[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 34 (Tuesday, March 4, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3038-S3046]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE AMERICAN HISTORY AND CIVICS EDUCATION ACT
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I rise today to address the
intersection of two urgent concerns that will determine our country's
future, and these are also the two topics I care about the most, the
education of our children and the principles that unite us as
Americans. It is time we put the teaching of American history and
civics back in its rightful place in our schools so our children can
grow up learning what it means to be an American. Especially during
such serious times when our values and ways of life are being attacked,
we need to understand just what those values are.
In this, most Americans would agree. For example, in Thanksgiving
remarks in 2001, President Bush praised our Nation's response to
September 11. ``I call it,'' he said, ``the American character.'' At
about the same time, speaking at Harvard, former Vice President Al Gore
said, ``We should fight for the values that bind us together as a
country.''
Both men were invoking a creed of ideas and values in which most
Americans believe. ``It has been our fate as a nation,'' the historian
Richard Hofstadter wrote, ``not to have ideologies but to be one.''
This value-based identity has inspired both patriotism and division at
home as well as emulation and hatred abroad. For terrorists, as well as
those who admire America, at issue is the United States itself--not
what we do but who we are.
Yet our children do not know what makes America exceptional. National
exams show that three-quarters of the Nation's 4th, 8th, and 12th
graders are not proficient in civics knowledge and one-third do not
even have basic knowledge, making them ``civic illiterates.''
Children are not learning about American history and civics because
they are not being taught them. American history has been watered down,
and civics is too often dropped from the curriculum entirely.
Until the 1960s, civics education, which teaches the duties of
citizenship, was a regular part of the high school curriculum. But
today's college graduates probably have less civic knowledge than high
school graduates of 50 years ago. Reforms, so-called, in the 1960s and
1970s, resulted in widespread elimination of required classes and
curriculum in civics education. Today, more than half the States have
no requirement for students to take a course--even for one semester--in
American government.
To help put the teaching of American history and civics in its
rightful place, today I introduce legislation on behalf of myself and
cosponsors, Senator Reid of Nevada, Senator Gregg, Senator Santorum,
Senator Inhofe, and Senator Nickles. We call it the American History
and Civics Education Act. The purpose of the act is to create
presidential academies for teachers of American history and civics, and
congressional academies for students of American history and civics.
These residential academies would operate for 2 weeks, in the case of
teachers, and 4 weeks in the case of students, during the summertime.
Their purpose would be to inspire better teaching and more learning of
the key events, the key persons, and the key ideas that shape the
institutions and democratic heritage of the United States.
I had some experience with such residential summer academies when I
was Governor of Tennessee. It was a good experience. In 1984, we began
creating governor's schools for students and for teachers. We had a
Governor's School for the Arts. We had a Governor's School for
International Studies at the University of Memphis, a Governor's School
for Teachers of Writing at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville,
which was very successful. Eventually there were eight governor's
schools in our State, and they helped thousands of Tennessee teachers
improve their skills and inspired outstanding students in the same way.
When those teachers and students went back to their own schools during
the regular school year, their enthusiasm for teaching and learning the
subject they had been a part of in the summer infected their peers and
improved education across the board. Dollar for dollar, I believe the
governor's schools in our State were the most effective popular
education initiatives in our State's history.
We weren't the only State to try it; many did. The first State
governor's school I heard about was in North Carolina, started by Terry
Sanford when he was Governor in 1963, and then other States have done
the same--Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
In 1973, Pennsylvania established the Governor's Schools of Excellence,
with 14 different programs of study. Mississippi has done the same.
Virginia's Governor's School is a summer residential program for 7,500
of the Commonwealth's most gifted students. Mississippi and West
Virginia also have similar programs. They are just a few of the more
than 100 governor's schools in 28 States. Clearly, the model has proved
to be a good one.
The legislation I propose today applies that successful model to
American history and civics by establishing
[[Page S3039]]
presidential and congressional academies for students and teachers of
those subjects.
The legislation would do one more thing. It would authorize the
creation of a national alliance of American history and civics teachers
to be connected by the Internet. The alliance would facilitate sharing
of best practices in the teaching of American history and civics. It is
modeled after an alliance I helped the National Geographic Society
start in the 1980s. Their purpose was to help put geography back into
the school curriculum.
This legislation creates a pilot program, up to 12 presidential
academies for teachers, 12 congressional academies for students,
sponsored by educational institutions. The National Endowment for the
Humanities would reward 2-year renewable grants to those institutions
after a peer review process. Each grant would be subject to rigorous
review after 3 years to determine whether the overall program should
continue or expand or be stopped. The legislation authorizes $25
million annually for the 4-year pilot program.
There is a broad new basis of support for and interest in American
history and civics in our country. As David Gordon noted in a recent
issue of the Harvard Education Letter:
A 1998 survey by the nonpartisan research organization
Public Agenda showed that 84 percent of parents with school
age children say they believe the United States is a special
country and they want our schools to convey that belief to
our children by teaching about its heroes and its traditions.
Similar numbers identified the American ideal as including
equal opportunity, individual freedom, and tolerance and
respect for others. Those findings were consistent across
racial and ethnic groups.
Our national leadership has responded to this renewed interest. In
2000, at the initiative of my distinguished colleague Senator Byrd,
Congress created grants for schools that teach American history as a
separate subject within the school curriculum. We appropriated $100
million for those grants in the recent omnibus appropriations bill, and
rightfully so. They encourage schools and teachers to focus on the
teaching of traditional American history and provide important
financial support.
Then, last September, with historian David McCullough at his side,
President Bush announced a new initiative to encourage the teaching of
American history and civics. He established the ``We The People''
program at the National Endowment for the Humanities, which will
develop curricula and sponsor lectures on American history and civics.
He announced the ``Our Documents'' project, run by the National
Archives. This will take 100 of America's most prominent and important
documents from the National Archives to classrooms everywhere in the
country. This year, the President will convene a White House forum on
American history, civics, and service. There we can discuss new
policies to improve the teaching and learning of those subjects.
This proposed legislation takes the next step by training teachers
and encouraging outstanding students. I am pleased today that one of
the leading Members of the House of Representatives, Roger Wicker of
Mississippi, along with a number of his colleagues, is introducing the
same legislation in the House of Representatives. I thank Senator
Gregg, the chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions, for being here and also for agreeing that the committee will
hold hearings on this legislation so we can determine how it might
supplement and work with the legislation enacted last year in this
Congress and the President's various initiatives.
In 1988, I was at a meeting of educators in Rochester when the
President of Notre Dame University asked this question: ``What is the
rationale for the public school?'' There was an unexpected silence
around the room until Al Shanker, the president of the American
Federation of Teachers, answered in this way: ``The public school was
created to teach immigrant children the three R's and what it means to
be an American with the hope that they would then go home and teach
their parents.''
From the founding of America, we have always understood how important
it is for citizens to understand the principles that unite us as a
country. Other countries are united by their ethnicity. If you move to
Japan, you can't become Japanese. Americans, on the other hand, are
united by a few principles in which we believe. To become an American
citizen, you subscribe to those principles. If there are no agreement
on those principles, Samuel Huntington has noted, we would be the
United Nations instead of the United States of America.
There has therefore been a continuous education process to remind
Americans just what those principles are. In his retirement at
Monticello, Thomas Jefferson would spend evenings explaining to
overnight guests what he had in mind when he helped create what we call
America. By the mid-19th century it was just assumed that most
Americans knew what it meant to be an American. In his letter from the
Alamo, Col. William Barrett Travis pleaded for help simply ``in the
name of liberty, patriotism and everything dear to the American
character.''
New waves of immigration in the late 19th century brought to our
country a record number of new people from other lands whose view of
what it means to be an American was indistinct--and Americans responded
by teaching them. In Wisconsin, for example, the Kohler Company housed
German immigrants together so that they might be Americanized during
non-working hours.
But the most important Americanizing institution, as Mr. Shanker
reminded us in Rochester in 1988, was the new common school. McGuffey's
Reader, which was used in many classrooms, sold more than 120 million
copies introducing a common culture of literature, patriotic speeches
and historical references.
The wars of the 20th century made Americans stop and think about what
we were defending. President Roosevelt made certain that those who
charged the beaches of Normandy knew they were defending for freedoms.
But after World War II, the emphasis on teaching and defining the
principles that unite us waned. Unpleasant experiences with McCarthyism
in the 1950's, discouragement after the Vietnam War, and history books
that left out or distorted the history of African-Americans made some
skittish about discussing ``Americanism.'' The end of the Cold War
removed a preoccupation with who we were not, making it less important
to consider who we are. The immigration law changes in 1965 brought to
our shores many new Americans and many cultural changes. As a result,
the American Way became much more often praised than defined.
Changes in community attitudes, as they always are, were reflected in
our schools. According to historian Diane Ravitch, the public school
virtually abandoned its role as the chief Americanizing institution. We
have gone, she explains, from one extreme--simplistic patriotism and
incomplete history--to the other--``public schools with an adversary
culture that emphasizes the Nation's warts and diminishes its genuine
accomplishments. There is no literary canon, no common reading, no
agreed-upon lists of books, poems and stories from which students and
parents might be taught a common culture and be reminded of what it
means to be an American.''
During this time many of our national leaders contributed to this
drift toward agnostic Americanism. These leaders celebrated
multiculturalism and bilingualism and diversity at a time when there
should have been more emphasis on a common culture and learning English
and unity.
America's variety and diversity is a great strength, but it is not
our greatest strength. Jerusalem is diverse. The Balkans are diverse.
America's greatest accomplishment is not its variety and diversity but
that we have found a way to take all that variety and diversity and
unite as one country. E pluribus unum: out of many, one. That is what
makes America truly exceptional.
Since 9/11 things have been different. The terrorists focused their
cross-hairs on the creed that unites Americans as one country--forcing
us to remind ourselves of those principles, to examine and define them,
and to celebrate them. The President has been the lead teacher.
President Bush has literally taken us back to school on what it means
to be an American. When he took the country to church on television
after the attacks he reminded us
[[Page S3040]]
that no country is more religious than we are. When he walked across
the street to the mosque he reminded the world that we separate church
and state and that there is freedom here to believe in whatever one
wants to believe. When he attacked and defeated the Taliban, he honored
life. When we put planes back in the air and opened financial markets
and began going to football games again we honored liberty. The
President called on us to make those magnificent images of courage and
charity and leadership and selflessness after 9/11 more permanent in
our every day lives. And with his optimism, he warded off doomsayers
who tried to diminish the real gift of Americans to civilization, our
cockeyed optimism that anything is possible.
Just after 9/11, I proposed an idea I called ``Pledge Plus Three.''
Why not start each school day with the Pledge of Allegiance--as we did
this morning here in the Senate--followed by a faculty member or
student sharing for three minutes ``what it means to be an American.''
The Pledge embodies many of the ideals of our National Creed: ``one
nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'' It
speaks to our unity, to our faith, to our value of freedom, and to our
belief in the fair treatment of all Americans. If more future Federal
judges took more classes in American history and civics and learned
about those values, we might have fewer mind-boggling decisions like
the one issued by the Ninth Circuit.
Before I was elected to the Senate, I taught some of our future
judges and legislators a course at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of
Government entitled ``The American Character and America's
Government.'' The purpose of the course was to help policymakrers,
civil servants and journalists analyze the American creed and character
and apply it in the solving of public policy problems. We tried to
figure out, if you will, what would be ``the American way'' to solve a
given problem, if such a thing were to exist.
The students and I did not have much trouble deciding that America is
truly exceptional--not always better, but truly exceptional--or in
identifying the major principles of an American creed or the distinct
characteristics of our country; such principles as: liberty, equal
opportunity, rule of law, laissez faire, individualism, e pluribus
unum, the separation of church and state.
But what we also found was that applying those principles to today's
issues was hard work. This was because the principles of the creed
often conflicted. For example, when discussing President Bush's faith-
based charity legislation, we knew that ``In God We Trust'' but we also
knew that we didn't trust government with God.
When considering whether the Federal Government should pay for
scholarships which middle and low income families might use at any
accredited school--public, private or religious--we found that the
principle of equal opportunity conflicted with the separation of church
and state.
And we found there are great disappointments when we try to live up
to our greatest dreams; For example, President Kennedy's pledge that we
will ``pay any price or bear any burden'' to defend freedom, or Thomas
Jefferson's assertion that ``all men are created equal,'' or the
American dream that for anyone who works hard, tomorrow will always be
better than today.
We often are disappointed when we try to live to those truths.
We learned that, as Samuel Huntington has written, balancing these
conflicts and disappointments is what most of American politics and
government is about.
If, most of our politics and government is about applying to our most
urgent problems the principles and characteristics that make the United
States of America an exceptional country, then we had better get about
the teaching and learning of those principles and characteristics.
The legislation I propose today, with several cosponsors, will help
our schools do what they were established to do in the first place. At
a time when there are record numbers of new Americans, at a time when
our values are under attack, at a time when we are considering going to
war to defend those values, there can be no more urgent task than
putting the teaching of American history and civics back in its
rightful place in our schools so our children can grow up learning what
it means to be an American.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record
several items: A syllabus from the course that I taught, an article
from the National Association of Scholars, and memoranda outlining the
various Governors' schools in our State and other States.
I also highly commend to my colleagues a report from the Carnegie
Corporation and CIRCLE titled ``The Civic Mission of Schools.''
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the National Association of Scholars]
Today's College Students Barely More Knowledgeable Than High School
Students of 50 Years Ago, Poll Shows
Princeton, NJ, Dec. 18, 2002.--Contemporary college seniors
scored on average little or no higher than the high-school
graduates of a half-century ago on a battery of 15 questions
assessing general cultural knowledge. The questions, drawn
from a survey originally done by the Gallup Organization in
1955, covered literature, music, science, geography, and
history. They were asked again of a random sample of American
college and university students by Zogby International in
April 2002. The Zogby survey was commissioned by the National
Association of Scholars.
There were variations in the pattern of responses. The
contemporary sample of seniors did better than the 1950s high
school graduates on four questions relating to music,
literature, and science, about the same on seven questions
pertaining to geography, and worse on four questions about
history.
The answers given by today's seniors were also compared to
those provided to the Gallup questions by college graduates
in 1955. Although the relatively small number of college
graduates in the latter sample limits the degree of
confidence one can have in the comparisons, the consistency
and size of the knowledge superiority displayed by the 1950s
college graduates strongly suggests that it is real.
The overall average of correct responses for the entire
general knowledge survey was 53.5% for today's college
seniors, 54.5% for the 1955 high school graduates, and 77.3%
for the 1955 college graduates.
(Removing three questions about which, for reasons
indicated in the full report, the earlier respondents may
have had more ``extracurricular'' sources of knowledge, the
figures become 50.3% for the 2002 seniors, 46.4% for the 1955
high school graduates, and 67.8% for the 1955 college
graduates.)
In addition, the 2002 college seniors were asked two
questions dealing with the reading and musical interests that
were asked of national samples of the American population in
1946 and 1957. With respect to interest in high literate and
musical culture, the answers fail to show impressive or
consistent differences between the two groups.
On a question inquiring whether or not they had a favorite
author, 56% of 2002 college seniors, as opposed to 32% of the
general population in 1946--the great majority of whom had
only an elementary or secondary school education--answered
affirmatively. For both groups, however, most of the authors
specifically mentioned were writers of popular fiction. When
only responses naming ``high-brow'' and canonical writers
were tabulated, the differences between the two groups
shrank considerably: 17% of the national sample falling
into a ``high-brow'' classification in 1946, as opposed to
24% of the 2002 college senior sample. Not a particularly
large difference given the college senior's great
advantage in formal education.
Asked whether or not they would like to collect a fairly
complete library of classical music on LPs or CDs, the 1957
sample of owners 33 rpm-capable phonographs (37% of a
national survey sample) provided a more affirmative response
than did the 2002 college seniors, 39% of the former, and
only 30% of the latter, responding ``Yes''.
On the other hand, the contemporary college seniors were
more likely (69%) to have studied a musical instrument than
were the members of the population as a whole (44%) in 1957.
The type of instrument studied also differed, the 1957
national sample more heavily favoring the violin and piano
than did the 2002 college seniors.
``The results,'' said NAS president Stephen H. Balch,
``though somewhat mixed and based on a limited number of
questions, are hardly reassuring. America has poured enormous
amounts of tax dollars into expanding access to higher
learning. Students spend, and pay for, many more years in the
classroom than was formerly the case. Our evidence suggests
that this time and treasure may not have substantially raised
student cultural knowledge above the high school levels of a
half-century ago.''
``Worst yet,'' he continued, ``the high cultural interest
and aspirations of today's college seniors are neither
consistently nor substantially more elevated than
yesteryear's secondary school graduates. Creating such
interests and aspirations has traditionally been considered a
core element of the collegiate experience. If the last fifty
years have in fact witnessed few gains in this respect, it
represents a real disappointment of once widespread hopes.''
[[Page S3041]]
____
Governor's Schools Appendix
Virginia Governor's Schools for Humanities and Visual &
Performing Arts:
Established in 1973;
Takes place in more than 40 sites throughout Virginia;
``The Governor's Schools presently include summer
residential, summer regional, and academic-year programs
serving more than 7,500 gifted students from all parts of the
commonwealth'';
Funded by way of the Virginia Board of Education and the
General Assembly (no specific figures readily available).
Pennsylvania Governor's Schools of Excellence:
Established in 1973;
Program is broken up into 8 schools (Agricultural Sciences-
Penn State University, Global Entrepreneurship-Lehigh
University, Health Care-University of Pittsburgh, Information
Technology-Drexel University/Penn State University,
International Studies-University of Pittsburgh, Teaching-
Millersville University, the Arts-Mercyhurst College, the
Sciences-Carnegie Mellon University);
Funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Mississippi Governor's School:
Established in 1981;
Program is hosted by the Mississippi University for Women;
Major academic courses change yearly, however, all courses
are designed to provide ``academic, creative leadership
experiences.''
West Virginia Governor's School for the Arts:
``Brings 80 of West Virginia's most talented high school
actors, dancers, musicians, singers and visual artists to the
West Liberty State College campus for a three-week
residential program.''
Arkansas Governor's School:
Established in 1980;
Program is hosted by Hendrix College and attended by
approximately 400 students yearly;
Areas of focus include ``art, music, literature, film,
dance, and thought in the sciences, social sciences, and
humanities'';
This 6-week program is funded by the Arkansas General
Assembly.
Governor's schools for Montana, Massachusetts, and
Connecticut not found.
Alabama Governor's School:
Established in 1987;
Program is hosted by Samford University;
Academic courses stress fieldwork and problem-solving; the
arts, humanities and sciences are also explored;
Major and minor areas of study include, ``The Legal
Process, American Healthcare, and Urban Geography.''
Delaware Governor's School for Excellence:
One-week summer program;
Open to academically and artistically talented sophomores
from Delaware high schools;
Students attend either the academic program or the visual
and performing arts program.
Kentucky Governor's Scholars Program:
Established in 1983;
Held on the campuses (2003) of Centre College in Danville,
Eastern Kentucky; University in Richmond, and Northern
Kentucky University in Highland Heights;
Five-week long summer program;
Students may choose from over 20 subjects, including;
engineering and cultural anthropology;
Students selected attend the program free of cost.
Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts:
Provides hands-on instruction for Kentucky's dancers,
actors, and musicians;
No charge to students because it is paid for by the State;
Open to sophomores and juniors in high school.
Missouri Scholars Academy:
Three-week academic program for Missouri's gifted students;
330 students attend each year;
Held on the campus of University of Missouri-Columbia;
Administered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education, in cooperation with University of Missouri
officials;
Funds to support the Academy are appropriated by the
Missouri Legislature following state Board of Education
recommendations;
Academy focuses on liberal arts and numerous extra-
curricular activities.
____
A Glance at Tennessee Governor's Schools
Governor's Schools
Background
The Governor's School concept and practice began in North
Carolina in 1963 when Governor Terry Sanford established the
first one at Salem College, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The first school was initially funded through a grant from
the Carnegie Corporation. Later it came under the auspices of
the North Carolina Board of Education of the North Carolina
Department of Education.
Upon the establishment of the first school, several states,
including Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, and
Tennessee established similar schools. As of 1996, there were
approximately 100 schools in 28 states.
Tennessee Governor's Schools
Background
The 1984 Extraordinary Session of the Tennessee General
Assembly mandated the Governor's School program as a way of
meeting the needs of Tennessee's top students. For many years
this program has been included in the Appropriation Bill of
the General Assembly.
The Governor's Schools started with 3 schools (100 students
each) in 1985:
1. Humanities at U.T. Martin increased to 150 (2000 = 123;
2001 = 113).
2. Sciences at U.T. increased to 150 (2000 = 119; 2002 =
107).
3. Arts at M.T.S.U. increased to 300 (2000 = 226; 2001 =
226).
Added in 1986 International Studies at U. of Memphis
originally served 150 (2000 = 115; 2001 = 106).
Added in 1987 Tennessee Heritage at E.T.S.U. originally
served 80 (2000 = 57; 2001 = 51).
Added in 1991 Prospective Teachers at U.T. Chattanooga
originally served 30 (2000 = 25; 2001 = 22).
Added in 1996 Manufacturing at U.T. originally served 30
(2000 = 26; 2001 = 21).
Added in 1998 Hospitality and Tourism at TSU originally
served 60 (2000 = 60; 2001 = 0).
Added in 1999 Health Sciences at Vanderbilt originally
served 25 (2000 = 20; 2001 = 0).
Discontinued in 2001 Hospitality and Tourism (per
legislature).
Discontinued in 2001 Health Sciences (per legislature).
Added (but not held) in 2002 Information Technology
Leadership at T.T.U. originally served 30.
Suspended for 2002 All Governor's School Programs.
During the 2001 Governor's Schools session 646 students
attended.
2001 total amount allotted to the Governor's Schools:
$1,411,000.00 (1999 = $1,981.08 per student; 2000 = $2,037.61
per student; 2001 = $2,180.83 per student)
Governor's Schools today
Today, there are 8 Governor's Schools across the state,
serving several hundred students and teachers each year.
Although funding for the schools was cut last year during a
budget crisis, support has been restored this year.
As stated earlier, there are currently 8 Governor's Schools
across the state. Each school is held on a college campus
during the summer months. Listed below is a table of all of
the schools, including subject area that is taught, the
location, and the dates for the 2003 session.
The School for the Arts--June 15-July 12, 2003-held on the
Middle Tennessee State University campus in Murfreesboro, and
located only 30 miles from Nashville and the Tennessee
Performing Arts Center.
The School for the Sciences--June 15-July 12, 2003-held on
the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, near
the Oak Ridge National Laboratories, Tremont Environmental
Center, and in the heart of TVA.
The School for the Humanities--June 15-July 12, 2003-held
on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Martin, in
the center of Shiloh Battleground and the sociological
cultures of the Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers.
The School for International Studies--June 15-July 12,
2003-held on the campus of The University of Memphis, in the
heart of Tennessee's growing international corporate center,
home to Federal Express, Holiday Inns, and Schering-Plough.
The School for Tennessee Heritage--June 15-July 12, 2003--
held on the campus of East Tennessee State University-in
Johnson City-surrounded by the area where Tennessee's history
began and only a few miles from Jonesborough, the state's
oldest existing city.
The School for Prospective Teachers--June 15-July 12,
2003--held on the campus of the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga--with access to many schools throughout the area.
The School for Manufacturing--June 15-July 12, 2003--held
on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville--
focuses on the importance of manufacturing as an integral
part of the culture and economy of Tennessee.
President's School for Information Technology and
Leadership--June 15-July 12, 2003--this self-funded school
will be held on the campus of Tennessee Technological
University in Cookeville. It focuses on developing a complete
business plan for an information technology-based business
and enhancing student's knowledge of information technology
and business leadership.
The Tennessee Governor's Schools offer selected gifted and
talented high school students intensive learning experiences
in the Humanities, Math and Science, Arts, International
Studies, Tennessee Heritage, Prospective Teaching,
Manufacturing and Information Technology Leadership.
Admission to the various programs are highly competitive, as
1,250 applications have been received thus far for the 2003
year for The School for the Arts, and only 300 spots are
available. Additionally, The School for the Sciences has
received 800 applications thus far, for 125 spots.
Students in the 10th and 11th grades who are interested in
participating in the programs receive information from their
school's guidance counselor and then proceed with the
application process.
Students selected to attend these highly competitive
schools are provided housing and meals for the duration of
the program, which is about a month long. Students
participate in a variety of courses that are offered. For
example, there were 14 academic
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courses offered to the 115 scholars at the Governor's School
for the Humanities in 2001. All of the scholars were enrolled
in courses at 9 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. This particular
curriculum was designed to expose the scholars to a rich
selection of humanities courses including literature,
philosophy, religion, ethics, poetry, history and media
studies. In addition to the required morning classes, the
scholars were given the opportunity to participate in
afternoon electives, such as the yearbook staff and the
student newspaper. In the evening hours at the Governors
School for the Humanities, students were offered a broad-
range of humanities-related speakers and activities.
Governor's Schools make a difference
The scholars' satisfaction with the 2001 Governor's School
for the Humanities program is reflected in the overall rating
of the program, with 94% of the scholars rating the program
as either ``excellent'' or ``very good.''
This satisfaction is also evident from the feedback the
students were asked to write upon completion of the 2001
Governor's School for the Humanities program. Some examples
of the feedback from the program are as follows:
``I had the fortunate chance of coming here, and I am glad
I came. The cool thing about the people here is that I got
along with everyone, and I especially got along very well
with my roommate. My favorite class was Lord Chamberlain's
Men. I better developed my acting skills and overall
understanding of what goes on in a play production. This
campus is so beautiful. The people, activities, and
atmosphere are unbelievable. I have had the time of my life
here, and I would especially come to this campus again for a
future GS, but I doubt that is possible. I love the freedom I
get from being here. The classes were challenging for me and
I believe I am prepared for my classroom experience now.
There are some very strange people that came here who I
wouldn't even think would be accepted to Governor's School. I
have learned to accept all different types of people and
their views and lifestyles since coming to GS. I love the
fact that Tennessee is rewarding me and everyone here that is
smart with the opportunity to become a better person. This
experience was wonderful. I speak for a lot of people when I
say that I don't want to leave!''
``I honestly would have to say that Governor's School has
been one of the best experiences I have ever had. By coming
here, I have met so many people from different backgrounds,
and I learned to grow as a person. I learned so much in and
out of class, both from the staff and students. I really
enjoyed all the activities because I had fun and because I
was able to be myself. The atmosphere was so receptive and
nurturing, and the teachers showed that they wanted us to
learn and grow. I feel that the variety of electives offered
allowed each person to pick what he/she was interested in and
enabled each person to show their talents and abilities. The
time in which I was here flew by, but so many wonderful
things happened. It sounds funny, but every time I would
write or call home, I couldn't help but smile as I told my
parents about the fun I was having. This may or may not seem
relevant to the Governor's School experience, but it helped
me to see that I can go off to college in a year and I will
be fine. Overall, I feel that this was a positive growing
experience, and I can't wait to take back home all that I
have learned. Thank you all so much!''
Other Governor's Schools around the country
The Arkansas Governor's School is a 6-week summer
residential program for gifted students who are upcoming high
school seniors and residents of Arkansas. State funds provide
tuition, room, board, and instructional materials for each
student who attends the six-week program on the site of a
residential college campus, leased by the State. The Arkansas
Governor's School is a non-credit program. Students are
selected on the basis of their special aptitudes in one of
eight fields: choral music, drama, English/language arts,
instrumental music, mathematics, natural science, social
science, or visual arts.
The Virginia Governor's School Program provides some of the
state's most able students academically and artistically
challenging programs beyond those offered in their home
schools. With the support of the Virginia Board of Education
and the General Assembly, the Governor's Schools presently
include summer residential, summer regional, and academic-
year programs serving more than 7,500 gifted students from
all parts of the commonwealth. There are three types of
Governor's Schools that provide appropriate learning
endeavors for gifted students throughout the commonwealth:
Academic-Year Governor's Schools, Summer Residential
Governor's Schools, and the Summer Regional Governor's
Schools. The Virginia Department of Education and the
participating school divisions fund the Governor's School
Program.
The Georgia Governor's Honors Program is a six-week summer
instructional program designed to provide intellectually
gifted and artistically talented high school juniors and
seniors challenging and enriching educational opportunities.
Activities are designed to provide each participant with
opportunities to acquire the skills, knowledge, and attitudes
to become life-long learners. The program is held on the
campus of Valdosta State University, in Valdosta, Georgia.
The GHP teacher-to-student ratio is usually 1:15.
The American Character and America's Government: Using the American
Creed To Make Decisions
(Professor Lamar Alexander, John F. Kennedy School of Government,
Harvard University, Spring 2002)
Objective of the Course
To help future decision-makers use the principles of the
American Creed to solve difficult, contemporary public policy
problems. Students will first explore America's
``exceptionalism'': how an idea-based national ideology makes
the United States different from other countries--including
other Western democracies. Then, each session will analyze
one value of the ``American Creed''--and how it conflicts
with other values and/or creates unrealized expectations--in
the solving of a specific problem. Students will simulate
realistic policy-making situations and produce professional
products as assignments: concise memos, outlines and
briefings.
Rationale for the Course
In Thanksgiving remarks President Bush praised the nation's
response to September 11. ``I call it,'' he said, ``the
American Character''. At KSG Al Gore said, ``We should
[fight] for the values that bind us together as a country''.
Both men were invoking a creed of ideas and values in which
most Americans believe. ``It has been our fate as a nation,''
Richard Hofstader wrote, ``not to have ideologies but to be
one.'' This value-based national identity has inspired both
patriotism and division at home, both emulation and hatred
abroad. For terrorists as well as for those who admire
America, at issue is the United States itself--not what we
do, but who we are.
Yet Americans who unite on principle divide and suffer
disappointment when using their creed to solve policy
problems. This is because the values of the creed conflict
(e.g., liberty vs. equality, individualism vs. community) and
because American dreams are loftier than American reality
(e.g., ``all men are created equal'', ``tomorrow will be
better than today''). Samuel Huntington has said that
balancing these conflicts and disappointments is what most of
American politics and government is about. That is also what
this course is about.
Audience
The Course is designed for future policy makers, civil
servants, and journalists. A general knowledge of American
politics is helpful but not required. It should be useful for
both U.S. and international students seeking to learn more
about the American system of government and how it differs
from that of other countries.
Instructor
Lamar Alexander, The Roy M. and Barbara Goodman Family
Visiting Professor of Practice in Public Service, has been
Governor of Tennessee, President of the University of
Tennessee, and U.S. Education Secretary. He co-founded Bright
Horizons Family Solutions, Inc., now the nation's largest
provider of worksite day care. His seven books include Six
Months Off, the story of his family's trip to Australia after
eight years in the Governor's residence. In 1996 and 2000 he
was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President
of the United States. For more see www.lamaralexander.com.
Office: Littauer 101; Telephone: (617) 384-7354; E-mail:
[email protected].
Office Hours
Office hours will generally be on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
A sign up sheet will be posted outside Professor Alexander's
door. Appointments may also be made by e-mailing
[email protected]
Course Assistant
Matt Sonnesyn will be course assistant for PAL 223 and may
be reached by email at [email protected].
Expectations
This is a graduate level professional course and will have
the corresponding standards and assignments: attendance at
all scheduled classes, assignments completed on time, and
evaluation according to students' preparation of professional
products--crisp and realistic decision memos, memo outlines,
and policy briefings. All briefings are conducted in class
and all decision memos and weekly outlines are due at the
beginning of the corresponding class session. There is no
final exam, but there will be a final paper.
Grading
Briefings (2): team exercise 20 percent. Two times during
the course each student will participate in a team briefing
on that week's subject.
Memos (2): team exercise 20 percent. Two other times during
the course each student will participate in a team preparing
a three-page decision memo on that week's subject . The
student may select these from among the class topics.
Weekly Outlines (6): 20 percent. Six other times during the
course each student will prepare a one-page analysis of the
week's problem. (This will be during those weeks when the
student is not involved in preparing a team briefing or team
memo.) As a result, for ten of the twelve class sessions,
each student will have an assignment (other than reading)
that requires preparation outside of class--either a team
briefing, a team memo, or an individual weekly memo
outline.
Class participation and attendance: 15 percent.
[[Page S3043]]
Final Paper: 25 percent.
Final grades will be determined by students' overall
position in the class as measured by performance on each of
the assignments and will conform to the Kennedy School of
Government's recommended range of grading distribution.
materials
The course relies primarily on course packets to be made
available for sale at the Course Materials Office. There will
be 125-150 pages of reading each week. There are three
required textbooks:
(1) Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, translated
and edited by Harvey C. Mansfield and Delba Winthrop, The
University of Chicago Press, 2000.
(2) Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism, W.W.
Norton & Co., 1997 (paperback).
(3) Samuel P. Huntington, ``American Politics: The Promise
of Disharmony'', The Belknap Press of Harvard University,
1981.
All three books are available for purchase at the Harvard
Coop. Copies of all three books are on reserve in the KSG
library.
Note: Readings from the three required textbooks or
readings which are readily available online are not included
in the course packet. (Hypertext links to the online readings
may be found within the syllabus that is posted on the KSG
website.)
enrollment
The course has a limited enrollment. Auditors are permitted
with permission of the instructor.
course outline and required readings
2/5: My ``ism'' is Americanism--American Exceptionalism.
One hundred and one ways Americans are different. So what?
Alexis de Toqueville, Democracy in America, edited by
Harvey C. Mansfield and Delba Winthrop, University of Chicago
Press, Chicago, 2000, pp. 3-15, 90, 585-587, 225-226.
G.K. Chesterson, What I Saw in America, Dodd, Mead & Co.,
1922, pp. 6-12.
Daniel J. Boorstin, ``Why a Theory Seems Needless'', The
Genius of American Politics, 1953, The University of Chicago
Press, p. 8-35.
Samuel P. Huntington, ``The American Creed and National
Identity,'' American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony,
1981, pp. 13-30.
Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples, 1991, The
Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp. 46-
58.
Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations, Simon and
Schuster, 1996, pp. 40-55, 68-78, 301-308.
Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism, pp. 17-34.
2/12: ``. . . where at least I know I'm free . . .''--
Liberty. Should Congress repeal President Bush's executive
order allowing non-citizens suspected of international
terrorism to be detained and tried in special military
tribunals?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid., pp. 239-242, 246-249, 301,
639-640.
U.S. Constitution and amendments, 1787. http://
memory.loc.gov/const/constquery.html.
John Stuart Mill, ``The Authority of Society and the
Individual'', On Liberty, 1859, Hackett Publishing Co.
edition, 1978, pp. 73-91.
Carl Brent Swisher, American Constitutional Development,
Greenwood Press, Connecticut, 1954, pp. 276-292, 1017-1025.
Samuel P. Huntington, ``The American Creed vs. Political
Authority,'' American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony,
1981, pp. 31-60.
Richard E. Neustadt and Ernest R. May, Thinking in Time,
The Free Press, pp. 232-246, 1988.
An Executive Order of President George W. Bush,
``Detention, Treatment and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in
the War against Terrorism'', November 13, 2001.
Jeffrey Rosen, ``Testing the Resilience of American
Values'', The New York Times Week in Review, Sunday, Nov. 18,
2001, pp. 1 and 4.
Laurence H. Tribe, Statement before U.S. Senate Judiciary
Committee, December 4, 2001.
``American Attitudes Toward Civil Liberties'', public
Opinion survey, by Kasier Foundation, National Public Radio
and Kennedy School of Government, December 2001. http://
www.npr.org/news/specials/civillibertiespoll/
011130.poll.html.
2/19: In God We Trust . . . but we don't trust government
with God--Christianity, pluralism and the state. Should
Congress enact President Bush's faith-based charity
legislation?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid., pp. 278-288.
John Locke, ``A Letter Concerning Toleration'', Diane
Ravitch and Abigail Thernstrom, The Democracy Reader, NY:
HarperCollins, 1992., ibid., pp. 31-37.
Thomas Jefferson, ``Notes on the State of Virginia'',
Ravitch and Thernstrom, ibid., pp. 108-109.
James Madison, ``Memorial and Remonstrance against
Religious Assessments'', 1785, The Writings of James Madison,
NY: Putnam, 1908.
``Separation of Church and State in American Bought about
by the Scotch-Irish of Virginia'', Charles. A. Hanna, The
Scotch Irish, Vol. II, 1985, Genealogical Publishing Co.,
Baltimore, pp. 157-162.
Philip Schaff, America: A Sketch of its Political, Social
and Religious Character, 1961, The Belknap Press of Harvard
University, pp. 72-83.
Engel vs. Vitale, 370. U.S. 421 (1962).
Marvin Olasky, ``The Early American Model of Compassion'',
The Tragedy of American Compassion, Regnery Publishing,
Washington, D.C., 1992, pp. 6-23.
Lamar Alexander, ``Homeless, not hopeless'', We Know What
to Do, William Morrow, New York, 1995, pp. 35-51.
Two Executive Orders of President George W. Bush,
``Establishment of White House Office of Faith-Based and
Community Initiatives'' and ``Agency Responsibilities with
respect to Faith-based Community Initiatives''. January 29,
2001.
2/26: ``Leave no child behind''--Equal Opportunity. Should
the federal government pay for scholarships that middle and
low-income families may use at any accredited school--
public, private or religious?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid, pp. 41-42.
Horace Mann, ``Report of the Massachusetts Board of
Education, 1848'' in Daniel J. Boorstin, An American Primer,
Meridian, 1995, pp. 361-375.
Charles Leslie Glenn, Jr. The Myth of the Common School,
The University of Massachusetts Press, 1988, pp. 146-158.
Lamar Alexander, ``The GI Bill for Kids'', The John
Ashbrook Lecture, presented at Ashland (O.) University, 9/12/
92. http://www.lamaralexander.com/articles.htm.
Thomas J. Kane, ``Lessons from the Largest School Voucher
Program'', Who Chooses? Who Loses?, edited by Bruce Fuller
and Richard F. Elmore, Teachers College Press, 1996, pp. 173-
183.
Michael W. McConnell, ``Legal and Constitutional Issues of
Vouchers'', Vouchers and the Provision of Public Schools, The
Brookings Institution, 2000, pp. 368-391.
Eliot M. Mincberg and Judith E. Schaeffer, ``Grades K-12:
The Legal Problems with Public Funding of Religious
Schools'', Vouchers and the Provision of Public Schools, pp.
394-403.
Diane Ravitch, ``American Traditions of Education'', Terry
M. Moe, A Primer on America's Schools, Hoover Institution
Press, 2001, pp. 1-14.
Paul Peterson, ``Choice in American Education'', A Primer
on America's Schools, pp. 249-283.
Diane Ravitch, ``Ex Uno Plures'', Education Next, Fall
2001, pp. 27-29
3/5: Equal at the starting line . . . but what about those
with shackles?--Individualism. Should the federal government
pay for race-based college scholarships?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid., pp. 326-334, 347-348; 482-488.
The Declaration of Independence, 1776. http://
memory.loc.gov/const/declar.html.
Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (1865). http://
www.bartleby.com/124/pres32.html
Frederick Douglass, ``What to the Slave is the Fourth of
July?'' http://douglass.speech.nwu.edu/doug__a10.htm.
Martin Luther King, Jr., address at the Lincoln Memorial in
Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963. http://
douglass.speech.nwu.edu/king__b12.htm
Excerpts from University of California Regents v. Bakke,
438 U.S. 265 (1978).
Testimony of Lamar Alexander, U.S. Education Secretary,
Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee on
Appropriations, House of Representatives, 102nd Congress, 2nd
session, Feb. 20, 1992, pp. 39-46, 82-89, 99-102.
Seymour Martin Lipset, ``Two Americas'', American
Exceptionalism, pp. 113-150.
Abigail Thernstrom and Stephen Thernstrom, America in Black
and White, New York, Simon & Schuster, 1997. pp. 530-545.
Cornel West, ``Malcolm X and Black Rage'', Race Matters,
Random House, Vintage Books, New York, 2001, pp. 135-151.
3/12: A nation of immigrants . . . but all Americans--E
Pluribus Unum. Should illegal aliens have Illinois driver's
licenses? discounted tuition at state colleges? free medical
care? should their children attend public schools?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid., pp. 29-30. 32. 34-37, 268.
J. Hector St. John de Crevecouer, ``What is an American'',
Letters from an American Farmer, 1782, Penguin Books edition
1986, pp. 67-90.
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., The Disuniting of America, W.W.
Norton, New York, 1991, pp. 9-43.
Carlos E. Cortes, ``Limits to pluribus, limits to unum'',
National Forum, Baton Rouge, Winter, 1992. pp. 6-10.
Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations, Simon and
Schuster, 1996, pp. 198-206.
J. Harvie Wilkinson, ``The Medley of America'', One Nation
Indivisible, Addison Wesley, 1997, pp. 3-21.
Griffin Bell, ``The Changing Role of Migrants in the United
States'', Address to the International Leadership Issues
Conference of State Legislative Leaders Foundation, Budapest,
October 4, 2001.
David Cohen, Chasing the Red, White and Blue, New York,
2001. St. Martin's Press, pp. 218-236, 250-260.
Morris P. Fiorina and Paul E. Peterson, The New American
Democracy, Longman, 2002, pp. 99-108.
3/19: Suspending the constitution in order to save it--Rule
of Law. Should the governor-elect seize office three days
early to prevent the incumbent governor from selling pardons
for cash?
[[Page S3044]]
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid., pp. 229-231.
US Constitution, 25th Amendment. http://memory.loc.gov/
const/constquery.html.
Tennessee Constitution Article 3, Section 12. http://
www.state.tn.us/sos/bluebook/online/section6/tnconst.pdf (p.
12).
Tennessee Acts Section 8-1-107.
Lon Fuller, ``The Morality that Makes Law Possible'', The
Morality of Law. Yale Law School Press, 1964. pp. 33-44.
John D. Feerick, The Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Its Complete
History and Earliest Applications. Fordham University Press,
1976. pp. 3-23, 193-206.
Bush v. Gore, 2000. http://www.supremecourtus.gov/
florida.html.
Al Gore, address to the nation, December 13, 2000. http://
www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/transcripts/121300/t651213.html.
Paul F. Boller, Jr., ``Picking the Day'', Presidential
Inaugurations, Harcourt, Inc., 2001, pp. 23-31.
James W. Torke, ``What Is This Thing Called the Rule of
Law?'' Indiana Law Review. Volume 34, 2001. pp. 1445-56.
Dotty Lynch, ``Back to Abnormal'', Sept. 28, 2001, from CBS
News Site. http://www.cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,312915-
412,00.shtml.
Tim McGirk, ``Wahid's In, Megawati's Out'', Dec, 8, 2001,
from Time Asia. http://www.time.com/time/asia/news/interview/
0,9754,168569,00.html.
Gordon Silverstein, ``Globalization and the Rule of Law'',
mimeo, The University of Minnesota, 2001.
3/26: Harvard break.
4/2: ``Ask not what your country can do for you . . .''--
Community. Should all high school graduates perform one
mandatory year of community service?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid., pp. 56-58, 577-78, 489-92.
Robert N. Bellah, et al, Habits of the Heart, University of
California Press, 1985, pp. vii-xxxv, 275-296.
Daniel Boorstin, ``From Charity to Philanthropy'', Hidden
History, Vintage, New York, 1989, pp. 193-209.
Barry Alan Shain, The Myth of American Individualism,
Princeton University Press, 1994, pp. xiii-xix.
Lamar Alexander, ``What's Wrong With American Giving and
How to Fix It,'' Philanthropy, Summer 1997. http://
www.lamaralexander.com/articles__03.htm.
Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone, Simon & Schuster, 2000,
pp. 15-28, 48-64, 116-133, 402-414.
4/9: Why Americans don't trust Washington, D.C.--A
government of, by and for the people. Should the U.S. create
a citizen congress: cut their pay and send them home six
months a year, adopt term limits and two-year federal
budgets?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid. pp. 53-55.
Aristotle, ``Politics'', from Ravitch and Thernstrom, pp.
9-12.
Edmund Burke, ``On Election to Parliament'', Ravitch and
Thernstrom, ibid. pp. 50-51.
Samuel P. Huntington, ``The American Creed and National
Identity,'' American Politics: the Promise of Disharmony,
1981, pp. 36-41.
E.J. Dionne, ``The Politics of the Restive Majority'', Why
Americans Hate Politics, Touchstone, New York, 1991, pp. 329-
355.
Lamar Alexander, ``Cut Their Pay and Send Them Home,''
1994, address to The Heritage Foundation.
Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism, pp. 35-46.
Joseph S. Nye, et al, Why People Don't Trust Government,
Harvard University Press, 1997, pp. 253-281.
Mark Kim, David King, Richard Zechhauser, ``Why State
Governments Succeed'', mimeo, John F. Kennedy School of
Government, Harvard University, 2001.
4/16: ``Work! For the night is coming . . .''--Laissez
Faire. Should the federal government pay all working
Americans ``a living wage''?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid. pp. 506-08, 555-557, 606-608.
Herbert Croly, The Promise of American Life, 1909,
Northeastern University Press, pp. 1-26.
Kevin Phillips, ``The Triumph of Upper America'', The
Politics of Rich and Poor, Harper, 1991, pp. xvii-xxiii.
C. Vann Woodward, ``The Pursuit of Happiness'', The Old
World's New World, Oxford University Press, 1991, pp. 40-62.
Seymour Martin Lipset, ``Economy, Religion and Welfare'',
American Exceptionalism, pp. 53-76.
David Neumark and William Washer, ``Using the EITC to Help
Poor Families: New Evidence and a Comparison with the Minimum
Wage'', NBER Working Paper #7599 March 2000, pp. 1-4, 24-27.
http://papers.nber.org/papers/W7599.
Charles Handy, ``DeToqueville Revisited: The Meaning of
American Prosperity'', Harvard Business Journal, January
2001, pp. 5-11.
David Neumark, ``Living Wages: Protection For or Protection
From Low-Wage Workers'', NBER Working Paper #8393, July 2001,
pp. 1-7, 25-27. http://papers.nber.org/papers/W8393.
David Cohen, Chasing the Red, White and Blue, New York,
2001. St. Martin's Press, pp. 52-80.
Harvard Living Wage Statements. http://
www.hcecp.harvard.edu/report.htm and http://
www.hcs.harvard.edu/pslm/livingwage/portal.html.
4/23: ``Pay any price, bear any burden . . .''--Exporting
American Values. Putin shuts down last remaining independent
Russian TV station (owned 25% by Ted Turner), expels 100
foreign journalists for ``inaccurate reporting'' including
all Fox News personnel. What does U.S. do?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid., pp. 217-220.
George Washington's Farewell Address, 1795. http://
www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/washing.htm.
John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, 1961. http://
www.bartleby.com/124/pres56.html.
Samuel P. Huntington, American Politics: the Promise of
Disharmony, pp. 240-262.
Graham T. Allison, Jr. and Robert P. Beschel, Jr., ``Can
the United States Promote Democracy'', Political Science
Quarterly, Volume 107, No. 1, 1992, pp. 81-89.
Henry Kissinger, ``The Hinge: Theodore Roosevelt or Woodrow
Wilson'', Diplomacy, New York Simon & Schuster, 1994, pp. 29-
55.
Lamar Alexander, ``In War and Peace'', We Know What to Do,
pp. 95-107.
Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations, pp. 309-
321.
Samantha Power, ``Bystanders to Genocide'', The Atlantic
Monthly, September 2000, pp. 84-108.
Walter Russell Mead, Special Providence: American Foreign
Policy and How it Changed the World, Alfred A Knopf, New York
2001, pp. xv-xviii, 3-29.
4/30: Anything is possible--Unbridled optimism. Should
there be a $1000 limit on individual federal campaign
contributions?
Alexis de Toqueville, ibid., pp. 187-189.
Larry J. Sabato, ``PACs and Parties'' Money, Elections and
Democracy: Reforming Congressional Campaign Finance, 1990,
Boulder, Colorado, Westview Press.
Todd Eardensohn, A Review of the Alexander for President
Campaign Budget (1995-1996).
Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations, Simon and
Schuster, 1996, pp. 308-321.
Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism, pp. 51-52,
267-292.
Lamar Alexander, ``Should Tom Paine Have Filed with the
FEC?'', January 21, 1998, address to The Cato Institute.
Andrew Del Banco, The Real American Dream, 1999, Harvard
University Press, pp. 103-118.
Lamar Alexander, ``Put More Money Into Politics'', August
27, 1999, The Wall Street Journal. http://
www.lamaralexander.com/articles__01.htm.
Alexander, ``Keeping the Dream Alive'', We Know What to Do,
ibid, pp. 165-180.
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I thank the majority leader for this
time. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from New Hampshire.
Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I rise to say I believe the speech the
Senator from Tennessee has given today was an extraordinary speech,
which was his first speech on the floor. Actually, it was not his first
speech on the floor, but we are calling it his maiden speech. He gave a
speech last week that had a huge impact relative to the Estrada
nomination, which is the pending business. But this statement today by
the Senator from Tennessee highlights effectively and poignantly the
importance of teaching civics and history in classes in America. His
bill, which he has proposed, of which I am a cosponsor, is a step which
is long overdue.
As he so effectively pointed out in his speech, we, as a nation, need
to teach our children about our roots and our purpose as a country if
we are to continue our creed of bringing one out of many.
So I thank him for his statement. I think it was a superb statement.
And I thank him for his legislation, which I hope we will be able to
act on promptly and pass and put into operation so we can pass on to
our children, through our public school system, the importance of the
American culture and history.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair, in his capacity as a Senator
from the State of Alaska, asks unanimous consent that he be added as a
cosponsor.
Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Wyoming.
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I congratulate the Senator from Tennessee on
an outstanding and inspiring speech. I feel tremendously more patriotic
now than when I came in the Chamber. And there is no way one can come
into this Chamber without feeling patriotic.
I am just hoping that classrooms across America do not wait for the
legislation; that they go ahead, get on the Internet, get a copy of the
Senator's speech, get a copy of the materials that accompany it, and
get busy on this right away.
The Senator is absolutely right. This is a country that began
unifying on September 11. It is in a huge process of reunifying, of
finding the commonality between the people who have united
[[Page S3045]]
the American people and made this the kind of country that it is.
I congratulate the Senator for his inspired speech and the work he
has done on this bill. I have heard the Senator speak on this bill and
have seen his passion on it before.
Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent to be added as a
cosponsor of the bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cornyn). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mr. ENZI. I thank the Senator for all his efforts.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, I also join in thanking the Senator from
Tennessee for his very inspiring comments. I am part of the new class
of Senators. I will have an opportunity to give my maiden speech,
though obviously I have spoken on the floor before.
I thought this was an important maiden speech. This was the first of
the speeches of the new Senators of the 108th, and I think it was the
right speech. We are going to discuss a lot of issues in these very
challenging times--a time when we are on the edge of war, a time in
which the values we hold so dear are challenged by terrorists, are
challenged by oppression, and challenged by hate.
We live in a time of great uncertainty about the economy, about jobs,
with moms and dads who worry about their economic futures.
So we are going to debate a lot of issues. We are worried about the
future of health care and the future of prescription drugs for seniors.
We are worried about baby boomers who are going to get old--and do we
have a national policy dealing with long-term care?
But at the core of all that we debate is this very fundamental
concept that the Senator from Tennessee has raised; that is, What does
it mean to be an American? What does it mean to celebrate freedom, to
celebrate opportunity, and to be an optimist and have a hopeful spirit?
So I applaud the Senator from Tennessee for, in his maiden speech,
setting forth the seminal concept that binds us.
I have noticed, with a little bit of sadness, the very partisan tone
of so much of what we do. And I have always believed if we spent more
time focusing on the things upon which we agree, rather than things on
which we disagree, we would get through those. I think there is great
agreement in this body on what we agree on, and that is what it is to
be an American.
I think it is important to transmit those values to the next
generation so that the next generation can reinforce that to our
generation because sometimes we forget.
So, again, I add my voice of thanks to the Senator from Tennessee for
raising this issue. It is so appropriate at this point in time.
Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that I be added as a
cosponsor on the Senator's legislation.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. COLEMAN. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I congratulate my colleague, through the
Chair, for his words of inspiration. This concept of unity, this
concept of patriotism, this concept of the essence of what being an
American is all about, has been a real focus for all of us throughout
our lives.
September 11, as my distinguished colleague mentioned, gave us a time
to rethink. I think what he has done today by introducing this bill is
give us a real focus in this body, to allow us to shine the light on
what we feel but which we do not articulate and spell out and
communicate to the American people very well because we debate small
issues, big issues, discreet issues, and a lot of rhetoric flies back
and forth.
So I appreciate the Senator taking the time to put together this
piece of legislation, as well as spelling it out in his maiden speech.
I especially appreciate, in his comments, mentioning the importance
of teachers and setting up, in a structured fashion, a forum with which
he has direct experience, by which we can give some discipline to and
cultivate and encourage and show the national importance of its
support.
He mentioned the Pledge of Allegiance. It was not that long ago in
this body that we made a decision to revive having the Pledge of
Allegiance recited at the opening of each session. That was really just
several years ago.
It shows, by somebody taking an initiative, such as my colleague from
Tennessee has done, that by giving it definition, you, indeed, can
advance down the field and make progress.
In this legislation we have an opportunity to continue with and to,
indeed, capture what we know this great Nation is all about, and
perpetuate it in a more organized, systematic way.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I, too, be added as a
cosponsor of this legislation.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, my friend, the junior Senator from
Tennessee, has this morning introduced legislation that I think is
extremely important. I was happy to join with him as the lead cosponsor
in that legislation. Certainly the Senator from Tennessee has the
qualifications to offer legislation relating to education. He has been
Governor of a State. He has been the secretary of education for our
country. So when I saw this legislation come across my desk, I thought
it was something in which I was interested. After reviewing it more
closely, I am happy to be the lead cosponsor on this legislation, the
American History and Civics Education Act.
First of all, I agree with the Senator from Tennessee that civics or
the duties of citizenship need to be stressed more. The best place it
can be stressed is through educating our children, K through 12. It is
the same with history. Mr. President, I love the study of history. I
read fiction only occasionally. I read nonfiction all the time. I am
presently engaged in a tremendously interesting book, written by Evans
and Novak, the conservative reporters. Evans has passed away. Novak is
still writing, as he has for many years. He is an excellent writer. I
didn't realize, until I had occasion to visit with Bob Novak a few
weeks ago, that he and Evans had written a history book in 1967 dealing
with the life of Lyndon Johnson. I am in the process of reading that
book. I am probably about halfway through the book. It is tremendously
interesting. For those of us who read the Caro work, I recommend the
book by Novak. It is very readable. They were there at the time. The
things that went on, for example, in the Civil Rights Act of the late
fifties--our colleague Strom Thurmond debated that matter. He stood up
himself in a filibuster. Senator Hatch, my friend from Utah, talks
about real filibusters. That was a real filibuster. Senator Thurmond
alone spoke for more than 24 hours.
It really threw the southern coalition off because they, in effect,
made a deal with Lyndon Johnson and Strom Thurmond. It threw a monkey
wrench into the so-called deal. Anyway, it is very interesting.
History is living what took place in the past. For us, it is the
ability to learn from what has happened in the past to try to do a
better job in the future.
My friend from Tennessee, wrote this legislation, and I am happy to
work with him on it; it is great. The legislation sets up academies. It
sets up programs on the Internet for best teaching practices. The
education of America's children must be one of our top priorities.
Our schools have several important goals, including providing
students with a foundation for higher education, helping them develop
individual potential, and preparing them for successful careers.
America has been a nation of immigrants for hundreds of years, and
our schools have helped instill in our diverse population a sense of
what it means to be an American and prepare our youth for the
responsibilities of citizenship. We need to reaffirm the importance of
learning American history and acquiring civic understanding. That is
what this legislation is all about.
As I work to make sure Nevada schoolchildren are connected to the
Internet and the future, I also want them to be connected with
America's past and know the common values in history, binding together
all who live in our great Nation.
[[Page S3046]]
I commend and applaud the junior Senator from Tennessee, Lamar
Alexander, for offering this legislation. It is important legislation.
He said in his statement that Senator Gregg, who chairs the committee
of jurisdiction on this legislation, will move the bill to the Senate
floor quickly. I hope that happens. I do hope my Republican colleagues
will join with me in adequately funding this program so we can
establish in grades K through 12 these academies where teachers can go
to summer workshops and learn history and how better to teach history.
It will only improve our country and our educational system in
particular.
Under the previous order, the second 30 minutes shall be under the
control of the Senator from Alaska, Ms. Murkowski, or her designee.
The Senator from Alaska.
____________________