The Fight Over America’s Public History

The American people can never forget the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence—for the simple reason that if they ever do forget, they will no longer be Americans. As individuals, we are not entirely defined by our personal histories. We can change. So can nations. But just as no one would discard his or her personal history—memories of family and friends, of love nurtured and adversity overcome—for anything less than the most dire of reasons, a nation cannot erase or tamper with its own history unless it has decided to become something else: a new country, unattached to its...