[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 38 (Monday, September 23, 2002)]
[Pages 1561-1563]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Announcing the Teaching American History and Civic Education 
Initiatives

September 17, 2002

    Thank you all very much. Welcome to the Rose Garden. Thanks for 
getting up so early.
    I do want to appreciate David McCullough. It's an honor to be 
introduced by David McCullough. I appreciate his contribution to our 
Nation. He's made history come alive for millions of Americans. He's 
encouraged the teaching of history in our classrooms. He's made a 
lasting contribution to our Nation, and we're grateful for that 
contribution.
    It is fitting that on the anniversary of the signing of the 
Constitution, the three branches of our Government are represented here.
    Here in America, we see a broad renewal of American patriotism. And 
this is something to give thanks for; it really is. And it's something 
we must build on. To properly understand and love our country, we must 
know our country's history.
    Today I am announcing several initiatives that will improve 
students' knowledge of American history, increase their civic 
involvement, and deepen their love for our great country.
    I appreciate so very much Lynne Cheney, her--well, the fact she 
married a great Vice President, for starters. [Laughter] But she loves 
history. She has written books to encourage our children to understand 
history. Today she's hosting a celebration of the 215th anniversary of 
the U.S. Constitution at the Vice President's house--she kindly invited 
Laura to go.
    I appreciate Justice Anthony Kennedy for coming. Not only is he a 
great Supreme Court Justice, he cares about the community in which he 
lives. He's worked with the American Bar Association on what they call a 
Dialogue on Freedom, an initiative to foster discussions in our Nation's 
classrooms about American civic values. Thank you, Justice Kennedy, for 
that. [Applause] Delayed applause is better than no applause. [Laughter]
    I appreciate so very much our Secretary of Education, Rod Paige. Rod 
is a--he's a straightforward fellow who cares deeply about our children. 
When we say no child should be left behind, he means it. He's doing a 
great job. Mr. Secretary, thank you for coming.
    I do want to thank the Members of Congress who are here. I'm 
especially pleased that Senator Kennedy and Senator Gregg from the 
Senate have come. These two strange bedfellows worked together to pass 
one of the most comprehensive education reform plans in our Nation's 
history. They care deeply about our country. I'm honored that you two 
are here.
    And also two fine Members from the House of Representatives, 
Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner and Congressman Tim Roemer, we're honored 
that you're here. Thank you for coming. And thank you for your deep 
concern about our country and its future.
    I thank Bob Cole for being here, who's the Chairman of the National 
Endowment for the Humanities. I thank John Carlin, who's the national 
Archivist, and Cathy Gorn,

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who's the executive director of National History Day. I thank Les 
Lenkowsky, who's the CEO of the Corporation for National and Community 
Service. I appreciate my friend Stephen Goldsmith, who's chairman of the 
board of directors of the Corporation for National and Community 
Service, for being here. And thank you all for coming.
    In the last year, in this last year of American history, we have 
witnessed acts of sacrifice and heroism, compassion and courage, unity 
and fierce determination. We have been reminded that we are citizens 
with obligations to each other, to our country, and to our history.
    These examples are particularly important for our children. Children 
reflect the values they see in their parents and in their heroes. And 
this is how a culture can be strengthened and changed for the better.
    During the last year, our children have seen that lasting 
achievement in life comes through sacrifice and service. They've seen 
that evil is real but that courage and justice can triumph. They've seen 
that America is a force for good in the world, bringing hope and freedom 
to other people.
    In recent events, our children have witnessed the great character of 
America. Yet, they also need to know the great cause of America. They 
are seeing Americans fight for our country. They also must know why 
their country is worth fighting for.
    Our history is not a story of perfection. It's a story of imperfect 
people working toward great ideals. This flawed nation is also a really 
good nation, and the principles we hold are the hope of all mankind. 
When children are given the real history of America, they will also 
learn to love America.
    Our Founders believed the study of history and citizenship should be 
at the core of every American's education. Yet today, our children have 
large and disturbing gaps in their knowledge of history. Recent studies 
tell us that nearly one in five high school seniors think that Germany 
was an ally of the United States in World War II. Twenty-eight percent 
of eighth graders do not know the reasons why the Civil War was fought. 
One-third of fourth graders do not know what it means to ``pledge 
allegiance to the flag.'' Graduating seniors at some of our leading 
colleges and universities cannot correctly identify words from the 
Gettysburg Address or do not know that James Madison is the father of 
the Constitution.
    This is more than academic failure. Ignorance of American history 
and civics weakens our sense of citizenship. To be an American is not 
just a matter of blood or birth. We are bound by ideals, and our 
children must know those ideals.
    They should know about the nearly impossible victory of the 
Revolutionary War and the debates of the Constitutional Convention. They 
should know the meaning of the Declaration of Independence and how 
Abraham Lincoln applied its principles to flight--to fight slavery. Our 
children should know why Martin Luther King, Jr., was in a Birmingham 
city jail and why he wrote a magnificent letter from that place. Our 
children need to know about America's liberation of Europe during World 
War II and why the Berlin Wall came down. At this very moment, Americans 
are fighting in foreign lands for principles defined at our founding, 
and every American--particularly every American child--should fully 
understand these principles.
    The primary responsibility for teaching history and civics rests 
with our elementary and secondary schools, and they've got to do their 
job. The Federal Government can help, and today I'm announcing three new 
initiatives spearheaded by the USA Freedom Corps and designed to support 
the teaching of American history and civic education.
    The first initiative is called We the People--it will be 
administered by the National Endowment for the Humanities--which will 
encourage the teaching of American history and civic education. The 
program will provide grants to develop good curricula, hold training 
seminars for schoolteachers and university faculty, sponsor a lecture 
series in which acclaimed scholars like David McCullough will tell the 
story of great figures from American history, and enlist high school 
students in a national essay contest about the principles and ideals of 
America. We will use technology to share these important lessons with 
schools and communities throughout America.

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    The Federal Government conserves and protects some of our greatest 
national treasures, and we need to make them more readily available to 
Americans in their schools and local communities. Our second initiative 
is called Our Documents, an innovative project that will be run by the 
National Archives and the National History Day. This project will use 
the Internet to bring one hundred of America's most important documents 
from the National Archives to classrooms and communities across the 
country, to provide lesson plans, and to foster competitions and 
discussions about these defining moments in our history.
    Students and their teachers will see documents online in their 
original form, well-known documents such as our Constitution or the 
Emancipation Proclamation or the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They will 
also see other important but less widely available documents, such as 
the Lee Resolution, which first proposed independence for American 
colonies, and Jefferson's secret message to Congress regarding the 
exploration of the West.
    Third, early next year we will convene a White House Forum on 
American History, Civics, and Service. We will discuss new policies to 
improve the teaching of history and civics in elementary and secondary 
schools and in our colleges and universities. We will hear from 
educators and scholars about ways to better monitor students' 
understanding of American history and civics and how to make more of our 
great national treasures--how to make them more accessible and more 
relevant to the lives of our students.
    American children are not born knowing what they should cherish--are 
not born knowing why they should cherish American values. A love of 
democratic principles must be taught.
    A poet once said, ``What we have loved, others will love, and we 
will teach them how.'' We love our country, and we must teach our 
children to do the same. And when we do, they will carry on our heritage 
of freedom into the future.
    Thank you all for coming.

Note: The President spoke at 8:42 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to historian David McCullough; and 
Bruce Cole, Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities.