Did the United States have a golden age of civics education? What topics did teachers deem most important in past eras? We delved into 87 textbooks spanning 1885 to 2000 and found a gradual shift of focus from government structures to individual actions. Yet the progression also reflects issues facing the nation during certain periods. Today’s educators, like those in the past, must strike a balance in civics education between the contemporary and the enduring.

A Century-Plus of Civic Edu... by Hoover Institution

Expand
overlay image