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America's Founding Documents

No documents have had a greater influence on the citizens of our country than the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution.

Our constitutional system has been called “the great engine of freedom.” But, like any valuable machine, it requires careful and frequent attention to continue operating correctly. In a people’s government, it is the people themselves who must provide this attention.

Each generation of Americans must earn again the rights and liberties passed on to them.  To do so, of course, you must first read and understand these two vital documents.

Although both of them were written for ordinary citizens, certain parts are not easy to read today because the English language has changed in some ways since the late 1700s. That is why this resource has been prepared. By providing definitions of many difficult words and phrases, Freedom Defined can help you understand the documents that gave birth to our country.  Continue to Freedom Defined.


Rediscovering the Ideas of Liberty

United States Constitution

Sir William E. Gladstone, four-time prime minister of Great Britain (1868 - 1894), had this to say about the United States Constitution:

"...the American Constitution is, so far as I can see, the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.  It has had a century of trial, under the pressure of exigencies caused by an expansion unexampled in point of rapidity and range; and its exemption from formal change, though not entire, has certainly proved the sagacity of the constructors, and the stubborn strength of the fabric.

For two centuries the Declarations of Independence and the United States Constitution have been a beacon to all men and women who value freedom.  As the American statesman Henry Clay said,

“The Constitution of the United States was not made merely for the generation that then existed but for posterity – unlimited, undefined, endless, perpetual posterity.”

What makes our founding documents so unique in all the world?  Do you know?  Learn more about Our Ageless Constitution.

Free Resources

Looking for engaging civics lesson plans and supplementary materials? We have a variety of free resources to choose from.

Curriculum Supplements

Looking for a bit more? Take a look at our civics curriculum supplements.

Purchase Order

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