In a powerful commencement speech to the graduates of Brandeis University, filmmaker Ken Burns highlighted the importance of studying American history: “It is my job to remind people of the power our past exerts, to help us better understand what’s going on now with compelling story, memory and anecdote.”

The patterns of history, Burns noted, “enable us to interpret our dizzying and sometimes dismaying present.”

But at many colleges and universities, history is a forgotten subject. Data compiled by the U.S. Department of Education shows that in 2018-2019 the number of bachelor's degrees awarded in history fell by more than a third from 2012, marking the smallest number of majors since the 1980s.

Joe Biden likes to say that “America is an idea.” But that idea is being rapidly lost.

In 1995, historian David McCullough was recognized by the National Book Foundation for his distinguished contribution to American letters. In his acceptance speech, McCullough warned, “We are raising a new generation of Americans who, to an alarming degree, are historically illiterate.”

A 2023 study by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center finds little improvement: One in 6 adults could not name the three branches of the federal government, and only 1 in 20 could cite the five freedoms protected by the First Amendment.

Too often, the teaching of American history is seen as a luxury. Today, many students entering college cast aside........

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