It is often difficult for Americans to find the secrets for addressing issues relevant to the contemporary United States. However, in every generation, individual citizens in their communities, states, and national institutions have debated values that are central to the nation. By studying American history as a sequence of case studies, students…

The future of the American experiment, and the life of the democratic republic that is the United States, is at risk. American citizens have endangered the republic by failing to educate new generations of citizens about civic responsibility. As early as the nineteenth century, the tension between individualism and American republican principles…

American democratic society is sustained through debate among its citizens. Four sets of value tensions--(1) law versus ethics, (2) private wealth versus common wealth, (3) freedom versus equality, and (4) unity versus diversity--are central in allowing citizens to address matters of public interest through debate. These value pairs are the…

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the nation's largest living history museum, in partnership with the Social Science Education Consortium, scholars, educators, and teachers, has developed engaging learning materials for social studies classrooms. One such program is the Colonial Williamsburg History and Civics Project, which is based on…

Asserts that the status of civics, a formal course of instruction in middle/junior high schools, is alarming. Maintains that civic or citizenship education is the central purpose of social studies. Provides a context and suggested content for a civics course. (CFR)

Maintains that the United States and its allies are helping former Communist nations make the transition to market economies. Describes the development and dissemination of the Junior Achievement International program in the Czech Republic and the Ukraine. Also describes features and instructional strategies of the program and includes a sample…