American Citizenship in the Eyes of the Beholder

The anxiety of the early Cold War years led many to believe that communism had infiltrated America’s institutions, including education. 

Education was considered valuable for raising teenagers to become ideal citizens of American democracy.  Therefore, lessons and educational materials such as films had to highlight the positive aspects of democracy in contrast to the negative qualities of communism.

Both items on this page are examples of this.  Two 1955 films The Responsibilities of American Citizenship and Freedom to Learn each portrayed instances in which high school students were taught the principles of American democracy, presented in direct contrast to communist ideals. 

Freedom to Learn in particular reminds us of the fear many parents had of communist sympathizers teaching their sons and daughters.

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The Responsibilities of American Citizenship (1955)

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The Responsibilities of American Citizenship was created to encourage American teens and young adults to learn the importance of constitutional government, capitalism and Christianity as the core foundation of American Liberalism. The film was part of a series created by the National Education Program at Harding College, a small private Christian school in Searcy, Arkansas. It features Dr. George S. Benson, the President of Harding College, and Dr. Clifton L. Ganus Jr., Dean of the History Department. This film was intended to educate American teens and young adults on the threat of communism and socialism. The film's creators felt that the United States was subject to communist subversion, and young Americans needed to understand their responsibilities. 

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“Can the freedom to learn be controlled and restricted and still be freedom?”

That was the question asked in this 1954 review from Educational Screen of the educational film Freedom to Learn. In this movie, high school teacher Mrs. Orin was called before the school board to defend her academic freedom to discuss Communism in her social studies class.

You can see Mrs. Orin look over her class as the students discussed the differences between Communism and democracy.

“No teacher can be the final judge of truth . . . This judgement remains for the decision and conscience of every free man.”

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If Communism was to be taught at all in schools, it was to be interpreted as the antithesis of American democracy.  It became the responsibility of educators to make sure teenagers understood what it meant to be a citizen in the American democracy.  That's what The Responsibilities of American Citizenship set out to do. Any educators that were thought to be sympathizers of communism, such as Mrs. Orin in Freedom to Learn, were questioned and at times removed.

What do you think? Was teaching American democracy as a direct contrast to the principles of communism the best way to instill faith in the American way of life?

American Citizenship in the Eyes of the Beholder