Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes
This executive order, titled Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes, directs the federal government to create and fund a coordinated effort to erect and restore monuments honoring historically significant Americans. It establishes a cross-agency Task Force led by the Interior Department to plan and oversee monument projects, and it creates a National Garden of American Heroes to house lifelike statues of selected figures. The order also directs changes to federal art commissioning practices to prioritize statues and works that depict historically significant Americans and moments in U.S. history, and it emphasizes educational programming about founding documents and ideals. Taken together, the order signals a concerted federal push to commemorate American history through public monuments and related educational initiatives. Key elements include a 60-day deadline to propose options for the National Garden, a 90-day reporting requirement on funding for related educational programs, and a framework that allows donations or loans of statues from states, localities, and private entities. The order also expands protection for the new monuments under existing monument-protection authorities and defines who counts as a “historically significant American.” It is framed as restoring national memory in response to recent protests and statue removals, and it prioritizes certain types of monuments and locations for installation.
Key Points
- 1Establishment of Interagency Task Force for Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes
- 2- Chaired by the Secretary of the Interior; includes the GSA Administrator, NEA Chair, NEH Chair, ACHP Chair, and other designated agency officers.
- 3- Interior funds and provides staff support; an Interior official serves as Executive Director to coordinate day-to-day work.
- 4- NEA, NEH, and ACHP chairs will lead cross-department initiatives to advance the Task Force’s mission.
- 5Creation of the National Garden of American Heroes
- 6- Policy aim to establish a statuary park to honor historically significant Americans.
- 7- Within 60 days, the Task Force must report options for the National Garden, including potential locations and mechanisms (e.g., donations or loans of statues).
- 8- Criteria for options include rapid establishment, feasibility via existing authorities and funding pathways, and acceptance of statues donated by states/localities/organizations/individuals.
- 9- Statues must be lifelike/realistic, be located in a site of natural beauty near a major population center, and there should also be a separate collection for temporary statues displayed around the country.
- 10Commissioning of New Statues and Art
- 11- Task Force to evaluate appropriations authority and recommend how agencies should spend on statue commissions.
- 12- When feasible, agencies should prioritize commissioning statues of historically significant Americans who meet criteria in the order, especially for Founding Fathers, former Presidents, leading abolitionists, and those connected with the discovery of America.
- 13- Prioritize installations in communities where a historically significant statue was removed or destroyed in relation to the events described in Section 1 (the context of monument vandalism/destruction).
- 14- After Task Force consultation, GSA must revise and prioritize the AIA (Art in Architecture) policies to favor public-facing monuments depicting historically significant Americans or events, with precedence for presidents and for the discovery of America and abolition of slavery.
- 15Educational Programming
- 16- NEH must prioritize funding for programs educating Americans about founding documents and ideals (Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Federalist Papers; and ideals like equality under the law and representative self-government).
- 17- Annual reporting: the NEH Chair must report funding allocated to these programs within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year from 2021 through 2026.
- 18Protection and Legal Framework
- 19- The Attorney General shall apply protections under existing executive-order authorities related to monuments and vandalism to the National Garden and statues commissioned under this order.
- 20- The order defines “historically significant American” and includes certain pre-U.S. citizens (e.g., Columbus, Serra, La Fayette) who made substantive contributions to discovery, development, or independence of the future United States.
- 21- General provisions preserve existing agency authorities and budgetary processes; the order does not create new rights enforceable by individuals against the U.S.