Category: U.S. history

Ignorance Is the End of Freedom

Commentary There’s currently a raging national debate on what our students should know or not know about American history. This debate goes to the very core of our national being and future. That’s why I chose to write my new book, “Toward a Perfect Union: The Moral and Cultural Case for Teaching the Great American…


The Ungracious—and Their Demonization of the Past

Commentary The last two years have seen an unprecedented escalation in a decades-long war on the American past. But there are lots of logical flaws in attacking prior generations in U.S. history. Critics assume their own judgmental generation is morally superior to those of the past. So, they use their own standards to condemn the…


Harris’ Attack on ‘Shameful Past’ of US a Monumental Misreading of History

Commentary U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has called America’s period of colonisation a “shameful past.” According to Harris’ recent address to the National Congress of American Indians commemorating Columbus Day, those Americans descended from European settlers should be ashamed about their nation’s history. She said the settlement of North America was based on land theft…


Civic Education as a Duty and a Delight

Commentary For too many Americans, “civics” is either a vague mystery or akin to a dental cleaning: we know that we should do it but would avoid it if possible. Regrettably, our country has chosen in the past 50 years the path of avoidance and ignorance by demoting civic education in our schools, including higher…


North Carolina County to Discipline, Fire Teachers Who Say America and Founders Are Racist

A North Carolina school board has adopt a policy that would discipline or dismiss teachers if they incorporate critical race theory (CRT) into their teaching of the history of the United States. The Johnston County school board on Friday unanimously voted to approve an amended code of ethics policy after the county’s Republican-run board of…


Teaching True American History

Commentary In his eloquent and prophetic January 1989 farewell address to the nation (pdf), President Ronald Reagan gave us a somber warning, saying, “If we forget what we did, we won’t know who we are. I’m warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in the erosion of the American spirit.”…


Hillsdale College Launches ‘1776 Curriculum,’ Promoting ‘Honest History’ in K-12 Classrooms

Hillsdale College, a classical liberal arts institution whose leaders held key positions in the Trump administration’s 1776 Commission, has released a new K-12 curriculum that aims to teach young Americans “honest history” and an “accurate account of civics.” The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum, according to the school’s website, provides an entire lesson plan that covers the…


As Education Fails, Patriotism Withers

Commentary The Nation’s Report Card revealed that in 2014 only 18 percent of American eighth graders are at or above the level of proficiency in U.S. history—and only 1 in 100 are considered advanced. The takeaway is clear: Our schools are failing to teach our national heritage. Naturally, the consequences stretch long into adulthood. A…


Republican Lawmakers Warn Against Biden Administration Pushing Critical Race Theory in Education

A pair of Republican congressmen are calling on the Department of Education to reconsider spending federal dollars to promote critical race theory in civics and history classes across the country. In a letter (pdf) to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Reps. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) and Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) said they have “deep concern” about a newly…