It is unfortunate but also ironically appropriate that national efforts to celebrate the nation’s birth have been rattled by internal disputes over how that birth should be celebrated.

“Who controls the past controls the future,” wrote George Orwell in “1984.” “Who controls the present controls the past.”

By altering history to make the ruling party look great, in other words, leaders can more easily justify their current actions in ways that help them hold power.

With that maxim in mind, one can easily see why the current administration takes such a big interest in history, when it’s not just staging commemorative stunts such as cage fighting on the White House grounds.

For example, President Donald Trump’s administration has been involved in a legal battle regarding historical sites and slavery in Philadelphia, under an executive order aimed at removing content that allegedly disparages America, in the administration’s view.

Under that order, the National Park Service recently removed panels at the President’s House Site detailing the people George Washington held in slavery.

The city of Philadelphia sued the park service over the removals and a federal judge initially ordered the displays to be restored. In June, however, a federal appeals court vacated that injunction, allowing the administration to remove and replace the exhibit.

That’s disappointing. Yet there’s only so much the Trump administration can do to burnish the image of slavery, and I’m not sure why they’re trying, but make no mistake that they are.

Concerns over potential reforms at the Smithsonian........

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