WHAT CIVIC VALUES DO AMERICAN STUDENTS VALUE MOST?
“Perseverance” and “courage” were cited most often as the civic values essential to being an American, with each value being chosen by approximately 15 percent of participating students. Other civic values identified by large numbers of students included equality and respect (14 percent), entrepreneurialism (12 percent), responsibility (9 percent) and liberty (8 percent). 2. WHO ARE THEIR HEROES, PAST AND PRESENT? Making the top five list, in order, were Thomas Jefferson (18 percent), Abraham Lincoln (14 percent), Martin Luther King, Jr. (12 percent), George Washington (10 percent) and Thomas Paine (9 percent). 3. WHICH FOUNDING DOCUMENT INSPIRES THEM THE MOST? Students cited the Declaration of Independence (47 percent) and the Constitution (33 percent) as the two most important and inspiring Founding documents, followed by Thomas Paine’s pamphlet, Common Sense. The breakdown of other Founding documents cited are outlined below: These results were consistent across all high school grad
