Discover courses, collections, videos, essays, podcasts and more.
View LibraryExplore our upcoming webinars, events and programs.
View All EventsThe most effective way to secure a freer America with more opportunity for all is through engaging, educating, and empowering our youth. And the most effective way to achieve that is through investing in The Bill of Rights Institute. We contribute to teachers and students by providing valuable resources, tools, and experiences that promote civic engagement through a historical framework. You can be a part of this exciting work by making a donation to The Bill of Rights Institute today!
Make your investment into the leaders of tomorrow through the Bill of Rights Institute today!
Make a DonationLearn more about the different ways you can partner with the Bill of Rights Institute.
Learn More
EssayThe United States Founders believed that certain civic virtues were required of citizens in order for the Constitution to work. Numerous primary sources—notably the Federalist Papers and the Autobiography of Ben Franklin—point us to the “Founders’ Virtues.” You will explore some of the following civic virtues as an integral part of Documents of Freedom.
EssayThe United States was founded through a deliberative process that examined the wisdom and experience of the ages to discern human nature and the best forms of government that accorded with that nature. The Founders established a republic as the first nation in world history to be based upon certain principles.
EssayThe principle of due process of law means that the government must follow duly-enacted laws when it seeks to restrict or deny fundamental rights, including a person"s rights to life, liberty, or property. In essence, it means that government must treat its citizens fairly, following laws and established procedures in everything it does. It is the commitment to this principle that makes the United States, as John Adams once noted, "a government of laws, and not of men."
EssayBy the end of this section, you will explain the causes and effects of developments in popular culture in the United States over time.
EssayHow did President Reagan help win the Cold War?
EssayWhat were the causes and effects of the French and Indian War?
EssayBy the end of this section, you will explain how Lincoln’s leadership during the Civil War impacted American ideals over the course of the war
EssayHow did the Albany Plan of Union create colonial unity?
EssayWhy did Hamilton want the U.S. to have a national bank?
EssayHow did Alice Paul fight for equality of the sexes?
EssayWhy did the U.S. become involved in World War I?
EssayExplores American Indian activism in the 1970s.
Essay
EssayThe Founders were students of history. From ancient to recent times, history was full of examples of experiments in free republics which ended in dictatorship. Establishing safeguards against this natural and on-going threat would be vital to the new American republic. They combined their knowledge of the past with the tested ideas of philosophers and their own inventions in political science new political theories to create a new system of republican government.
EssayExplore how Carnegie became one of the richest men in the U.S.
