A reflection piece published on RealClearPolitics explores how visiting historical sites across America offers citizens a way to engage with the nation's founding ideals and complicated history. The article suggests that physical places—battlefields, monuments, museums, and preserved landmarks—provide tangible connections to stories taught in classrooms but often experienced only abstractly.
The author describes visits to locations including Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was debated and adopted in 1776; the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, site of the 1965 Bloody Sunday crossing that helped galvanize passage of the Voting Rights Act; and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech during the 1963 March on Washington.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive commentators have embraced this kind of site-based historical education as essential to civic understanding. Many argue that visiting places connected to civil rights struggles—particularly those involving Black Americans, indigenous peoples, and other marginalized groups—is crucial for a complete national narrative.
Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina has spoken frequently about the importance of preserving sites connected to the Civil Rights Movement, stating that "you cannot understand America without walking the grounds where our freedoms were won." Organizations including the NAACP and the Southern Poverty Law Center have advocated for expanding educational curricula to include more site-based learning at locations tied to historical injustice.
Many progressive educators argue that visiting sites like the National Museum of African American History and Culture or the Japanese American confinement sites provides irreplaceable context that textbooks alone cannot convey. They contend that such experiences foster empathy and deeper engagement with ongoing struggles for equity.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative voices often emphasize different historical sites as central to American identity. The Hillsdale College community and affiliated commentators have promoted visits to founding-era locations, particularly those connected to the Constitution's drafting and ratification.
Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee has championed preservation funding for Revolutionary War battlefields, arguing that "the ground where Americans spilled blood for independence must be preserved so future generations understand the price of liberty." The Heritage Foundation and similar organizations promote programs encouraging visits to sites associated with American military achievements and constitutional history.
Many conservative commentators argue against what they characterize as "cancel culture" attempts to remove or rename Confederate monuments, contending that preserving controversial historical markers—even when depicting painful chapters—allows for educational moments. They often point to sites like Gettysburg National Military Park as essential for understanding the nation's near-disintegration during the Civil War.
What the Numbers Show
The National Park Service manages 424 national park areas across all 50 states, Washington D.C., and U.S. territories, attracting approximately 330 million visitors annually before the pandemic. In 2025, visitation to NPS sites rebounded to an estimated 312 million visits.
According to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey, 67% of American adults say it is important to visit historical sites to understand the country's past. However, there are significant partisan differences: 78% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said visiting such places was very or somewhat important, compared to 55% of Republicans and Republican leaners.
Federal funding for historic preservation through the Historic Preservation Fund has remained relatively flat at approximately $90 million annually since 2019, while maintenance backlogs at NPS sites exceeded $21 billion as of the most recent Inspector General report. The National Trust for Historic Preservation estimates there are more than 3,800 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Bottom Line
The reflection piece underscores a recurring tension in American civic life: how to honor founding ideals while acknowledging historical injustices that occurred in their name. Historical site visitation remains popular among Americans broadly, though interpretations often diverge along ideological lines about which stories deserve emphasis.
Congress has shown bipartisan interest in preservation funding, with recent legislation directing resources toward both Revolutionary War sites and Civil Rights Movement landmarks. The National Park Service's Centennial Challenge program has sought private partnerships to address maintenance backlogs while expanding educational programming at sites representing diverse historical experiences.
What to watch: The ongoing debate over Confederate monument removal continues to play out at state and local levels, with implications for which historical narratives dominate public spaces. Educational tourism advocates are pushing for expanded field trip programs connecting classroom curriculum with site-based learning, though funding constraints limit reach, particularly for lower-income school districts.