n 1933-1934<\/p>\n 1939<\/p>\n MOUNT RUSHMORE, 2025<\/p>\n Some of those featured are American icons who would be on just about anyone\u2019s list of the country\u2019s heroes. Many are already honored with monuments, holidays or their faces on coins.<\/span><\/p>\n Some of those featured are American icons who would be on just about anyone\u2019s list of the country\u2019s heroes. Many are already honored with monuments, holidays or their faces on coins.<\/span><\/p>\n Photo cards show Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., the Wright Brothers, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton and Sacagawea.<\/span><\/p>\n But nine of the 51 people fit one surprising mold: They were all in show business in the 1960s.<\/span><\/p>\n But nine of the 51 people fit one surprising mold: They were all in show business in the 1960s.<\/span><\/p>\n Photo cards show John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Walt Disney, Irving Berlin, Elvis Presley and Louis Armstrong.<\/span><\/p>\n The list also focuses on just one of America\u2019s wars. All four people shown in military uniform served in World War II.<\/span><\/p>\n The list also focuses on just one of America\u2019s wars. All four people shown in military uniform served in World War II.<\/span><\/p>\n Photo cards show George S. Patton, Louis Zamperini, Audie Murphy and Grace Hopper.<\/span><\/p>\n All four religious leaders on the wall are Christian.<\/span><\/p>\n All four religious leaders on the wall are Christian.<\/span><\/p>\n The wall also features some of the wealthiest people of their time.<\/span><\/p>\n The wall also features some of the wealthiest people of their time.<\/span><\/p>\n Cards show Steve Jobs, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford.<\/span><\/p>\n Tens of millions of people have immigrated to America in the past 250 years. But the \u201cWall of American Heroes\u201d includes only four immigrants, all white men born in the 19th century.<\/span><\/p>\n Tens of millions of people have immigrated to America in the past 250 years. But the \u201cWall of American Heroes\u201d includes only four immigrants, all white men born in the 19th century.<\/span><\/p>\n Photo cards show Irving Berlin, Alexander Graham Bell, Andrew Carnegie and Albert Einstein.<\/span><\/p>\n The center of the display includes a long quotation by President Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n The center of the display includes a long quotation by President Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n A wall featuring 51 photographs of people, with the space in the middle dedicated to a quotation from President Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n The other exhibitions in the Freedom Trucks were crafted by a pair of conservative nonprofits, PragerU and Hillsdale College. But the \u201cWall of American Heroes\u201d was created by Freedom 250, a nonprofit effort whose leaders were chosen by President Trump and that was created to lead the planning of celebrations of the nation\u2019s 250th birthday, overshadowing a bipartisan congressional commission.<\/p>\n A spokeswoman for Freedom 250 said Mr. Trump was not directly involved in the selection of those featured.<\/p>\n But the list clearly tracks Mr. Trump\u2019s own lifetime and the heroes of the conservative political movement.<\/p>\n In May, a Freedom Truck stopped at the Villages Public Library in Wildwood, Fla.<\/span> Zack Wittman for The New York Times<\/span><\/p>\n The wall\u2019s tilt toward heroes of the baby boomer generation, for instance, extends beyond Hollywood stars and musicians. Of the four religious leaders on the list, two \u2014 Archbishop Fulton Sheen and the Rev. Billy Graham \u2014 also appeared on TV regularly in the 1950s and 1960s. The only painter on the list is Norman Rockwell, known for his idealized depictions of American life in that period.<\/p>\n By contrast, there is only a handful of figures from the first decades of American independence.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a disservice, if your intention is to present the last 250 years,\u201d said Sarah Weicksel, the executive director of the American Historical Association. \u201cBecause all of the people on this list are building on the work and struggles and progress that was made by the people in the 150 years prior.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cWall of American Heroes\u201d was inspired by a similar display in a traveling museum created by the State of Virginia. But Virginia\u2019s display celebrates little-known historical figures.<\/p>\n Virginia\u2019s display of heroes highlights little-known figures.<\/span> Jason Andrew for The New York Times<\/span><\/p>\n Mr. Trump\u2019s, by and large, celebrates people who are already well-known \u2014 and, often, people who were famous in their own time. For example, it praises P.T. Barnum, a circus impresario who used hoaxes and freak shows to draw crowds. The wall calls him an \u201cicon of American sensationalism.\u201d<\/p>\n The spokeswoman for Freedom 250 said that many of the names on the wall were drawn from a list of 250 people that Mr. Trump wants to include in a \u201cGarden of American Heroes\u201d in Washington.<\/p>\n The spokeswoman declined to say what criteria were used to narrow down the list.<\/p>\n The only president whose name appears on the wall \u2014 not on the list of heroes, but alongside his quotation \u2014 is Mr. Trump himself.<\/p>\n Navigate the display by dragging from side to side.<\/p>\n Zack Wittman for The New York Times<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Video by Zack Wittman for The New York Times The museums, designed by conservative nonprofits and Trump appointees, tell the story of early America, from colonization to revolution. The one exhibition looking beyond the early years is the \u201cWall of American Heroes.\u201d It is a list of 51 people, chosen to illustrate 250 years of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[473,14490,19957,24807,71],"class_list":{"0":"post-50485","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-justice","8":"tag-american","9":"tag-exhibition","10":"tag-heroes","11":"tag-touring","12":"tag-trumps"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=50485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/50486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=50485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=50485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Explore the Wall of Heroes<\/h3>\n