Update on the Teaching of American History and Civics

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NHA-ANNOUNCE UPDATE, 22 APRIL 2003
by John Hammer and Jessica Jones of the National Humanities Alliance

- NEH We the People Initiative (Update)
- House Hearing on NEH FY-2004 Funding
- Senate Hearing on S. 504, a Bill Regarding American History and Civics
- White House Conference on the Teaching of History, Civics and Service (Rescheduled)
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NEH We the People Initiative (Update)

The issue of improving the teaching of history, civics and service continues to dominate policy interest in the humanities. After a series of reports delineating how little American students are thought to know about US history, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in its FY-2003 budget request launched an initiative called ‘We the People’ to address the issue. At that time, no special funding for the initiative was sought. President Bush raised We the People to a presidential concern in a Rose Garden ceremony last September. The FY-2004 request for NEH includes $25 million for We the People.

Under the original unfunded initiative, the NEH core programs may fund projects proposed to any NEH program which, if they meet the goals, are designated as We the People activities. The most recent round of NEH grants included several WTP-designated projects. Examples include:

* Grants to 40 public libraries in 29 states to support a traveling exhibition and related public program that reexamine President Abraham Lincoln’s efforts to abolish slavery during the civil war;
* A grant to the Bill of Rights Institute in Washington, DC to create a teacher’s guide, pilot workshop, interactive web site, and other teaching aids to improve student’s knowledge of the contributions of the Founding generation to American democracy;
* A grant to the Maine Humanities Council for an exemplary education project that will conduct seminars and develop interactive curricular resources for Maine teachers who will study the work of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and his influence on American identity;
* A grant to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, for compilation of the fifth volume of the Dictionary of American Regional English;
* A grant to the Illinois State Historical Library for planning statewide book discussions and exhibitions about the cultural and historical significance of the early portion of the Lewis and Clark Expedition;
* A grant to the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania for an exemplary education project to create print- and web-based curriculum materials for K-12 teachers relating to the Native American cultures of the eastern United States from the time of contact through the colonial period; and
* A grant to the South Valley Academy, Albuquerque, for a curriculum enrichment project on World War II and New Mexico’s contribution to the war effort.

NEH is moving toward a WTP initiative office with four or five staff. Bringing this fully into being will, of course, depend upon Congress appropriating the requested $25 million of which $2 million may be used for administration. When WTP becomes a funded project, the individual core programs of NEH will still be able to offer highly rated peer reviewed projects to the WTP office for possible funding.

House Hearing on NEH FY-2004 Funding

On March 13, NEH Chairman Bruce Cole presented the We the People initiative during a hearing on NEA/NEH funding held by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies. Subcommittee Chair Charles Taylor (R-NC) and other members of the committee seemed receptive to Mr. Cole’s plan. Ranking Minority Member Norm Dicks (D-WA) mentioned that there were other We the People programs in and out of the federal government, citing particularly a program at the Department of Education to improve the teaching of civics. The NEH leadership has stated that the other WTP programs would complement, not duplicate, NEH’s work. A complete copy of Chairman Cole’s testimony is available on the NEH website at http://www.neh.gov/whoweare/2004budgettestimony.html.

Senate Hearing on S. 504, a Bill Regarding American History and Civics

On April 10, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held a hearing on freshman Senator Lamar Alexander’s (R-TN) bill, S. 504 “To establish academics for teachers and students of American history and civics and a national alliance of teachers of American history and civics, and for other purposes”. The bill would authorize a $25 million appropriation for NEH to carry out the program. The bill has 19 or 20 cosponsors including Senators Reid (D-NV), Gregg (R-NH), Santorum (R-PA), Nickles (R-OK), Stevens (R-AK), Enzi (R-WY), Coleman (R-MN), Frist (R-TN), Dodd (D-CT), and Cornyn (R-TX). Senator Alexander, a freshman and newcomer to the committee, chaired the session. (Senator Alexander is not a newcomer to the scene, having served as Secretary of Education under the first Bush administration.)

A surprising element of the hearing was the appearance of Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) speaking in support of S. 504. Senator Byrd is the ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations and dean of the Senate Democrats. Mr. Byrd’s support both increases the likelihood that the measure would pass the Senate and, if so, greatly increases the likelihood of the measure receiving an appropriation. A counterpart bill (H.R. 1078) has been introduced in the House by Roger Wicker (R-MS).

White House Conference on the Teaching of History, Civics and Service (Rescheduled)

In September, when President Bush presented the We the People initiative he called for a White House Conference on the Teaching of History, Civics and Service. With NEH council member Amy Kass coordinating, a conference was planned for February 17 with the first American Heroes lecture to be delivered by Robert Remini (University of Illinois, Chicago Circle – emeritus) the following day at the White House (the conference was to be held at the Smithsonian Museum of American History). The huge snowstorm of February 14-17 caused postponement. The rescheduled conference and lecture have been telescoped into a single day, May 1.

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Last Update: 23 June, 2003 – 11:14 AM – EDT

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