| Last week’s curation at RealClear’s American Civics portal starts with Elliott Drago’s look at the rise and success of Ulysses S. Grant, the unlikely Civil War general and president. “No one would have believed in 1860 that the quiet man who failed so often would be President by 1868,” Drago writes. As he notes, “Prior to rising in the ranks of the US army, Grant experienced many failed ventures in the business world as a handyman, a farmer, and an entrepreneur.” According to non-other than Abraham Lincoln, the key to Grant’s success lay in his persistence under pressure: “I can’t spare this man – he fights.” As president, Drago writes that Grant “was considered the first ‘civil rights president’…signing the first civil rights legislation into law, including the Enforcement Acts and the Civil Rights Act of 1875.” And Drago also mentions Grant’s failures, including several scandals during his administration. Overall, in Drago’s telling, “Grant achieved his greatest successes both by presiding over those moments in which Americans rediscovered their founding principles and by fighting for those moments in which Americans became Americans once again.” Brenda M. Hafera continues her exploration of what American history museums and historic sites are teaching visitors about the American story. She argues that though Colonial Williamsburg “has much to offer, and many of its tours are informative and even-handed,” what “is lost is a cohesive story of Colonial Williamsburg, of what makes it unique and its place in American history.” She says that visitors should be aware that some tour guides lean toward being activists who want to focus only on America’s shortcomings and faults. Also, Colonial Williamsburg is part of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), a “coalition of 35,000 museums and museum professionals” that features a “plethora” of DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility) material. Ultimately, she contends that Colonial Williamsburg is at a crossroads. It can either follow “Montpelier, whose leadership now has no interest in honoring a ‘dead white president and a dead white president’s Constitution’” or it can look to Mount Vernon, “which is committed to historical standards and commemorating Washington’s and America’s story fairly, honestly, and modestly.” In the News Elliott Drago, Jack Miller Center Mark Antonio Menaldo, Constitutionalist Kathleen O’Toole, RealClearEducation No Labels, RealClearPolicy Jeffrey Scott Shapiro, Washington Times Daniel Cox, Liberal Patriot Julie Carr Smyth, Associated Press Paul Krause, Federalist Adam Carrington, Washington Examiner Bill King, RealClearPolitics James R. Rogers, Law & Liberty Olivia Waxman, Time David Shribman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Brenda M. Hafera, American Conservative Jodicee Arianna, AZ Central Civics 101 A social media app with 150 million American users -- Tiktok -- is under intense scrutiny by the U.S.... Bill of Rights Institute What is the judiciary's role in the American constitutional system according to Federalist 78? In this rapid-fire... American Idea Jeff Sikkenga and Jason Jividen discuss the animating ideas and issus of the original Progressives, and... Carl Cannon's Great American Stories On this date in 1906 San Franciscans were awakened before dawn by two powerful temblors that crumbled thousands of buildings, ... Although President Biden's Secret Service code name is "Celtic," there is nothing secret about Joe Biden's pride in his Irish ... It's Tuesday, April 11, 2023. President Biden heads to the Emerald Isle today on a nostalgic visit to his ancestral ... | 