Lee Hamilton Civic Learning Analysis

Civil Connectedness Throughout America’s history citizens have conformed around the idea of civic duty. A majority of citizens were active voters and regularly attended rallies and other political gatherings. However, less and less American citizens are engaging in politics, two men, Robert Putnam and Lee Hamilton, a renowned political scientist and a long-time US House respectively, both agree that less and less American citizens are active with U.S politics and that it is crucial to this nation that more citizens take the time to familiarize themselves with American politics. They voice their opinions in Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital by Putnam and Civic learning is Critical to the Future of America by Hamilton. For years …show more content…
In Civic Learning, Hamilton says “So we must learn and we must teach our young people the words we live by in the Constitution, in the Declaration of Independence, and in the other grand documents of American history. We must get into our bones and convey to others the basic concepts of representative democracy: the consent of the governed, the core institutions, the necessity of participation, and the avenues for action that are open to all of us” (Hamilton 1). Hamilton conveys the message that every American citizen need to teach, they need to teach the basics of our government and the importance of the documents that govern us. This is the extension of civic duty that Americans have abandoned, the part that very few if any citizens still take to heart. To begin to change the overall civil participation the first step is for all US Citizens not only to begin voting but to also begin teaching the different topics that have to be passed to from one generation of Americans to the next generation of people that will take up the …show more content…
Putnam states, “Researchers in fields as education, urban poverty, unemployment, the control of crime and drug abuse, and even health have discovered that successful outcomes are more likely in civically engaged communities” (Putnam 1). In the information found by Hamilton he shows there is a clear correlation between civic engagement and the successful outcomes that correspond. Communities or countries that have high numbers of active citizens will benefit since the actual majority will voice out its opinions which can lead to the election of suitable candidates. Overall, civic engagement is important for the country to reach its full potential and