Constituting America Inc

Adult academic forum - 90 day studies - history holds the key to the future to engage adults in a thoughtful and informative discussion on america's founding principles and to aid parents in teaching their children about the constitution, constituting america launched the "history holds the key to the future" initiative. This initiative is an online forum that challenges adults to join with others around the nation in reading and discussing founding documents. The program is augmented by a notable group of constitutional scholars from across the country who write daily essays on the day's assigned reading. In september 2024 we launched our study of de tocqueville's prescient book, "democracy in america." this study will be completed in 2025. The 103 essays comprising the study were authored by 80 different constitutional scholars, historians, and elected officials and the 35 essays published in 2024 were viewed 1.3 million times (to date in august 2025 this study has had over 2.9 million views) these essays join our 13 past 90-day studies for a total of 1,529 essays by 259 nationally known constitutional scholars, historians and elected officials. Our past 90-day studies include: "first principles of the american founding: timeless exchanges and ideas resulting in the united states constitution 2023," "american exceptionalism revealed: the historic rise and fall of worldwide regimes and how united states founding wisdom prevails 2022," "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor: a 90 day study exploring the declaration of independence2021," "in the course of human events: a 90-day study of important dates in american history that shaped the united states and changed the world2020," "reserved to the states: boundaries on federal government for the flourishing of the american people 2019," "fire on the floor: the rules, conflict and debate that fuel the united states congress 2018," "u.s. Supreme court: landmark decisions and the justices who made them 2017," "the intrigue of presidential elections and their constitutional impact: a study of our country's past 57 presidential elections 2016," "constitutional crisis - how executive overreach is impeding your liberties and undermining states' sovereignty: a study on the critical erosion of constitutional checks and balances 2015." other past study topics include: "the classics that inspired the constitution and the challenges it faces today;" the amendments to the constitution, the constitution and the federalist papers and their relevance today. During our 90-day studies, citizens are encouraged to join the conversation with constitutional scholars by contributing blog comments, and discussing the day's assignment on facebook, twitter, and other social media. Our social media presence has rapidly grown over the years (35,000 facebook fans by the end of 2011 to over 122,000, one of the largest of any constitution education organization; over 28,000 youtube subscribers, again one of the largest of any constitution education organization. Since 2020 our instagram account grew from just 1,000 followers to now over 9,600 followers in 2024 in 2024 alone, our posts and ads reached 51 million people on social media - averaging 1 million people each week, or about 140,000 every day. As a result of this initiative, thousands of citizens have gained a deeper understanding of the constitution's meaning, and its relevancy today through the essays, commentaries and analysis provided by the participating seasoned scholars and historians. All thirteen studies are available in their entirety, archived and searchable, and in downloadable pdf form, and are being used online for educational curriculum and online studies.

Winners' scholarships and mentor experience/trips - to date, through the "we the future" contest and the turner maurice gauntt, jr. Exemplary citizen award, the 297 elementary, middle school, high school, college, and graduate school winners from 38 different states have received over 364,805 in scholarships and prize money. In 2024, constituting america awarded 33,140 in scholarship prizes to the 2023 high school, college, and teacher winners and the turner maurice gauntt, jr. Exemplary citizen award winner, alexa mcmillan. Through 2024, our 21 teacher winners have won a total of 17,750 for having the best lesson plan. Mentor trips - our "we the future" contest winners not only receive scholarship prizes - we mentor them in various ways, including taking them on a yearly mentor trip. In 2024, we took 23 winners from 11 states on a 2.5 day trip to washington d.c. Over the course of the trip, our group toured the u.s. Capitol, the victims of communism museum, the national archives, the supreme court and mount vernon. We had the great honor to perform a wreath-laying ceremony at george washington's tomb at mount vernon. A thomas jefferson reenactor visited with students about the importance of civil civic conversation, and we had dinner at the historic gadsby's tavern restaurant. After the trip, one of our winners commented, "if i had to sum up this trip in one word: wow this was an absolutely incredible opportunity that i am so blessed to have experienced. Being with a group of peers who was just as passionate about patriotism, america, and the constitution as i am was so fun and life-giving. The conversations (and respectful debates) we were able to have with one another challenged me to be able to defend my constitutional stance and share my knowledge with others." in past years, our students have traveled on all-expense paid trips to philadelphia, hollywood, nashville, new york and washington, d.c. During the mentor trips, students meet with industry leaders, professionally record their winning songs, get filmed for mini-documentaries and music videos and all done with a constitutional scholar and attend a two-hour in-depth constitution class. Some of our past mentors include singers vince gill, lari white, film and television star gary sinise, and film producers jonathan and deborah flora and micheal flaherty. Other highlights include meeting with chief justice john roberts at the u.s. Supreme court, vip tours of disney, universal studios, mount vernon estates, the historical home of george washington, as well as dinner with constitutional scholars southwestern law school professor jorge knipprath and hillsdale's william morrisey.

Winner promotion - the work performed or created by our contest winners does not lie dormant. Constituting america is the only organization that utilizes the mediums of movies, music and television for the national distribution of the kids' own winning works to inspire americans of all ages to learn about the u.s. Constitution. We submit our contest winners' public service announcements (psas) to television and radio stations across the nation, and they are actually played on tv and radio. As of 2024, 275 television stations had played our winners' public service announcements and/or had them in rotation reaching over 138 million households. Our winners' radio psa's have been played on over 20 radio stations in major markets such as chicago, detroit, washington, dc, las vegas and honolulu garnering over 105 million nielsen-verified radio impressions. We submit our winners' films to film festivals across the nation. In 2024, our we the future contest winners' psa's, short films and music videos received 43 official selection honors- a prestigious designation by a film festival recognizing a film's artistic value-with 7 ultimately winning an award. To date, we the future contest films include 155 official selections and 21 award winners. Constituting america works with winners of our songwriting contest to professionally record their songs; we work with grassroots promotion of nashville to submit the songs to radio stations, and our winners' songs actually get played on the radio. Our song winners have recorded in the historic quonset hut recording studio in nashville, in grammy winners michael boddicker and lari white's studios and at new republic studios in austin. In 2023, we assisted we the future contest winner colt jaxon in preparing and professionally recording his winning song, "free today," for 2024 airplay on radio stations across the country. With our promotional help, "free today" went on to receive over 14 million impressions on more than 31 radio stations in 2024 cumulatively, our winners' songs have been played on 81 radio stations, with 174 million impressions. Winning artwork by our students is utilized to create holiday cards and these cards are mailed out to national, state and local leaders. We also place the winning artwork on notecards that are sold in our constituting america store and given away as prizes at our public speaking events. Constitution day programming - for the seventh year in a row, our "we the future" contest winners participated in a constitution day program produced by constituting america. After two years of participating in live programming with the u.s. Department of education, in 2020 constituting america created our own five-hour virtual event, a series of workshops, live-streamed to students and classrooms across america, and continued and grew this event in 2024, broadcasting live from mount vernon in a 90-minute program starring our we the future contest winners. The 2024 program included a live fife and drum performance, color guard presentation, musical performances of student-winning songs, student-produced psas highlighting the first amendment and civil civic conversations, a historical skit presented with professional actors, and a student-led panel discussion on why the constitution matters today. Classrooms from 203 schools in 46 states across the u.s. Tuned in with 6,029 live viewers. Additionally, we shipped out 6,194 free constitutions to schools to assist in their constitution day educational programs. American exceptionalism: how & why it matter - in 2023 we launched our newest program: a podcast, documentary and docu-series entitled american exceptionalism: how & why it matters. As background on the project, each year for the past 13 years, as part of our "history holds the key to the future" online study, constituting america has chosen a topic related to america and america's founding documents, recruiting top scholars to research and write about the topic. Our 2022 american exceptionalism study examines historic world-wide regimes, tying their demise to their failure to follow founding principles laid out in the u.s. Constitution-juxtaposing the failure of those dictatorships to the continued success of america's providential documents. We are now turning our american exceptionalism online study-one of our most popular online studies ever with over 2.9 million essay views-into a podcast. Documentary and docuseries, entitled the pursuit. We began filming in 2023 and launched the podcast portion of the project in the spring of 2024, with over 2 million views to date as our founder, actress janine turner, says in the introduction to the series: "american exceptionalism. Some people believe it. Some people don't. But what does american exceptionalism mean? The goal of my journey is to get past the buzzword and explore: what does american exceptionalism really mean? I'm janine turner. Join me as i speak with scholars and americans all across the united states about what american exceptionalism means to them, both historically and currently. American exceptionalism. How and why it matters." the talk show style podcast can currently be viewed on our youtube channel, roku channel and all your favorite podcast platforms. This program is dedicated to constituting america's dear friend and leadership board member, jocelyn white, who passed away in 2021. Students' scholastic constitution contest & turner maurice gauntt, jr. Exemplary citizen award "we the future" contest - constituting america's cornerstone initiative, the "we the future" contest, offers america's students, k-college and graduate school an opportunity to learn about the u.s. Constitution and our country's founding principles in creative and innovative ways. The contest is designed to influence and educate students and adults through the culture. This fun and engaging contest awards prizes for original songs, short films, public service announcements, stem and marketing programs, speeches, poems, drawings essays, and teacher lesson plans inspired by the u.s. Constitution. We then promote the winners' works by distributing them through the national media. We are the only organization that utilizes movies, music and television to promote the kids' own works to inspire americans of all ages to learn about the u.s. Constitution. We the future contest entries have been received from every state in the nation and are judged by a respected panel of well-known judges such as country music star john rich, the late nashville producer joe scaife, rap star moses uvere, film producers micheal flaherty, suzanne weinert, and jonathan and deborah flora, publisher chip flaherty, national council for the social studies terry cherry, texas poet laureate karla morton, best selling author ron hall, foundation for a better life's gary dixon, former white house speechwriter marc thiessen, rice university professor james denicco, texas public policy foundation's thomas lindsay and president reagan's former omb director jim miller. In 2024, our "we the future" contest winners, representing fourteen states, received scholarships totaling 33,140. Winners also receive national exposure and promotion (see "winner promotion" program); scholarship prizes for high school and college students (see below); and an all-expense paid mentor trip (see "mentor trip program"). Younger students receive gift cards and other prizes. Turner maurice gauntt, jr. Exemplary citizen award - in 2014 a new category was added to the "we the future" contest: the turner maurice gauntt, jr. Exemplary citizenship award. This 4,540 scholarship is awarded annually through constituting america. This scholarship is named for janine turner's father, mr. Turner maurice gauntt, jr. Who was the inspiration for janine turner's founding of constituting america. Janine's father was born on december 18, 1934, and departed this life on january 24, 2014. Janine's father taught her from an early age that we are blessed to live as citizens of the united states of america. He was a west point graduate and flew with the strategic air command. He was one of the first to fly the revolutionary b-58 hustler at mach 2. Janine's father was brave, honest, and resilient. He inspired her to love her country and be willing to make sacrifices for her. He inspired her to study history, to value lessons learned from both history and great patriots, and to be of service. Mr. Gauntt valued our country's founding principles and our founding fathers' wisdom. With his exemplary service, he honored our united states constitution. Constituting america awards the turner maurice gauntt, jr. Exemplary citizen award every year to a graduating senior, nominated by a teacher or school administrator, whose character mirrors these values in the four cornerstone areas: stellar academic record, athletic excellence, community service, student body leadership. Through 2024, 11 students have been awarded this scholarsh