This study describes the civic and political behavior of the American public, with a special focus on youth ages 15 to 25. Using an extensive national telephone survey of 3,246 respondents, the authors describe what citizens are doing, and how often they are doing it. They look at a panorama of 19 core activities--ranging from voting to volunteering to signing petitions--and at many other political attitudes and behaviors. The report describes these activities, who is doing them, and how they vary by age group. Findings include: (1) Younger cohorts trail their elders in attentiveness to public affairs and in electoral participation, but hold their own in community-related and volunteer activities that give voice to their concerns; (2) There are two distinct modes of engagement--civic and political--and many choose to walk only one road, with evidence for a wide generation schism in the choice Americans make; (3) Young people respond to school-based initiatives and other invitations