With all that is going on in our country right now, there is no better time to explore and deepen our understanding of the construction of our Constitution. I received The Handbook for We the People textbook as well as a USB Flash drive containing the following:

1. Four Videos
2. Student Workbooks for Video and Text as well as a Student Guide for Bootcamp
3. Teachers Guide and Host Guide
4. Bastiat’s The Law in PDF form (also an outline for review)

As I looked over all of the material provided, I became more confident that my family would truly be able to understand the Constitution - its history, value, and depth so that we can better defend our nation. Our freedom and future depend on our ability to guard and defend our freedoms. This can only happen when we have a working knowledge of the rules in place. 

Perhaps some of us, when we were younger, recall having to memorize portions of this document. We only need the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers. Do you believe that liberty matters more than security? Our Founding Fathers certainly did. The idea of limited government, as you will see, revolves around enumerated powers, as the ordinary blessings of society and civil government are only possible with a government that is strictly limited in the power given it. 

The four main video segments are all about 45 minutes in length: packed full of information. We learn first the many misconceptions surrounding our Constitution and explore the rights given by God and those given by the Constitution. As we progress, we gain an understanding of the value and purpose of the Oath of Office, the Rule of Law, and Enumerated Powers of the Judiciary, Congress, and the President. I must admit there was a great deal of information here that was quite new to me! 

We worked through the videos using the Student Workbook designed for this video boot camp. This was a significant help to my boys as it listed what was covered in each video while also supplying questions related to the content in each video. These are beneficial for ensuring understanding as you progress through this course. 

We also worked through The Handbook for We the People by Bob Hilliard. Within these eight chapters, we read about American Constitutional History and gained an understanding of why we need to study our Constitution. These chapters include numerous resources related to each topic. This handbook is wonderful as a resource because it uses the same definitions and resources our founders used, this clears up so much misunderstanding and confusion. We need to be reminded that this political system was designed to serve the will of the people, also known as the social contract theory of citizenship. Also included in the back of the book as references you find a glossary, the Declaration of Independence, and The Constitution of the United States with Amendments and much more! 

Following each chapter are questions for completion or discussion. There are research assignments related to laws and government departments. As we read, we see the great care, the concern, and detail that went into developing the rules which govern our Nation. Certainly, we can see how our Founders had much to lose, yet so much more to gain in a land designed to honor our Creator. From parental rights to church and state, we learn how these were designed and why so that we are better able to speak to and uphold them in the years to come. 

For far too long we have been ignorant of the workings of our government and we have not been diligently keeping our obligation when power is given and has been misused. The future of this country weighs heavily upon its citizens acknowledging the source of our individual rights. Alexander Hamilton wrote that we the people are the “natural guardians of the Constitution.” Now is the time for us to learn and then guard this, our Constitution. 

-Product review by Jennifer King, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, October 2020