A CURRENT EVENTS RESPONSE BY HISTORY UNERASED
President Trump’s Executive Order, "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government"
Published January 21st, 2025
History and social studies teachers are invariably on the front lines and the first responders when cultural and political issues impact their students’ lives. History UnErased is standing in our lane in support of K-12 educators and by extension their students, as teachers will be navigating students’ questions and concerns about President Trump’s Executive Order, "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," which was signed hours after the inauguration ceremony on January 20th, 2025.
Helpful Historical Context
The Supreme Court case of The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes (1925), which brought to light the teaching of evolution in public schools, reminds us that scientific ideas can challenge deeply held cultural and religious beliefs, while also underscoring the importance of remaining open to scientific ideas, even when they challenge existing norms. You can learn more about this landmark case at The History Channel.
The truth is that there are endless variations of the human experience. Patterns and probabilities reflect a vast majority of people are either male or female, but gender is not just male or female—it is a spectrum with many possibilities. These variations have been documented and preserved in archives around the world. PBS Independent Lens has a very helpful interactive map about gender diversity in history: A Map of Gender Diverse Cultures.
We can also look to figures in our nation’s history to help us understand concepts of gender, from the 17th-century court case involving the gender identity of Thomas/ine Hall to the 20th-century legal and civil rights pioneer Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray.
About Executive Orders
-
Executive orders are a tool of presidential power, but they operate within the constraints of the Constitution, federal law, and checks and balances.
-
Federal agencies responsible for implementing an executive order can deprioritize or modify its enforcement. This is not a formal repeal but can effectively nullify its impact.
United States history education teaches us that executive orders have been used to violate the civil rights of law-abiding Americans, including self-determination. A single example (of many) is Executive Order 9066, issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 12, 1942, which led to the forced relocation and incarceration of approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens.
In 1988, Congress passed, and Reagan signed, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, a federal apology for the injustice of internment.
Looking to History to Help Us Understand Today
We can see that our leaders are as fallible as we are diverse as people. The patterns and probability of legislative mistakes, apologies, more mistakes, and more apologies are inevitable. If rising generations are given equal access to history and civic education we can collectively acknowledge this and continue to grow into the ideals of American democracy.
Private schools have not deprioritized history and civics but most of our nation’s public schools have. Why?