HILLSDALE, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – In their mission to increase constitutional understanding and civic education across the country, Michigan’s Hillsdale College sends out free Pocket Constitutions when requested by individuals, schools and legislators. The Pocket Constitutions consist of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution and are free through an online form.
In a recent statement they released, Hillsdale College announced that they have sent out a record-setting number of three million of those Pocket Constitutions this year.
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Bill Gray, Chief Marketing Officer for the school said, “We’ve seen the number of Pocket Constitution requests increase dramatically over this year. We are encouraged that schools, legislators, parents and people of all ages are taking advantage of this free resource.”
According to Bill Zeiser, Associate Director of Media Relations & Communications, “Since August of 2014, Hillsdale College has distributed 4,809,036 Pocket Constitutions. Most are sent to people who have seen the Pocket Constitutions and would like to distribute them in their areas, or to people who have heard Hillsdale’s radio ads directing them to our website to receive a free copy and to schools.”
He added, “The Constitutions are most often funded by small donations of $5 and up from people across the nation. These generous donors believe that Americans, particularly the young, should have an understanding of our nation’s founding documents.”
Hillsdale College, founded in 1844, is an independent, nonsectarian, Christian liberal arts college located in southern Michigan. They refuse to accept federal or state taxpayer subsidies and have built a national reputation through its classic liberal arts core curriculum and their principles that support civil and religious liberties. Their website says that “Learning, character, faith and freedom: these are the inseparable purposes of Hillsdale College.”
In addition to sending out the Pocket Constitutions, they also provide educational resources such as free online courses on the Constitution, American history, the Federalist Papers and more. They also offer a free K-12 American history and civics curriculum and books like “The U.S. Constitution: A Reader” and “Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story.” Additionally, they produce a free monthly speech digest called Imprimis that has a circulation of more than 6.3 million.
Gray said, “I think the increased interest in America’s founding documents is a sign of the times. People are seeing that schools are not educating the next generation on principles of liberty set forth in the Declaration and underlying the Constitution and are turning to Hillsdale to learn these principles for themselves via our online courses such as ‘Constitution 101: The Meaning and History of the Constitution.’”
The college receives large orders from schools around their country who use them in their educational teachings. Hoping to educate our political leadership as well, Hillsdale College has also sent packages of Pocket Constitutions and Constitution 101 DVDs to state end federal legislators’ offices.
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