Colleen Shogun made history when she became the first woman to serve as archivist of the United States in 23,

until February, when President Trump fired her with no warning or reason given.

Now, Shogun has a new challenge, which she unveiled during our exclusive interview.

Today, Constitution Day, she launched a national bipartisan effort, part of an alliance of

34 presidential centers and some 100 groups called More Perfect, working to strengthen our democracy.

This report is part of our series Art in Action, exploring the intersection of art and democracy

and part of our Canvas arts coverage.

At Lincoln's Cottage in Washington, D.C., Colleen Shogan knows history has its eyes on her. As the nation prepares to mark 250 years, she's working to steer it back on track with what she calls a civics education moonshot.

What is the problem that you see needs fixing right now?

I think we have a crisis with civics education in this country.

We know some of the statistics are alarming.

About 22% of our nation's eighth graders are proficient in civics education. We also know that

70% of Americans, adults, would be unable to answer the basic questions on a civics or history test.

When you say that many Americans can't answer basic questions, what kind of questions are we talking about?

Something like how many branches of government are in the United States or which branch of government is responsible for writing the laws?

Questions like that.

Shogun, who's helped to lead nonpartisan groups from the Library of Congress to the White House Historical Association to the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission, is now spearheading a new national project to help fill that civics void.

Called In Pursuit, it calls upon former presidents and first ladies like the Clintons, Bushes, and Obamas, historians

and thought leaders, including multiple Pulitzer Prize winners and journalists, including

our own Judy Woodruff, each contributing an essay about a president or first lady, an idea

born from Shogun's time leading the National Archives.

I visited all of the presidential libraries when I was the archivist of the United States.

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