Institute on the Constitution is an Independent Educational Outreach in Pasadena, Maryland. Our desire is to help individuals across America understand and appreciate their own history and heritage by reacquainting them with the worldview and vision of our Founding Fathers.
We believe that by understanding the way in which the framers of our Constitutional Republic viewed their relationship to God, to other sovereign states, to their families and to each other, we can gain valuable and practical insight into the foundational principles of America.
We encourage all individuals, families, churches, legislatures, civic and other organizations to familiarize themselves with our Constitutional heritage. Armed with the vision of the Founders, we can take an active role in the restoration of our Constitutional Republic.
Alexis de Toqueville, who toured this country during the 1820 – 30′s, and who wrote extensively of his experiences as an observer of American culture, after noting American ignorance about European affairs, wrote the following…
Clearly major changes have occurred in America since the time of Toqueville’s observations and we suffer the results of our current ignorance of our history by living in a culture that gradually acquiesces to increasing infringements on rights and liberties that our Founding Fathers considered God- given and unalienable. Indeed, there are many who make the case that we are living in slavery in America at this time.
What to do? Well, why not begin at the beginning and take the positive steps that will lead to real, tangible, palpable results.
Let us, first of all, thank God for the freedoms that He has allowed us to retain and let’s begin to recover the lost tools of self-government by learning about our place in His history. Let’s learn the history of our own country, how our Founding Fathers fashioned a plan for its preservation. The purpose of that plan was set forth in the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the structure of that plan took the form of an agreement between the sovereign states known as the United States Constitution.
We need to study this profound document and the historical context in which it was written and adopted. We need, furthermore, to understand the religious and philosophical worldview of the drafters of this instrument and the clear intent of the States in ratifying a document that set forth the limited nature of the powers being vested in the federal government. We need to understand the Founders intent in adopting a Bill of Rights that acted as a check on the power of Congress and the executive authority from infringing the rights of people from whom their authority was derived.
Regrettably but perhaps not surprisingly, the government schools have gradually lessened their emphasis on the teaching of American history and government. There seems to be a systematic and organized attempt to disconnect the youth of America from their heritage so that, at the present, although but a few generations from our Founders, school children today have very little concept of the basic principles that their Fathers fought and died to defend.
It is our hope that through the use of this lecture series along with the study notes and other materials, working in small, community groups and connected through the marvelous technology of the internet, participants in the Institute on the Constitution series can begin and continue the challenging but rewarding and Godly task of restoring our lost freedoms and passing on our Constitutional heritage of freedom to future generations of free Americans.
Institute on the Constitution currently conducts three live courses at our Pasadena, Maryland location. Two of them are twelve sessions in length while The Jury Course is six sessions. Typically, a lecture is presented, followed by a review of the material with adequate time provided for student questions and interaction. In most cases, some homework is suggested in order to broaden and deepen the students understanding of the subject matter covered. In the case of courses held in other locations, video presentations may take the place of the lecture while a designated “Host” leads the class through the same format as the live classes.
We have already seen that this program has gained very quick traction and acceptance in many communities. We very much appreciate those who have participated and those who have acted as hosts. Please continue to send us your comments and suggestions on how we can make it better. We see this as a grassroots effort to recover our Constitutional heritage.
For more information, call us at 866-730-9796.