Teacher's edition.

• Author: Rebhun, Elliott

The earthquake that devastated Haiti in January focused attention on a country that was already in rough shape. Haiti has important historical, geographic, and personal ties to the United States--it's only 700 miles from Florida, and approximately 800,000 Haitians currently live in the U.S. Our cover story looks at Haiti's troubled past and the difficult road ahead, with a focus on what role the United States might play.

Rebuilding is also one of the tasks South Africa has faced since the end of apartheid in 1991. South Africa was able to make the transition to majority black rule without the violence that many had predicted. But it's still dealing with a number of apartheid's legacies, including an education system that is unable to prepare most blacks for economic success.

Every 10 years since 1790, the U.S. has conducted a census, as the Constitution requires. Census...