Justice Gorsuch Co-Authors Children's Book on Declining Civic Literacy

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch warned of a sharp drop in civic literacy among U.S. students and adults, a concern that led him to co-author a children's book on America's founding principles.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Gorsuch discussed his new book, "Heroes of 1776: The Story of the Declaration," aimed at reversing the decline in civic education and history knowledge for children and grown-ups alike.

"Only about 13% of kids today in eighth grade are proficient in American history — [and just] 22% in civics," Gorsuch said. "Six out of 10 adults would fail our citizenship test."

Those figures point to a deeply troubling situation, he added, and they directly inspired the book.

"That’s how [my co-author] hooked me," Gorsuch said of Janie Nitze, his former clerk. "She says, ‘You have been complaining about the state of civic education in this country for a long time.’ She’s right. ... So, it's time to do something about it, I figured."

Gorsuch has pushed for better civic education programs for U.S. youth long before his Supreme Court nomination.

He told Fox News Sunday the book drew inspiration from retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who started a civics nonprofit after leaving the bench.

"As she was leaving the court, she reflected that civic education in this country is a problem," Gorsuch said. "And for a lot of reasons, it's simply not being taught anymore."

"So I do think we have a big problem, because we are a creedal nation, again, not based on race or religion, but based on an idea, three great ideas, I think," he continued. "And if you don't know what they are, the history and the people that made them possible, how can you possibly carry them on?"

In 2019, Gorsuch pointed out that only one-third of Americans could name all three branches of government, a drop he called worrisome since those branches check each other to prevent overreach.

Without separation of powers, he said then on Fox & Friends, freedom promises amount to "just words on a page."

"What Madison knew is that people are not angels," Gorsuch said. "And that we need to separate powers that keep us free."

The book, illustrated with hand-painted images, recounts tales of famous revolutionaries and teenagers who fought or spied in the Revolutionary War to mark the nation's 250th anniversary.

"Young people have been remarkable contributors to our country throughout history," Gorsuch said, naming teen participants featured in the book.

"We wanted to inspire young people. That was a huge part of it," he added.

Gorsuch emphasized that civic education transcends partisanship on the Supreme Court. All nine justices agree on its importance, he said.

"If you polled the nine of us in our conference room, one thing we could all agree on is the importance of learning American history,"

"Because how else are you going to carry this thing forward? Somebody has to run the zoo," he said.