“Why did we have…
“Why did we have a civics curriculum in 1950 and no longer have one now?”
Because the governing party at the time felt that it served domestic propaganda interests during the Cold War.
Ed, if you think that politicians are willing to deliberately keep students ignorant in order to further their political aims, why in the world would you trust the government schools to teach people about history, the political system, the rights they should expect, how to exercise them, etc.? Do you go to used-car salesmen for consumer product testing, too?
P.S.: I notice that the sample citizenship test expects you to name the “Which President freed the slaves” (!) and that more than 10% of your grade on the test depends on your ability to recite meaningless trivia about theo-political rituals such as the flag (the first 7 questions of the test!) and the national anthem. I’m a little surprised to find no questions about the national bird, or the current state tree in your state of residence.
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