[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 23, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H7613]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            AMERICANS ARE IGNORANT OF OUR NATIONAL HERITAGE

  (Mr. PAPPAS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAPPAS. Mr. Speaker, a recent poll showed that the majority of 
Americans do not even know the most basic facts about American history. 
Just listen to these revelations.
  Six out of ten respondents did not know that the Revolutionary War 
began in 1775. Sixty percent did not know that Thomas Paine wrote 
``Common Sense,'' the political manifesto that helped inspire the 
revolution. Eighty-nine percent did not know that James Madison wrote 
the Bill of Rights. Thirty-six percent could not identify George 
Washington as the subject of the phrase, ``First in war, first in 
peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.''
  In sum, the birth of this great Nation is a mystery to most of its 
citizens.
  What can explain this development where generations of children 
graduate from school lacking in basic knowledge about American history? 
Academic fads, the substitution of nonsense for facts, the denigration 
of Western ideals and American achievements, and an utter lack of 
standards that are actually enforced. Unless that changes, generations 
will continue to graduate ignorant of our national heritage.

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