The National Park Service has restored to the agency's website the original story it posted on the Underground Railroad following backlash about the way it was rewritten and for having deleted a photo of abolitionist Harriet Tubman as part of the revision effort. 

The changes were made in February after President Donald Trump ordered the review of monuments torn down during protests in response to the 2020 death of George Floyd, a black male, by Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin during an arrest. (Chauvin was later convicted of murder in connection with the death.)  

The park service told the news outlet Axios the revisions were not unapproved and that the original content was restored when concerns were raised.  

The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes to help African-American slaves in the southern states escape to freedom in the northern states during the Civil War. 

The rewrite purportedly recast the story of the slaves' journey as a cooperative effort between black and white Americans, removed the fact Tubman was a conductor on the railroad and left out references to slavery.

"Changes to the Underground Railroad page on the National Park Service's website were made without approval from NPS leadership nor Department leadership," agency spokesman Rachel Pawlitz told Axios.

Among those who raised concerns about the changes is the National Parks Conservation Association.

“For more than a century, National Park Service staff have worked tirelessly to provide park visitors with the unvarnished truth about our history," the group said on its website. 

“But in the span of just a few weeks, this administration has worked to undermine the Park Service and replace American history with warmed-over nostalgia. They have tried to erase LGBTQ+ stories from our national narrative, rewrite Black history and women’s history, and muzzle the Park Service."