In the 19th century, the greatest questions concerningAmerican citizenship were whether this new modern experiment inlarge-scale republican self-governance could work at all, andwhether its initial reliance on slavery could be overcome. Theanswers proved to be that a large-scale republic centered oncommercial, not martial aspirations could indeed endure, and that itcould achieve the elimination of chattel slavery, though not withoutenormous costs. In the 20th century, the major issuesbecame whether formally equal citizenship could be extended to alladults, regardless of race and gender. The answer proved to be thatwomen and non-whites could gain genuine possession of the franchiseand access to public office, even if only through great civicstruggles, and even if those gains still left the nation far shortof achieving practical equality in many spheres of public andprivate life. Though much remains to be explored in regard to thosepast developments, it is obviously timely now to ask, “What are themajor issues facing American citizenship in the 21stcentury?” It is also tempting to speculate about how laws and publicpolicies will deal with them, though that quest of course carries usout over even thinner ice.