America’s Presidential Libraries: History or Propaganda?

Since the 1940s, the presidential library has been an American institution. Unfortunately, these government-funded memorials often fail to fairly and accurately portray their namesakes’ administrations. This paper explores the history of the presidential library system and examines biased presidential portrayals, including those encountered at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. A number of reforms to the funding and administration of presidential libraries are proposed. It is contended that these changes will eliminate political propaganda and encourage historical accuracy and fairness at presidential libraries.