Addressing America's Crisis in Civic Illiteracy

Nation's Youth at Risk

Higher education is failing to teach America's history and founding principles, according to a recent report released by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. This study, "The Coming Crisis in Citizenship," reveals the alarming decline of civic education in colleges and universities nationwide. The future of our nation depends on an informed citizenry. Thomas Jefferson said, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free…it expects what never was and never will be."

More than half of college seniors surveyed in the study could not identify the correct century when the first American colony was established at Jamestown. And 55.4 percent of students could not recognize Yorktown as the battle that brought the American Revolution to an end (28 percent thought the Civil War battle at Gettysburg was the correct answer). Fewer than half of students recognized "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal," is from the Declaration of Independence. This problem stems, in part, from a lack of middle and high school teachers who have received a proper education in the subjects they teach. Today, mastery of the subject content is no longer considered essential, and future teachers typically take more courses emphasizing educational techniques and methodology than they do courses on content in the subject areas they will teach.

The current picture of civic education in America is disheartening, but not hopeless. While some of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the United States are falling short of the mark, the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University is renewing the foundations of civic education in America by reinvigorating the serious study of the principles of American liberty and self-government.

Through history and civic education programs for high school history and government teachers, undergraduate and high school students, and through events and resources for private citizens, the Ashbrook Center is renewing America’s purpose and promise.