The American Historical Association has released a statement condemning \u201cthe removal of 381 books, including acclaimed historical works and widely used primary sources, from the United States Naval Academy\u2019s Nimitz Library\u201d as well as \u201cwhat appears to be the expansion of this censorship policy to the full universe of military academies and other education institutions.\u201d \u201cRemoving books that are based on careful historical research won\u2019t make the facts of our nation’s history go away,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cBut it will render the military unprepared to face their legacies and our future.\u201d<\/p>\n
To date, 13 organizations have signed on to this statement.<\/p>\n
Military Libraries, Censorship, and History<\/strong><\/p>\n Approved by AHA Council, May 2025<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cPeople who do not know the past do not know the world well.\u201d\u2014From \u201cWhy We Teach History<\/a>,\u201d US Naval Academy History Department<\/p>\n The American Historical Association condemns the removal of 381 books<\/a>, including acclaimed historical works and widely used primary sources, from the United States Naval Academy\u2019s Nimitz Library. This removal of content on ideological grounds constitutes censorship, which has no place in any library or educational institution in the United States. The AHA condemns censorship regardless of the specific historical content or interpretive orientation of the material. In this case, the books removed from the Nimitz Library\u2019s shelves tilt heavily towards histories of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality.<\/p>\n Limiting midshipmen’s access to important aspects of our nation\u2019s history endangers the education of future naval officers, leaving the Navy less prepared to protect the United States. Students attending the academies and other military educational institutions need a full and honest view of the histories, experiences, and perspectives of the men and women they will lead and of the collective national past we have made together, for better and for worse. Future leaders should have resources that include histories of their communities and those of the men and women with whom they will serve. Otherwise, we deny students the opportunity to develop the very skills officers need if they are to learn from the past and the respect not only for their colleagues in the military but for all people with whom they interact as representatives of our nation.<\/p>\n Given proper resources, students at our military academies and in-service educational institutes should be trusted to learn how to think historically, how to make judgements based on evidence. We echo the Naval Academy\u2019s own website<\/a>: \u201cWe teach midshipmen history because there is no better preparation for leadership than the study of history. We cannot understand the world today without knowing how it got that way\u2014which is to say through history . . . . An effective leader masters the past in order to more effectively shape the future.\u201d<\/p>\n