Appeals court allows removal of slavery exhibits at historic Philadelphia site

A federal appeals court on Thursday reversed a lower court ruling, allowing the Trump administration to remove and replace slavery exhibits at the President's House site in Philadelphia. The original ruling in February had blocked the Interior Department from altering displays that detailed the history of nine individuals enslaved by George Washington.

The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals panel found that the district court had overstepped its authority, as the City of Philadelphia does not own the property in question. Judge Thomas Hardiman, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, wrote that the lower court's jurisdictional analysis was premature.

The dispute centered on an agreement between the City of Philadelphia and the National Park Service (NPS) to illuminate the history of the site, including the enslaved Africans kept there. The city argued the federal government violated this contract by amending displays without mutual consent.

Hardiman noted that the federal government had prepared replacement panels and was ready to install them. Images of these "new exhibits" were posted on the Independence National Historical Park's website, which Hardiman described as "full of historical context." He stated these exhibits acknowledge the evil of slavery and the humanity of the enslaved individuals.

Last week, a federal judge in Massachusetts issued a similar order requiring the administration to restore removed displays and monuments from National Park sites nationwide, as part of an executive order by President Trump.