Civics Initiative
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The basic civics principle at heart of 2 vaccine mandate cases
Last week’s Supreme Court decisions in two vaccine mandate cases demonstrate how relevant foundational civic questions are to current controversies.
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How the Civil War amendments – 13, 14 and 15 – moved U.S. closer to equal rights
As the Civil War drew to a close, the U.S. Congress returned to the issues the court had botched and began the process of addressing the underlying injustices that had given rise to the war. In the post-war years, Congress…
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2022 brings opportunity to renew the parent-teacher partnership
We have a chance to make 2022 the year that Utah showed its determination, for the sake of students, to rise above the current political temptation to polarize every issue – and instead renew the parent-teacher partnership.
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Voting for America’s future
Perhaps Americans do not understand the power their vote wields or how to go about exercising their voting rights. The future of America and the notion of its exceptionalism lie in the hands of its voting citizens.
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Learning about America through primary sources: Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education signified the early stages of a significant shift in the history of the United States. Only by learning from, understanding and applying the lessons of this history can the U.S. hope to better approach the…
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Learning about America through primary sources: Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was an 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision saying that state racial segregation laws did not violate the Constitution. The Plessy decision underpinned the Jim Crow legal regime until it was overturned during the 1960s.
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Deaths of 2 WWII heroes should remind us of history’s lessons
Within the past week, we noted the deaths of two World War II heroes and marked the 80th anniversary of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Why take time to remember these events from bygone decades and centuries? Because they’re…
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Scholarly research should help quiet political controversy around vote by mail
Does vote by mail help one political party over another? How does it impact voter turnout? Is fraudulent voting a problem with vote by mail? Empirical research has evaluated each of these questions.
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The civic implications of the upcoming Supreme Court abortion decision
The tension between applying existing legal rulings and abandoning mistaken interpretations was the most important theme in the oral arguments of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Although the case is about abortion, the court’s ruling could very well shape…
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Judicial review and the infamous Dred Scott case
Chief Justice John Marshall, who established the practice of judicial review, was replaced by Roger Taney, a loyalist of President Andrew Jackson, in 1836. To the degree Taney is remembered, it is for the infamous decision in Dred Scott v.…