Bill of Rights Institute

The Founders understood rights as protections. No one may interfere with your speech, your worship, your property. Franklin Roosevelt proposed something different: rights the government must actively provide. His 1944 State of the Union, the "Second Bill of Rights" speech, listed employment, medical care, housing, and economic security among them. Roosevelt died 15 months later, but his successors passed much of the agenda into law. The distinction between negative and positive rights is one of the most consequential ideas in American constitutional debate, and it remains genuinely contested today. BRI's newest Primary Source Essentials makes that distinction clear in just a couple of minutes. Watch it here: https://bit.ly/4zb2Yq9 #CivicEducation #AmericanHistory #PrimarySources #ConstitutionalPrinciples

John Adams thought Americans would celebrate independence on July 2. That was the day the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted Richard Henry Lee's resolution declaring the colonies "free and independent states." Adams wrote to Abigail that it was the greatest question ever debated in America. 2 days later, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, and July 4 became the date we remember. Both days mattered. Understanding why is the beginning of understanding what the Declaration actually did. BRI's newest A250 Mini Documentary walks through the full sequence: the debate, the drafting, and the principles of equality, natural rights, and self-government that Americans have been claiming ever since. Watch it here: https://bit.ly/45qL59g #CivicEducation #AmericanHistory #A250 #DeclarationOfIndependence

Amber Chih grew up with Tourette syndrome. So she built something to make sure people like her are heard. The Northwood High School student just won the $7,500 grand prize in BRI's MyImpact Challenge for A Thousand Words, an advocacy program amplifying the voices of people with invisible disabilities. She interviewed 50+ people across America, built a storytelling gallery, created a classroom curriculum that's reached 2,500+ students, and partnered with the City of Irvine to launch Invisible Disabilities Awareness Week. Fellow Irvine student Shaili Chudasama of Portola High School took the $5,000 second prize for Startup Stars, teaching 100+ middle schoolers to launch real businesses. This is what happens when students turn personal passion into community impact. Congratulations to both 👇 https://bit.ly/4wmci89 #CivicEducation #StudentLeadership #MyImpactChallenge #Civics

🖋️ August is National Make-A-Will Month, a time to protect what matters to you and plan for the future. At the Bill of Rights Institute, we believe investing in civic education is one of the most meaningful legacies you can leave. By including BRI in your will or estate plans, you’re ensuring that future generations of students will engage with America’s founding principles and our shared civic life. For helping support young citizens, you receive exclusive membership in the James Madison Legacy Society. You’ll enjoy special recognition, a framed copy of the Bill of Rights, and personal thanks from a BRI educator. 📖 Discover more about how to support BRI through planned giving here: https://bit.ly/45BHw0X #PlannedGiving #LegacyGiving #CivicEducation #MakeAWillMonth #EstatePlanning

"America's a home. We're an idea. But we also have been, and will continue to be, an argument." That's David Bobb on the 701 Civics podcast, and it's the heart of his new book with Tony Williams, Divided Over the Declaration. His central claim runs against the grain of how we usually talk about our differences: the argument over the Declaration of Independence isn't a sign of national weakness. It's a feature of American life, and always has been. From Frederick Douglass to Abraham Lincoln to Barbara Jordan, generation after generation has returned to the same document to ask the same question: are we living up to the promise that all are created equal? Douglass called the Declaration a promissory note. Lincoln called it the "apple of gold." Jordan, the lowest-ranking member of the Watergate committee, told the nation her faith in the Constitution was "total," even as she named that people like her were left out of it at the founding. The through-line, Bobb argues, is that returning to first principles is how a self-governing people works through its hardest disagreements. As Jordan put it, the task is not the elimination of disagreements, but the management of them. 🎧 Listen here: https://bit.ly/4xuuNIx #CivicsEducation #DeclarationOfIndependence #AmericanHistory #CivicDiscourse #BillOfRightsInstitute

A raccoon named Rebecca arrived at the White House as an ingredient. She was meant for the Thanksgiving dinner. Grace Coolidge adopted her instead. That small act says a lot about the woman. While her husband kept meetings short and words shorter, Grace opened the White House to the public, greeting visitors herself. She was the first First Lady to hold a bachelor's degree, taught at a school for the deaf, and welcomed Helen Keller to the presidential home more than once. When her son died in the summer of 1924, she kept her public appearances and let the country grieve alongside her rather than closing herself off. Respect, in her hands, was not a formality. It was how she treated people. This In Pursuit video is based on an essay by Colleen Shogan and produced with In Pursuit, an initiative of More Perfect. Free, under 4 minutes, with a companion lesson for grades 6-12. Watch: https://lnkd.in/eT9p_5r4 #CivicEducation #AmericanHistory #SocialStudies #FirstLadies #TeachingResources

"Where flowers bloom, so does hope." Lady Bird Johnson said it, and she spent a lifetime acting on it. As the interstate system spread across the country in the 1960s, she looked at the billboards, junkyards, and overgrown roadsides and saw something bigger than an eyesore. She saw a loss of respect for the land itself. So she lobbied Congress and won. The Highway Beautification Act was nicknamed "Lady Bird's Bill." She launched community projects nationwide, helped spark the momentum that led to the first Earth Day in 1970, and insisted that beautification was "far more than a matter of cosmetics." To her, it was civic life: the effort to bring the natural and manmade worlds into harmony. This one comes with a special resonance. The essay behind the video was written by First Lady Laura Bush, herself a champion of conservation and libraries. Our fifth and final In Pursuit video is out today, produced with In Pursuit, an initiative of More Perfect, and drawing on the work of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation. Free, 5 minutes, with a companion lesson for grades 6-12. Watch: https://bit.ly/4wCbzR3 That completes the series: Madison, John Quincy Adams, Grant, Coolidge, and Johnson! 5 figures, 5 virtues, all free for your classroom. #CivicEducation #AmericanHistory #SocialStudies #Conservation #TeachingResources

December 1944. Bastogne, Belgium. Temperatures below 0. Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe and the 101st Airborne were surrounded, outnumbered 5 to 1, and running low on food, ammunition, and medicine. Then a letter arrived from the German commander. Surrender, it warned, or face "total annihilation." McAuliffe's reply was 1 word: "Nuts!" The Germans were baffled by the expression. The American officer who delivered the note translated it plainly: it meant go to hell. His men held the line for 6 more days until Patton's Third Army broke through. And that single word came to define a life built on courage. McAuliffe learned to parachute at 44. He jumped into Normandy. He helped develop the bazooka. He led from the front, shoulder to shoulder with troops half his age. BRI Vice President of Content Kirk Higgins tells the full story on this episode of Our American Stories, a reminder of what courage against overwhelming odds actually looks like. 🎧 Listen here: https://ihr.fm/4yTuU1S #CivicsEducation #AmericanHistory #WWII #BattleOfTheBulge #Courage #BillOfRightsInstitute #OurAmericanStories

"Leadership isn't just about rising in the ranks and stepping up when it's needed. It's also about stepping back, listening to people around you, and inspiring others to build themselves up." That's Bryce Herold, a high school debater from Ohio reflecting on 5 days at the Debate and Leadership Institute. Alongside Founding Forward, BRI brought rising 10th-12th graders to Valley Forge for a week of Socratic dialogue, debate workshops, and visits to Valley Forge National Historic Park and Independence Hall, culminating in a final tournament at the historic Union League of Philadelphia. The topic they debated: Whether Congress should be required to authorize deploying national security forces into states. No easy answers. That's the point. This is what civic education looks like when it's working 👇 https://bit.ly/4vScTy8 #CivicEducation #Leadership #DebateEducation #Civics