[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 86 (Friday, June 30, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6260-S6261]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 129--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS 
   REGARDING THE IMPORTANCE AND VALUE OF EDUCATION IN UNITED STATES 
                                HISTORY

  Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. Gorton, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mr. 
Cleland, Mr. Byrd, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Bennett, and Mr. Grams) submitted 
the following concurrent resolution; which was considered and agreed 
to:

[[Page S6261]]

                            S. Con. Res. 129

       Whereas basic knowledge of United States history is 
     essential to full and informed participation in civic life 
     and to the larger vibrancy of the American experiment in 
     self-government;
       Whereas basic knowledge of the past serves as a civic glue, 
     binding together a diverse people into a single Nation with a 
     common purpose;
       Whereas citizens who lack knowledge of United States 
     history will also lack an understanding and appreciation of 
     the democratic principles that define and sustain the Nation 
     as a free people, such as liberty, justice, tolerance, 
     government by the consent of the governed, and equality under 
     the law;
       Whereas a recent Roper survey done for the American Council 
     of Trustees and Alumni reveals that the next generation of 
     American leaders and citizens is in danger of losing 
     America's civic memory;
       Whereas the Roper survey found that 81 percent of seniors 
     at elite colleges and universities could not answer basic 
     high school level questions concerning United States history, 
     that scarcely more than half knew general information about 
     American democracy and the Constitution, and that only 22 
     percent could identify the source of the most famous line of 
     the Gettysburg Address;
       Whereas many of the Nation's colleges and universities no 
     longer require United States history as a prerequisite to 
     graduation, including 100 percent of the top institutions of 
     higher education;
       Whereas 78 percent of the Nation's top colleges and 
     universities no longer require the study of any form of 
     history;
       Whereas America's colleges and universities are leading 
     bellwethers of national priorities and values, setting 
     standards for the whole of the United States' education 
     system and sending signals to students, teachers, parents, 
     and public schools about what every educated citizen in a 
     democracy must know;
       Whereas many of America's most distinguished historians and 
     intellectuals have expressed alarm about the growing 
     historical illiteracy of college and university graduates and 
     the consequences for the Nation; and
       Whereas the distinguished historians and intellectuals fear 
     that without a common civic memory and a common understanding 
     of the remarkable individuals, events, and ideals that have 
     shaped the Nation, people in the United States risk losing 
     much of what it means to be an American, as well as the 
     ability to fulfill the fundamental responsibilities of 
     citizens in a democracy: Now, therefore, be it
         Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the historical illiteracy of America's college and 
     university graduates is a serious problem that should be 
     addressed by the Nation's higher education community;
       (2) boards of trustees and administrators at institutions 
     of higher education in the United States should review their 
     curricula and add requirements in United States history;
       (3) State officials responsible for higher education should 
     review public college and university curricula in their 
     States and promote requirements in United States history;
       (4) parents should encourage their children to select 
     institutions of higher education with substantial history 
     requirements and students should take courses in United 
     States history whether required or not; and
       (5) history teachers and educators at all levels should 
     redouble their efforts to bolster the knowledge of United 
     States history among students of all ages and to restore the 
     vitality of America's civic memory.

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