| Last week’s curation at RealClear’s American Civics portal starts off with Hans Zeiger, the President of the Jack Miller Center, arguing that we need to provide younger generations, who “are seeing the coarsest, most cynical aspects of American politics” on social media and the twenty-four hour news cycle, with key lessons on how to preserve our civic inheritance. “If people don’t have a common picture of certain foundational ideas and ideals in a highly pluralistic society like ours,” Zeiger writes, “we are at real risk of fracturing. Indeed, we see signs of fracturing all around us.” He notes that teacher-led “civic renewal efforts” need to target “both the state and local levels”: “The states are ultimately responsible for educating the next generation of citizens; local governments are invested with the power to craft standards and curricula, which is all to the good since they are better positioned to get the buy-in that is needed from taxpaying parents and teachers.” As Zeiger closes, an American civic renewal project is necessary because “the ideas at the heart of the American experiment—self-government, universal human dignity, justice itself—are also at the heart of what it means to be human.” We should be thus providing skilled “civics and history teachers…with as much support and encouragement as we can.” At RealClearPolicy, Miles Smith argues that examining Abraham Lincoln’s famous "House Divided" speech can help us discover a good understanding of the somewhat slippery term “nationalism.” According to Smith, Lincoln’s idea of nationalism is “conservative and liberal,” “federalist and constitutional.” It calls for enacting “capitalistic reforms across the Union” and finally “removing” the evil of “slavery, the great obstacle to the individualistic equality proclaimed by the Declaration of Independence.” This idea of nationalism is also committed to safeguarding “natural rights and the endurance of the traditional social order wherein humans pursued virtue, good, and truth.” As Smith contends, Lincoln’s understanding of nationalism is worth keeping today. Essential Reading Ross Pomeroy, RealClearScience Founding Father Thomas Jefferson called freedom the "firstborn daughter of science." Freedom stems from science. Indeed, Jefferson... In the News Miles Smith IV, RealClearPolicy Tiya Miles, New York Times Andre Thomas, ABC27 Heather W. Smith, ABC4 Daniel Urban, AZCardinals Andrew Langer, Constituting America Bradley J. Birzer, Imaginative Conservative Aaron Zubia, Law & Liberty Andrew Langer, Constituting America Susan Teeben, Ohio Capitol Journal Jennie Cohen, History.com Garin Flowers, Yahoo News Hans Zeiger, American Purpose Gary L. Gregg, Intercollegiate Studies Institute Francine Uenuma, Smithsonian Civics 101 The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States. It also... American Idea John Moser discusses the history of 20th Century bank failures in America with Dr. George Selgin... James Madison Program On May 26, 2023, Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions hosted a panel... Bill of Rights Institute How has Christianity advanced freedom and equality in American History? In this episode of Scholar Talks, BRI... Carl Cannon's Great American Stories It's Friday June 9, the day of the week I pass along a quotation intended to be enlightening or uplifting. ... It was on this date in 1968 that Robert F. Kennedy was declared dead, the victim of an assassin's bullets ... During one November night during World War II, when classical music occupied a more central place in American culture, the ... | 