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US Civics Directory

Discover 46+ organizations, resources, and tools dedicated to civic education, engagement, transparency, and preserving American heritage.

America 250 — Celebrating Our 250th Anniversary
This Day in History

April 14, 1865

Abraham Lincoln Assassinated

President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., and died the following morning. The assassination occurred just five days after Lee's surrender at Appomattox, plunging the nation into mourning at the moment of its reunion.

Lincoln's assassination deprived the nation of the leader who had preserved the Union and freed the enslaved, profoundly altering the course of Reconstruction and national healing.

Featured Resources

Education

The Citizen's Compass

Interactive civic education app for families and educators, teaching America's 25 founding principles through games, quizzes, and real-time legislative tracking.

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Engagement

Common Sense Quarterly

Community civic engagement platform connecting local businesses with households through shared EDDM postcard advertising built around civic education content.

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Transparency

WhatLaw.ai

National legal information platform providing plain-language legal reports across federal, state, and municipal law. Know your ground on any legal question.

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Education

iCivics

Founded by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, features interactive games and lessons on government branches, citizenship, and the Constitution.

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Education

Civics Renewal Network

Consortium of nonprofit organizations offering thousands of searchable, high-quality civics education materials.

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Engagement

Civic Nation

Impact hub for ideas, leaders, and initiatives that strengthen civic culture, power, and participation.

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All Resources

Education

The Citizen's Compass

Interactive civic education app for families and educators, teaching America's 25 founding principles through games, quizzes, and real-time legislative tracking.

appinteractiveK-12founding-principles
Visit Site
Engagement

Common Sense Quarterly

Community civic engagement platform connecting local businesses with households through shared EDDM postcard advertising built around civic education content.

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Transparency

WhatLaw.ai

National legal information platform providing plain-language legal reports across federal, state, and municipal law. Know your ground on any legal question.

legallawfederalstate
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Education

iCivics

Founded by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, features interactive games and lessons on government branches, citizenship, and the Constitution.

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Education

Center for Civic Education

We the People program, 60-Second Civics podcast, and a network of state civics programs promoting constitutional education.

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Education

Annenberg Classroom

Videos, games, lessons, Constitution guide, and Supreme Court case studies for educators and students.

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Education

Civics Renewal Network

Consortium of nonprofit organizations offering thousands of searchable, high-quality civics education materials.

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Education

National Constitution Center

Interactive Constitution, educational games, videos, and primary sources exploring constitutional principles.

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Education

Generation Citizen

Community-based civics education preparing students for real-world democratic participation.

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Education

The Civics Center

Nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to empowering high school students through voter registration and civic engagement.

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Education

ABOTA Foundation

Law-related education covering media literacy, judicial independence, trial by jury, and separation of powers.

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Education

Youth Leadership Initiative

Interactive simulations including E-Congress, Mock Election, and A More Perfect Union for hands-on civic learning.

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Education

Street Law

Landmark Supreme Court cases, moot court programs, and teacher institutes for law-related education.

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Education

NewseumED

Free learning tools on media literacy and First Amendment rights with lesson plans and primary sources.

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Education

Civics for All of US

National Archives education initiative promoting civic literacy through interactive distance learning programs.

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Education

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello

Digital classroom with lesson plans, articles, and multimedia content on founding principles and history.

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Education

Ben's Guide to U.S. Government

Comprehensive site featuring information about all aspects of government, citizenship, elections, and voting for kids.

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Education

U.S. Courts Educational Resources

Court literacy resources including Classrooms to Courtrooms simulations and Supreme Court case studies.

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Education

Oyez

Free multimedia database of the Supreme Court with transcript-synchronized audio for every recorded case.

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Education

Library of Congress for Teachers

America's Library with vast primary sources, documents, photos, and teaching materials on U.S. history.

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Education

National Priorities Project

Makes the federal budget process accessible with plain English guides and educator toolkits.

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Education

PBS Learning Media

Free lesson plans, videos, and interactive activities covering civics, government, and current events.

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Education

Educating for American Democracy

Initiative providing tools to make civics and history education a priority in rebuilding civic strength.

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Engagement

Civic Nation

Impact hub for ideas, leaders, and initiatives that strengthen civic culture, power, and participation.

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Engagement

National Civic League

Advancing civic engagement to address racial equity, health equity, youth leadership, and community issues.

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Engagement

Common Cause

Wins pro-democracy reforms that break down barriers to participation and ensure accountability.

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Engagement

Public Citizen

Consumer advocacy organization championing the public interest in health, safety, and democracy.

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Engagement

People's Action

Builds power of poor and working people in rural, suburban, and urban areas through campaigns and elections.

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Engagement

Trust for Civic Life

Invests in local efforts that help people connect and create their community's future together.

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Engagement

Alliance for Youth Action

Network of youth organizing groups building political power for an equitable and just democracy.

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Engagement

Citizen University

Local Civic Collaboratory convening people across sectors to build relationships and power together.

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Engagement

State Voices

Network of 24 state-based coalitions partnering with over 1,200 organizations for civic engagement.

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Transparency

GovTrack.us

Tracks the activities of Congress and the White House to create a more open and accountable government.

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Transparency

U.S. Government Accountability Office

Congressional watchdog providing fact-based, nonpartisan information on federal spending and performance.

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Transparency

Beyond Transparency

Cross-disciplinary survey of the open data landscape with practitioner stories and case studies.

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Transparency

Civic Impulse

Builds tools that foster civic participation, education, and government transparency.

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Transparency

OpenGov

Open data solutions with robust APIs and metadata curation built on an open source platform.

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Transparency

Data.gov

Federal open data providing access to datasets, tools, and resources for research and analysis.

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Media

ProPublica

Independent, nonprofit newsroom producing investigative journalism in the public interest.

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Media

Truthout

Independent news and commentary on social justice issues with fearless reporting.

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Media

Civic News Company

Chalkbeat, Votebeat, and Healthbeat help communities with journalism rooted in local needs and expertise.

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Media

States Newsroom

Nation's largest state-focused nonprofit news organization with reporting from every capital.

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Media

American Journalism Project

Venture philanthropy investing in digital nonprofit newsrooms governed by and sustained by the public.

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Media

Nonprofit Quarterly

Magazine providing research-based articles and resources to educate the nonprofit sector.

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Media

Poynter

Media institute providing fact-checking, media literacy, and journalism ethics training.

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Media

FactCheck.org

Annenberg Public Policy Center project monitoring factual accuracy of U.S. political discourse.

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