WISH LIST $100: pocket Constitutions for 4 8th grade classes; $500: 1 month of public walking tours of the Capitol; $1,000: honoraria for scholars who participate in the free Brown Bag Lecture Series; $2,500: videotape of a congressional oral history, posted on the "Yielding the Floor" web site

Recent surveys have revealed a woeful lack of historical education in the United States: more students are able to name the Three Stooges (59%) than the three branches of government (41%); three quarters of 4th, 8th, and 12th graders lack proficiency in civics; and most 15- to 24-year olds rate "participating in democratic government and voting" their lowest priority in life. America’s "historical illiteracy" is a national problem, and the non-partisan (and non-governmental) US Capitol Historical Society is committed to turning things around. Programs focus on landmark legislation that has shaped the nation, the remarkable art and architecture of the Capitol, the cultural and ethnic diversity of the Congress, and other topics that bring history and government alive. As a charter member of Cultural Tourism DC, the Society works to make the Capitol more comprehensible to visitors and, as a partner with the DC school system, it helps to integrate its programs into classroom curricula. Since 9/11, with increased security restricting access to the building, the need to take the Capitol to the people is more critical than ever. You can support that effort, and stand up for historical literacy too.

Rebecca Evans, Vice President, Membership and Development 200 Maryland Avenue NE Washington, DC 20002 202-543-8919 ext 22 www.uschs.org