In 1838, at age 28, Abraham Lincoln delivered a public speech responding to a rise in mob violence and warning that it could erode trust in public institutions. He asserted that the greatest risk to our nation’s preservation wasn’t an attack from a foreign power but rather destruction from within. 

His solution to fortifying our republic was to empower all citizens with the knowledge of and commitment to our Constitution, laws and democratic processes. He called this our shared “political religion.” Today, we might describe this as civic education and civic practice.

Presidents Day invites us not only to reflect on past generations of political leadership but also to consider what kind of civic inheritance we are preparing for the next generation.

On George Washington’s birthday in 1861, Lincoln raised the American flag at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Addressing the crowd, he declared, “I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence.” 

He made the statement just days before his inauguration, at a moment when several states had already seceded from the Union and concern about the nation’s future was mounting. Lincoln recognized that while the Founders had the shared experience and excitement of creating a new nation, his own generation had no such galvanizing moment and faced the less glorious task of maintaining (and improving upon) what the Founders created. 

As the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln’s call to action feels newly relevant. Consider that the children entering kindergarten this year will graduate in the 250th anniversary year of the Constitution. Whether they will inherit and be prepared to maintain a functioning constitutional democracy cannot be left to chance. 

The question is not simply how we teach young people about civics, but the role we all play in supporting civic learning and modeling the principles and practices in everyday life that make constitutional democracy not just survive but thrive.  

The good news is that we know what works in both formal and informal civic education, and meaningful progress is already underway. The challenge now is scale, shared commitment and the will to treat civic education as essential civic infrastructure rather than a peripheral concern. 

Students who experience high-quality civic education are more likely to complete college and develop employable skills, vote, discuss current issues, speak in public with confidence, contact public officials and volunteer in their communities to address issues of common concern. 

Across the country, educators, cultural institutions and civic organizations are proving that high-quality civic education engages young people, strengthens democratic skills and builds durable civic habits. For example, the Lincoln Presidential Foundation has produced award-winning short documentaries that can be used by students, educators and lifelong learners, plus companion resources for use in the classroom. 

We’re also making progress in passing legislation and policy state by state that are designed to bring civics back into the center of the curriculum. The CivxNow Coalition, a project of iCivics, convenes a national coalition of 415 member organizations united behind the goal of ensuring universal access to a high-quality civic education for all K-12 students.

But we have a long way to go in ensuring Lincoln’s vision. State policies must foster students’ civic development throughout their K-12 trajectories. For most students, Illinois’ included, civics constitutes a single stand-alone, one-semester class in high school. We can and must do better, extending this semester-long course in high school to a full year, and ensuring a dedicated middle school course, too (Illinois does require instruction in civics in grades six to eight thanks to a 2019 law), and dedicated instructional time for civics in elementary school. 

Illinois has not tested students in social studies since 2005, and in the current era, what’s tested is what’s taught. Illinois policymakers should consider project-based assessments in civics, where students study an issue of public concern in their communities and construct a plan to solve it through policy innovations and civic engagement.

Finally, Illinois should join 12 other states in recognizing students for excellence in civics with seals on their graduation diplomas. 

As we celebrate Presidents Day in the Land of Lincoln during this year of American turning 250, let’s double down on the civic development of the rising generation of Americans. In them, we seek to preserve and strengthen this grand experiment in self-government our Founders established and Lincoln made more perfect.

Erin Carlson Mast is president and CEO of the Lincoln Presidential Foundation. Shawn Healy is the chief policy and advocacy officer at iCivics.org.  

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.