The Idea of America: A Case Study Approach
here is no owner’s manual for a republic. There is no place for a new generation of Americans to find the secrets for addressing issues relevant to the contemporary United States. Experience is the only guide, and the stories of that experience are contained in national history. These are stories of how Americans have shaped their times and influenced their future. At times, Americans have demonstrated absolute brilliance; at other times, the nation has struggled to live up to its promise. Yet in every time, individual citizens—some well-known, but most of them normal citizens—in their communities, states, and national institutions have debated values that are central to the nation. By studying American history as a sequence of case studies, students can learn how past Americans have struggled with the problems of their day in the context of the value tensions that frame the enduring American debate. Going beyond the standard memorization and recitation of dates, places, and events, American history becomes a fascinating investigation of individual citizens in action. In the actions of these citizens, students discover the relevance of American history to their lives. The continuity of the American debate is readily apparent when the case study approach employs the value tensions as an analytical tool. A case study brings together two complementary attributes: chronology and historical inquiry. The design of a case study engages a chronological sequence of important events in American history to highlight the four democratic value tensions. Each case study is constructed around one or more value tensions: (1) common wealth versus private wealth, (2) law versus ethics, (3) diversity versus unity, and (4) freedom versus equality. All student activities use primary and secondary source material and media resources, often making use of living-history documentaries. Each case study includes a series of learning paths for teachers to use. These approaches to the study of a topic allow teachers and students to follow a map through an area of historical study—a significant event, idea, Congressional act, judicial decision, trend, phenomenon, or movement—that captures the essence of a case study. Each case study involves students in living history, uses media resources, and includes an assessment to evaluate student progress. Figure 1 is an example of a road map diagram; the topic is government and law. The learning object is Reconstruction, which we discuss later in this article. One related value tension, freedom and equality, is used as an example. In this article, we highlight four events included in the Colonial Williamsburg History and Civics curriculum that demonstrate the organization and unfolding of case studies. In all, the project will include nearly one hundred case studies that span cultural topics related to American history.