Our History

From an idea to a civics movement.

Seeing the success and growth of scholars interested in our mission, JMC was founded in 2007 as an independent nonpartisan 501(c)(3) foundation, conducting summer institutes and other professional development programs for scholars and supporting student events and postdoctoral fellowships on campuses. 

In 2012, with the University of Chicago Press and University of Notre Dame, JMC launched the American Political Thought journal, the first academic peer-reviewed journal devoted solely to its subject.

In 2016, JMC launched its Founding Civics Initiative to foster K-12 civics and history teacher professional development and graduate courses.

In 2021, we began expanding partnerships with like-minded organizations to support and advance one another’s projects where our missions align, which led to our first National Summit on Civic Education in 2022.

In 2023, we launched our National Civics Council and revamped our Academic Advisory Councils.

And in June 2024, the Jack Miller Center held its first History Leadership Roundtable to build a plan for reviving serious teaching in the field of American history, mirroring the success in the field of political science.