A 200-year journey has taken the United States from individualism to democratic community toward a global society. The struggles of this heritage are not evident unless political culture, literature of struggles, and diverse cultural contributions are presented as a whole. The focus of this project is the question: can public education secure and teach common values, such as respect for individual self-worth, cooperation and conflict resolution, justice and compassion and at the same time respect diversity? To appreciate the struggles of U.S. heritage, basic literature of democracy was integrated with democratic teaching methods. A collaborative network of 13 Professional Development Schools (PDS), partnered with professors from Indiana State University, created an institute to enrich the teaching of literature, history, and government for K-12 teachers. Three methods were used: (1) the study of the evolution of democracy by reading and discussing key texts and documents in the humanities; (2) the demonstration and experiencing of democratic teaching methods in the context of the institutes; and (3) the exploration of important texts in K-12 literature that deal with key values of democratic living. This report outlines the curriculum and teachers' responses to important events of the institute and gives a sense of the "lived through" democracy that evolved. (BT)