civics (n.)

"the science of government, study of the rights and responsibilities of a citizen," 1885, in American Institute of Civics, incorporated May 1885, from civic, by analogy with politics (see -ics).

"The term 'Civics,' however unfamiliar the word, could be wisely applied with a broader significance than that attached to 'Political Science,' as including not only the science of government, but political economy, and that part of social science which is related to government and citizenship." [E.E. White, quoted in The School Journal, July 25, 1885]