Academic Statesmanship Is the Key to Our Civic Recovery

As numerous scholars have noted, America is engaged in a “Cold Civil War.” Political differences revolve around adhering to the original Constitution or rejecting it for a living Constitution hollowed of any enduring meaning. In such a situation, the role of civic education could provide a soothing balm to America’s inflamed political passions.

A recent study by the RAND Corporation that surveyed the nation’s public-school teachers identifies the complicated state of American civic education, while perhaps also pointing the way to hope and renewal.

When asked what they consider to be the most...