| This week’s curation at RealClear’s American Civics portal begins with an original op-ed by Hillsdale College’s Adam Carrington. He argues that by taking a case involving a website design company that does not want to provide services for same-sex weddings, “the court might now begin to give some judicial definition to the thorny questions that remain shrouded in Obergefell’s shadow.” The Supreme Court, in his view, “must establish a clear distinction between speech and action, lest we turn every deed into expression and, consequently, every action into a political or social statement.” At RealClearPolicy, Jamie Gass contends that historically, American civic education has been non-partisan and aimed at preparing “young people to be active participants in our democratic republic.” But a recent report from the Pioneer Institute finds that too many high school civics programs utilize actions civics, which she says elevates “group identity over students’ role as self-governing citizens in a republic, united by their common identity as Americans.” She argues that civics programs should rather “instill an informed love of our country based on the nation’s founding, how our system of government works, and what Americans have achieved – together with our many failings – since the nation was created.” Gass recommends curricula such as Hillsdale College’s 1776 Curriculum, We the People: Citizen and the Constitution, and Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History because they provide serious civic instruction. Finally, Carson Holloway reviews Diana Schaub’s book, “His Greatest Speeches: How Lincoln Moved the Nation” at Law & Liberty. He writes that Schaub approaches Lincoln’s speeches as a patriot and has “a humanist’s sympathetic concern with the difficult questions of justice and prudence that Lincoln was forced to confront” and “the great moral tradition on which Lincoln drew, especially the Jewish and Christian Bible.” Importantly, Holloway says that she shows what the 1619 Project gets right – that slavery surely had a role to play in America’s historical development – and also what it gets wrong: the claim that America was and remains fundamentally organized around slavery. “Lincoln was always clear that slavery had nothing to do with America’s founding principles,” he contends. Original Posts Adam Carrington, RealClearAmericanCivics In the News Robert Pondiscio, Thomas B. Fordham Institute John O. McGinnis, Law & Liberty Dan Marcus, New Hampshire Bulletin Zaid Jilani, City Journal Dale Mezzacappa, Chalkbeat No Labels, RealClearPolicy Vanessa Reynaga, ASU News Big Country News Marcee Hinds, Bill of Rights Institute Lisa Selin Davis, New York Times Noah Peters, Law & Liberty Gabriella Timmis, Braver Angels Jamie Gass, RealClearPolicy Emma Camp, New York Times C. Bradley Thompson, Substack Stephen Knott & Jeff Sikkenga, American Idea In the second episode of The American Idea's Presidential Portraits series, we explore the life and controversial presidency... Ian Rowe, Woodson Center In this history lesson, you will learn about the epic life and exemplary character of Biddy Mason, a woman who was born into... Jon White & Tony Williams, Bill of Rights Institute What were Abraham Lincoln’s views on race and freedom and equality for Black Americans? In this episode of Scholar Talks... Kevin Kosar & Yuval Levin, Understanding Congress The topic of this episode is, “Should we expand the membership of the House of Representatives?” My guest is Yuval Levin, who... Matt Beienburg, Noah Pollak, David Randall, & John Sailer, NAS Over the last year, parents and students have fought to reform education in K-12 schools and colleges around the country... Carl Cannon's Great American Stories It's Friday, March 11, 2022, the day of the week when I pass along a quotation meant to be inspiring. ... It's Tuesday, March 8, 2022, the 39th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's "evil empire" speech. This address is a historic landmark in ... It's Friday, March 4, 2022, the day of the week when I pass along a quotation meant to be inspiring. ... | 