Civic Education and the Future of American Citizenship

The Founders of this nation believed that the government they were creating required a civically-educated populace. Such an education aimed to cultivate enlightened, informed, and vigilant citizens who could perpetuate and improve the nation. Unfortunately, America's youth today seem to lack adequate opportunities, if not also the ability or will, to examine critically the foundations of this nation. An even larger problem is that young Americans are becoming increasingly ambivalent about education in general. Stepping into the void is a diverse group of educators, intellectuals, and businesspeople, brought together in this volume to grapple with the issue of civic illiteracy and its consequences. The essays in this volume not only force us to reexamine the goals of civic education in America but also the goals of liberal education more broadly.