On September 18, 1787—the day after the delegates to the Grand Convention of Philadelphia signed what would become the Constitution of the United States—Elizabeth Willing Powel, a prominent socialite and public intellectual, is said to have asked Benjamin Franklin, “well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”
And Franklin, ever the pithy wordsmith, replied, “a republic…if you can keep it.”
In practice, Franklin’s reply should have been “a republic…if you can teach it.” For well over a century thereafter, education at all levels played a crucial role in preserving and advancing the American experiment. What we now call “civics” did not require a separate course or curriculum, but was interwoven throughout all facets of education and public life. Such instruction in republican virtue was not available to everyone, of course, but it was a crucial component of the missions of our early colleges and universities.
Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. Our college students are increasingly ignorant of the American constitutional order’s basic tenets, and, perhaps more worryingly, have become hostile to some of the basic principles—freedom of expression and avoidance of political violence among them—that make our experiment so precious. Much has already been said of how precarious our position is.
Yet readers of this issue of From the Academy need not despair.
Yet readers of this issue of From the Academy need not despair. America’s semiquincentennial is a celebratory occasion, and should emphasize what our country has achieved, as well as what will be needed to guide us through the next 250 years. To that end, we not only document the historical and political processes that brought us to this point but also highlight programs and institutions seeking to restore dignity, virtue, and efficacy to civic education.
The issue contains the following:
- David Randall with a brief history of civic education in the United States;
- Jason Jewell on why it is so imperative that our institutions of higher education offer a robust civics curriculum;
- Lee Strang on the ongoing civic renaissance in Ohio;
- Austin Packham with a student’s perspective on civic education’s revival at Florida State University;
- Matthew Brogdon’s argument on why the Constitution should be at the forefront of civic education;
- Jenna Robinson’s conversation with one of the greatest minds in civic education — Jack Miller, founder of the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles and History;
- Bryan Paul’s research brief documenting how we can improve civic education;
- Andrea Kirk Assaf’s review of On America: How to Understand the Legacy of 1776;
- and Erec Smith on equipping students with the rhetorical and critical-thinking skills to navigate an uncertain world.
Readers of this issue will discover that all is not lost. Just as the American Revolution was fought by states—with different identities, politics, and economies—bound together in service of the cause of human liberty, the renewal of civic education is being built state by state and institution by institution, as chronicled in this issue.
This is not to say that all civic education is perfect, or that it should be the exclusive response to our sociopolitical malaise. But if we want the American experiment to endure, it is utterly indispensable. The staff of From the Academy are honored to make this case.