The 1776 Report

 Thomas Jefferson said, “The purpose of a written constitution is entirely defeated if, in interpreting it as a legal document, its provisions are manipulated and worked around so that the document means whatever the manipulators wish. On every question of construction carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.” 

Patrick HENRY (1736 - 1799)

During the period of debate over the ratification of the Constitution, numerous independent local speeches and articles were published all across the country. Initially, many of the articles in opposition were written under pseudonyms, such as "Brutus", "Centinel", and "Federal Farmer". Eventually, famous revolutionary figures such as Patrick Henry came out publicly against the Constitution. They argued that the strong national government proposed by the Federalists was a threat to the rights of individuals and that the President would become a king. They objected to the federal court system created by the proposed constitution. This produced a phenomenal body of political writing; the best and most influential of these articles and speeches were gathered by historians into a collection known as the Anti-Federalist Papers in allusion to the Federalist Papers. (Summary by Ticktockman)

 The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum is a complete collection of lesson plans for teaching American history, civics, and government to K-12 students. Students who study using this curriculum learn about American history from the colonies through the Civil War at four different times during their K-12 years, each time increasing in depth. The curriculum also includes American history since the Civil War and American government and civics for both middle and high school students. 

The purposes of this policy document are:

(1) To encourage public-school instruction conducive to developing skills and gaining factual knowledge necessary for students’ future success as critical thinkers, citizens, and leaders of the state of [STATE];

(2) To protect children against the unwarranted and harmful influence of politicized classroom instruction;

(3) To provide a safe, healthy, supportive, respectful, and developmentally appropriate learning environment; and

(4) To bolster parents’ fundamental rights to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children.