It is year six of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law, and, according to this author, social studies has suffered greatly. In spite of the public outcry over the law's testing mandates and limited federal funding, some educators believe most of the public does not know about core academic subjects being squeezed out of the K-12 public school curriculum. Given that social studies education is not tied to high-stakes testing, instructional time for it has taken a significant hit, particularly at the elementary grades, since the implementation of NCLB. This has educators deeply concerned about their ability to prepare children to become active citizens and about the long-term viability of the nation's democracy. This article reports that districts, especially in poor areas, struggle to give adequate social studies lessons while meeting NCLB requirements. (Contains 8 online resources.)