How Can We Teach Patriotism to the Rising Generation?

Families, communities, states, and nations are stronger when individuals know the value of historical documents and events. Jordin Bradshaw is a lifelong resident of Utah, a social studies teacher for twelve years, and currently a graduate student at UVU working toward a master’s degree in Constitutional Government, Civics, and Law. In his studies, he has gained greater knowledge and respect for the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. He shares his thoughts in an article published in the Deseret News. 

With the upcoming celebrations for 250 years since the publication of the Declaration of Independence I find myself contemplating what and how I should treat this occasion with my students.

For years, I had stood in front of my students and leaned into a common teaching strategy: comparing the Declaration of Independence to a breakup letter. I’d use the familiar slang of my students with words like “ghosting” and “toxic relationships” to explain why the colonies were moving on from King George III. The students laughed and told me I was cringe, but they engaged, and they got the idea of why the declaration was written.

However, as I’ve progressed through my graduate studies in constitutional government, I’ve come to realize that by oversimplifying the declaration to fit a trendy analogy of a breakup, I was actually not getting into the soul of the declaration at all. The Declaration of Independence is not just a notice of separation; it is a document that demands more from us than a clever and memorable metaphor. To treat it as an ending misses the important fact that it was actually a wonderful new beginning.

Teaching the declaration is much more than memorizing 1776; it is about providing the next generation with the tools to maintain our self-governing republic. Students should be taught that the declaration is a document about rights, specifically that rights existed before governments and continue to exist regardless of any governments.

They should be digging deep into the sources and philosophies related to rights and building connections that when rights become just a list of suggestions from a government it is time for those ruled to withdraw their consent and that government to be changed. By connecting the specific grievances of that breakup letter of 1776 to the broader arguments of rights and limited government they see that authority is earned through trust, not granted as a birthright nor through physical power.

Yet, these written liberties cannot survive on parchment alone. As the document’s closing paragraph reminds us, the founders did not just demand rights; they made a pledge of their lives, fortunes and honor to its defense and continuation. We likewise need to instill this same level of civic virtue among our youth today. We all – adults and children – must understand that a free society is only sustainable when its members are willing to sacrifice, compromise and work together to ensure the common good for all of the citizenry.

To truly understand the greatness of the rights contained in the Declaration of Independence, sometimes we must grapple with the times that are not shiny nor exemplary in our own political history. We must trace the events and how those declaration-based rights were later extended, often through hard work and civil disobedience – may even a terrible war. Students need to continue to recognize the hard processes that led to what we enjoy today.

When students understand that their rights are inherent and that their government exists only by their consent, they cease to be passive observers of history and become active participants in our self-governing republic.

In this modern era we can no longer afford to treat our founding documents as clever metaphors. My journey from teaching the “breakup letter” to exploring the profound depths of our “mutual pledge” has shown me that civic literacy is the only true safeguard of our liberty. When students understand that their rights are inherent and that their government exists only by their consent, they cease to be passive observers of history and become active participants in our self-governing republic.

The Declaration of Independence was never intended to be a final word, but instead a North Star to steer by as we navigate the complexities of a rapidly changing and modern world. By restoring the declaration to its rightful place as a focal point in our curriculum, we do more than teach history; we honor those who came before us and fought for – sometimes with their own lives – the divine rights enjoyed by this generation. When they understand the civic virtues of sacrifice and compromise they are also equipped to lead the next generation in fulfilling the promise of a more perfect union in perpetuity.

Bradshaw wrote from the position of a schoolteacher. However, his words can be applied to parents because parents are the ultimate teachers in the lives of their children. Parents cannot leave the teaching of honor and respect for our founding documents to schoolteachers. We should be teaching them also.

One of the best ways is to take your children to historical sites. Travel to Philadelphia so they can see for themselves the liberty bell and building where the Constitution was written. Take them to Washington, D.C., to see the buildings and monuments there. Use a family home evening to study the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

Another way to teach them that is equally or more important than personal experience is to give them an example. Purchase a U.S. flag and fly it daily or at least on important days, such as Flag Day or Independence Day. Make sure that you participate in local, state, and federal elections because this is the way that we give our consent to the government. Become a true patriot and love your nation.