Since the terrorist attack of September 11th America has been filled with clouds of evil. They have darkened our reason and covered us with ashes of anger. How do we sort out our feelings of revenge and retaliation with those of understanding, compassion and love? Some of us believe knowledge of American history will give us the insight and maturity that we need to help our nation through this war on terrorism. American citizens need to understand the basic principles of democracy and freedom because they must know what we fight for. Americans need to rededicate themselves to the cause of freedom to face the future. Freedom should not be taken for granted because there are those who would take it from us. People need to understand that some governments terrorize and abuse their people. These governments intentionally control their people by keeping them oppressed and ignorant. The history of our country is great but as Thomas Jefferson warned: "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be". A recent alarming ACTA report which polled seniors at the nation's top 55 colleges indicates that we have a generation of Americans who are historically illiterate. The survey revealed that almost half would fail the basic test in American history required for immigrants who seek citizenship in the United States. American Symbols Commemorative Edition has the common information about the different state flowers, birds and trees as well as information about the many new symbols which the states have enacted which includes their scientific names and dates of inception it also includes the active and colorful history of each state and interesting facts and trivia about the states.