Bill of Rights Institute
Bill of Rights Institute is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization started in September 1999 to support the teaching of constitutional principles. The Institute develops educational resources on American history and government, provides professional development opportunities to teachers, and runs student programs and scholarship contests.
In August 2014, the Institute launched Documents of Freedom: History, Government, and Economics through Primary Sources. It’s a free, digital textbook written for teachers by teachers that’s accessible everywhere, 24/7. With over 11,500 educators utilizing Documents of Freedom, it’s already impacting over a million students.
Since its founding, the Institute has published 22 curricula for elementary, middle, and high school classrooms. To make these resources more accessible to teachers, the Institute launched Voices of History. It’s a freely accessible digital storehouse featuring the best of our primary source based curricula. All of our resources are designed to drive students to the Constitution as the foundation of their analysis of American history.
The Institute has also held several direct student education programs and scholarship contests. During the week-long Constitutional Academy program held each summer, students work with scholars, academics, and leaders in history, government, and economics to learn more about how to think constitutionally. The Institute holds yearly scholarship contests including the “We the Students” scholarship contest. Another student program called “Constitution Connection” provides funding for events and club meetings that address ideas from a constitutional perspective.From its founding to today, the Institute has remained steadfast in its mission of educating young people about the Constitution. With the generous support of individual, corporate, and foundation donors, the Institute has made significant progress in strengthening civic knowledge and values for the next generation of citizens. Through its programs and curricula, the Institute has provided a better understanding of the Constitution and Bill of Rights to more than 5 million students and over 50,000 teachers. Additionally, the Institute has directly trained over 22,000 teachers through its constitutional seminars.