President Donald Trump issued an executive order last Friday that would allow the creation of a “National Garden of American Heroes” to commemorate prominent Americans throughout the country’s history with statues and memorials.
The announcement of the new memorial garden was made at Mount Rushmore, where the president was on the scene to commemorate the July 4th weekend festivities. Trump condemned left-wing activists who have been vandalizing and calling for the removal of American monuments and statues since George Floyd was killed by a police officer when he failed to cooperate during yet another arrest.
Sadly, monuments and statues of American historical figures have been targeted by the “cancel culture” antagonism prevalent in the U.S. today. As racial tensions have escalated in the last month, President Trump has vehemently opposed the reckless and cowardice destruction of our country’s sacred sites. So much in fact that he signed an executive order last week to punish the vandalism or destruction of our precious monuments, memorials, and statues by up to 10 years in prison.
President Trump also made a clear statement to vandals that not only would they be punished for vandalizing existing memorials, but also that he will not be intimidated by their illegal behavior. His statement of creating a “National Garden of American Heroes” shows that America will not back down to this cowardly attack.
“Statues are silent teachers in solid form of stone and metal,” the executive order reads. “[They] call forth gratitude for the accomplishments and sacrifices of our exceptional fellow citizens who, despite their flaws, placed their virtues, their talents, and their lives in the service of our Nation … In preserving them, we show reverence for our past, we dignify our present, and we inspire those who are to come. To build a monument is to ratify our shared national project.”
“To destroy a monument is to desecrate our common inheritance,” the order continues. “My Administration will not abide an assault on our collective national memory. In the face of such acts of destruction, it is our responsibility as Americans to stand strong against this violence, and to peacefully transmit our great national story to future generations through newly commissioned monuments to American heroes.”
The new order by Trump establishes and commissions the Interagency Task Force for Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes to begin work on the project, and to submit proposals to him for building the park within 60 days. The garden park, which is funded by the Department of the Interior, will include these prominent Americans, as listed in the executive order.
“The National Garden should be composed of statues, including those of John Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Daniel Boone, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Henry Clay, Davy Crockett, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Benjamin Franklin, Billy Graham, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Douglas MacArthur, Dolley Madison, James Madison, Christa McAuliffe, Audie Murphy, George S. Patton, Jr., Ronald Reagan, Jackie Robinson, Betsy Ross, Antonin Scalia, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, George Washington, and Orville and Wilbur Wright.
The president expects the garden to be open for public access by no later than “the 250th anniversary of the proclamation of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026.” The location for the memorial park has not yet been determined by the president’s task force.
