AEI Program on American Citizenship

09/17/2019

"On this date 232 years ago — September 17, 1787 — the Constitution was signed by its authors, and began its challenging journey toward ratification. It seems only fitting to spend Constitution Day reading the document and reading about its meaning and sources, its framers’ hopes and intentions, its history, and its (far from ideal, alas) current condition.

Such reading and rereading never stops being rewarding, because each year it meets you where you are and so offers something new and timely. This year, it seems to me that reading in and about the Constitution might result in particular in some striking insights about populism and elitism — foibles of our time that were far from unfamiliar to the framers."

On this date 232 years ago — September 17, 1787 — the Constitution was signed by its authors, and began its challenging journey toward ratification. It seems only fitting to spend Constitution Day reading the document and reading about its meaning and sources, its framers’ hopes and intentions...

09/06/2019

Harvard’s Danielle Allen: “Yes, graduates need jobs. Yes, schools should support that. But democracies also need citizens and effective and equitable civic participants. Schools should support that, too.

Hey parents, can you take this question to your children’s schools this year: Got civics?”

Will your child have civics this year?

08/21/2019

American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Resident Scholar Yuval Levin, who directs the Institute’s recently launched Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies research division, announced today that several resident and nonresident scholars will be joining AEI to pursue important research work, including Adam White, Matthew Continetti, Diana Schaub, Ross Douthat, and J.D. Vance:

AEI President Robert Doar said, “These new colleagues embody AEI’s commitment to strengthen the foundations of American freedom and ensure that America’s constitutional order stands fast.” Added Yuval Levin, “We’re excited to support the research and writing these new scholars have in mi...

07/06/2019

Readings to appreciate the making of our nation and its continuing miracle.

05/23/2019

"Americans tend toward ritualistic displays of patriotism. Flags and Americana adorn homes, cars, and perishable products as a matter of course during the Olympics and on the Fourth of July. Despite the swag, Americans do not necessarily trust that their fellow citizens are sufficiently patriotic—that they are deeply committed to the American way of life and the democratic principles that inform it. And while the effort to measure such attachment seems to underlie much of the repeated questioning about Americans’ levels of civic knowledge and engagement, the more enduring questions are why a robust patriotism among self-governing citizens matters, what engenders it, and why it is not generationally guaranteed."

Understanding civic education as transmitting or transforming the regime changes the purpose, shape, and content of a civics curriculum.

03/14/2019

"As teachers, we are trained to avoid deficit-thinking, to build on students’ and communities’ assets, not to dwell on disadvantages or shortcomings. Yet when we turn to civics education, we—many of us—embrace a deficit model. Civics education, with its focus on the problems of democracy, and its enthusiasm for cultivating activism and “action civics,” may be somewhat guilty of self-marginalization, potentially alienating at least half of the country, people whose view of their country “begins from gratitude” and who are inherently suspicious of approaches that focus mostly or entirely on “what is bad and broken.”

Editor’s note: On March 13, 2019, Thomas B. Fordham Institute senior fellow Robert Pondiscio was a panelist at an event hosted by the Albert Shanker Institute in Washington, D.C., titled “Civic Education: Is There Common Ground.” The following is adapted from his remarks.

02/12/2019

Happy Birthday, President Lincoln! Here's Diana Schaub, Allen Guelzo, and Michael Zuckert discussing Lincoln in real life and Lincoln the movie.

Diana Schaub, Michael Zuckert, and Allen Guelzo discuss Lincoln and the reframing of America is this third video session, filmed as part of AEI's Program on…

02/11/2019

Please join AEI as a panel of scholars discuss McCulloch v. Maryland, Marshall’s opinion, his judicial statesmanship, James Madison’s alternative reading of the Constitution, and the role of the bank in establishing America’s commercial republic.

Please join AEI as a panel of scholars discuss McCulloch v. Maryland, Marshall’s opinion, his judicial statesmanship, James Madison’s alternative reading of the Constitution, and the role of the bank in establishing America’s commercial republic.

01/02/2019

"The juxtaposition of individuals affiliated with America’s most-trusted institution campaigning to become members of the least-trusted institution especially caught our attention. It’s sparked a range of Congress-heavy questions. How would veterans of the All-Volunteer Force (AVF) affect the Legislature’s performance—and especially public perception of that performance? Veterans arguably have a heightened civic awareness and, by the nature of their service, an equally heightened awareness of the consequences of decisions made in Washington. Can their increased participation in the electoral process help turn Congress’s dismal approval numbers around?

War creates political opportunities for those who fight them. This is meant as an observation of fact, not a remark intended to cheapen the sacrifices made

11/19/2018

In honor of the anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, check out & watch Leon Kass and Diana Schaub discussing how to understand this pivotal moment and speech in American history:

What is the significance of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address? Is it a funeral oration, a victory speech, a policy pitch, or something more? Was Lincoln’s purpose to break with a tainted national past, or to redefine it? “Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address” will explore Lincoln’s interp...

11/12/2018

Half of Americans today who see a homeless man believe he's a veteran. They are incorrect 90 percent of the time. Only 38 percent of employers believe skills veterans acquire in the military are easily transferable to the private sector. But things are turning around ...

11/12/2018

What Americans have traditionally found admirable in their peers is a moral constancy, a dedication to principle, especially in the face of danger. The monuments to Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln light the way to a broad conception of the American heroic: the steadfast obelisk, the standing thinker and the seated judge are representative of the power of ideas, rather than the domination of the sword.

It’s hardly surprising then, that so many American leaders have urged the significance for peace of celebrating Veterans Day.

GENERAL Omar Bradley once called Armistice Day “our day of conscience.” Speaking before the Boston Chamber of Commerce in 1948 to commemorate the end of World War II, the “GI’s