Civics education in America is in crisis, and Americans should recommit themselves to the teaching of civics in the classroom and at home. As students understand how the past connects to the present, they will come to safeguard the sanctity of the American idea and appreciate the validity and relevance of its ideals to all Americans, especially to…

Early American historians provided the public and policy-makers with information about US history that provided both entertainment and policy suggestions. As American historians became more professionalised in the early twentieth century, they concentrated more on their own scholarly concerns and less on policy-relevant writings. In recent…