In four short months, the United States will celebrate 250 years of freedom, prosperity and exceptionalism. Our nation’s story is unique in the world, and it’s worth sharing.
At some point, each of us has taken a basic introduction on how the colonies united in the fight for independence. In Tennessee, K-12 students are taught a broad range of state and national history throughout their educational careers. It’s an essential curriculum that produces engaged, knowledgeable, and thoughtful citizens.
Understanding why and how our founding fathers formed our nation is integral to processing the state of the U.S. today. There’s also the familiar aphorism that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Founding father Benjamin Rush said as much in a 1786 essay emphasizing the importance of education.
“Freedom can exist only in the society of knowledge,” Rush wrote. “Without learning, men are incapable of knowing their rights, and where learning is confined to a few people, liberty can be neither equal nor universal.”
For these reasons, I am sponsoring House Bill 291 in the General Assembly to require all Tennessee public colleges and universities to ensure students pursuing a bachelor’s degree understand the classics of American history and government before graduating. These include foundational texts like the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Federalist Papers, the Emancipation Proclamation, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s letter from Birmingham Jail.
Course content would be created by the Institute of American Civics at the University of Tennessee, which was established by legislation I helped pass in 2022. Ensuring all college students learn vital historical information builds on this institute’s key objectives by fostering a deeper understanding of the structures and institutions of government, explaining the principles of our nation’s development, and encouraging continued civic engagement to ensure colleges remain a robust marketplace of ideas.
The reality is that there is currently a significant deficiency in college students’ understanding of history. A June 2024 survey commissioned by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni revealed shocking truths about the state of higher education.
For example, most students were unable to identify the president of the U.S. Senate, while 63% could not identify the current chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and 60% did not know the length of U.S. congressional terms. At the same time, the study found that nearly 90% of students could identify Jeff Bezos as the owner of Amazon.
Tennessee will not sit by as we graduate students who lack a basic knowledge of our nation’s history and place in the world.
This proposal will not add any credit hours to degree requirements and will not create additional cost burdens for students. Several other states have implemented similar requirements, and I’m confident our state can do it as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.
The future relies on the next generation’s ability to take the mantle and pursue policies that drive prosperity. My legislation will play a key role in ensuring the Volunteer State leads in producing career-ready graduates with a solid command of the values and themes that define our nation.
State Rep. Ron Gant lives in Piperton and represents District 94 in the Tennessee House of Representatives, which includes Fayette, McNairy and part of Hardeman counties.