| Last week’s curation at RealClear’s American Civics portal starts off by highlighting the results of the 2022 Annenberg Constitution Day Survey, which found that U.S. adults’ civic knowledge has fallen across the board compared to last year’s survey. In fact, just 47 percent of those surveyed could identify the three branches of government, which was down from 56 percent in the 2021 survey. Additionally, Americans’ knowledge of the five rights guaranteed in the First Amendment all showed declines. Just 24 percent named the freedom of religion as being protected by the First Amendment, down dramatically from 56 percent last year. “When it comes to civics, knowledge is power,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. “It’s troubling that so few know what rights we’re guaranteed by the First Amendment. We are unlikely to cherish, protect, and exercise rights if we don’t know that we have them.” One positive takeaway is that Americans in general recognize major rights protected in the Bill of Rights and other constitutional mechanisms such as the veto process. Richard Reinsch of the Heritage Foundation writes about the importance of recovering the “deliberative republic” the American Founders set in place “that would inform and guide the constitutional order through the rocks and shoals of public life.” Reinsch contrasts this framework to the way government mostly works today: a “largely presidential–administrative-driven state” that is based on “a moral and social order of secularist and autonomy-focused individualism.” This new conception, Reinsch continues, has eroded our institutions and weakened the ability of citizens to do their part. He concludes with two questions that must be answered in order to recover the Founders’ republic: “Do we still have the capacity to choose well those who represent us? And do those who represent us possess the integrity to reclaim the constitutional authority and prestige of the U.S. Congress?” Essential Reading Annenberg Public Policy Center Bottom Line: The 2022 Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey shows a decline in Americans’ overall civics knowledge... In the News Joe Pisani, CT Insider Jeremy Engle, New York Times Richard A. Epstein, Hoover Institution Elliott Drago, Jack Miller Center Tom Emery, Monroe News James Livingston, Jordan Times Larry Arnhart, Law & Liberty Cole S. Aronson, First Things Mo Perry, Minnesota Monthly Adam J. White, AEI Shelley Jones, Chicago Tribune Stephen Eide, City Journal Sean Salai, Washington Times Bruce Sanborn, Law & Liberty Kerry J. Byrne, Fox News Gordon Lloyd & Nico Perrino, FIRE Pepperdine University professor and author Gordon Lloyd joins the show this week to explore how the American conception of free speech came to be, from the colonial era to the ratification of the Bill of Rights. Nick Capodice, Hannah McCarthy, Gisela Sin, & Ken Kato, Civics 101 The presidential veto is a powerful tool, but just how powerful it is depends on political context, timing, and party alignment... National Constitution Center September 17 is Constitution Day in the United States celebrating the day that delegates to the Constitutional Convention... Mark Hall & Tony Williams, Bill of Rights Institute What unique contributions did the various Founders make to liberty and constitutional self-governance? BRI’s new “American... Sen. Ben Sasse As part of our upcoming Constitution Day celebrations, BRI Chief Program Officer Stan Swim is joined by U.S. Senator for... Diana J. Schaub, Great Hearts Institute The Great Hearts Institute is pleased to announce a partnership with What So Proudly We Hail, an e-curriculum developed by... Carl Cannon's Great American Stories On this date in 1976, President Gerald R. Ford closed the gap on Democratic challenger Jimmy Carter with a strong ... It's Friday, the day of the week when I pass along a quotation intended to be inspiring or enlightening. Today's ... Good morning, it's Tuesday, the day after Labor Day. If they weren't already, most students are back in school. In ... | 