An invaluable exploration of American history as it relates to issues of race, ethnicity, nationality, and class, and how civic engagement can be a guiding beacon towards what it means to be American today.

Citizenship and civics go to the very heart of the American idea and experience. Citizenship is a malleable, often contested term whose meaning shifts according to the political imperatives, economic conditions, social norms and values that are in play at different moments in time. This work explores the ever-evolving nature of both citizenship and civics by documenting the changing laws and policies that define and regulate citizenship both for natural born Americans and the naturalization of immigrants. Each chapter correlates this chronological narrative with evolving understandings of citizenship as expressed through the rhetoric of civics and civic education.