The 28 Principles of Liberty
as found in Dr. W. Cleon Skousen's book, The 5,000 Year Leap, which has a full chapter about each principle.
Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language
To understand Founding Era documents correctly you will need a good period dictionary in order to look up words and learn what they meant in that time period - because how words are used and what they mean changes over time - so you need to discover what the Founders meant when they chose to use a certain word. This is perhaps the best dictionary which is available online when you are seeking to understand our Founding Era documents by direct study.
Declaration of Independence
In order to understand the Constitution of the United States one MUST first understand the Declaration of Independence. In our day few Americans can list off more than one to perhaps three of the "repeated injuries and usurpations" cited against the King of England in the Declaration of Independence. Count them up - how many "repeated injuries and usurpations" are there? How many of those "repeated injuries and usurpations" have "we the people" apathetically allowed our federal government to slip back into?
Constitution for the United States of America
The Federalist Papers
"The Federalist Papers (correctly known as The Federalist) are a series of 85 articles advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution. Seventy-seven of the essays were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788 . A compilation of these and eight others, called The Federalist, was published in 1788 by J. and A. M’Lean. The Federalist Papers serve as a primary source for interpretation of the Constitution, as they outline the philosophy and motivation of the proposed system of government. The authors of the Federalist Papers wanted to both influence the vote in favor of ratification and shape future interpretations of the Constitution. According to historian Richard Morris, they are an 'incomparable exposition of the Constitution, a classic in political science unsurpassed in both breadth and depth by the product of any later American writer.'" (Summary by Wikipedia)"
The Anti-Federalist Papers
"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. (-JG - more correctly they came out against ratifying the "as drafted" Constitution without first amending it to correct errors such as a utter lack of a Bill of Rights and others. -JG-) 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 Making of America Seminar: The Founders' Principles of Liberty and the Meaning of the Constitution is an exciting look at the ingenious system of self-government that America's Founding Fathers discovered and then beautifully wove into a written Constitution. We begin by looking at the colonization of and the first permanent settlements in America, including Jamestown and Plymouth. We discuss what the Founders learned as they studied the civilizations of the past and how they implemented the correct principles of government they discovered into a written Constitution. We trace the early days of the original 13 colonies from the writing of the Declaration of Independence to the signing of the Constitution of the United States. We discuss the key personalities and major topics in the Constitutional Convention and then discuss many of the provisions in the US Constitution itself." -National Center for Constitutional Studies (NCCS) - (quote ends - my comment begins) -------- to best retain the info in the Seminar every participant needs their own 54 page Seminar Guide and a writing utensil to fill in the blanks during the Seminar.
The Constitution is the Solution is a very well done six lecture series by Robert Brown. You can start with this course - but from hosting this and several other courses I would suggest this as a second course after first completing a good starter course either from National Center for Constitutional Studies or Hillsdale College.
"Securing the Blessings of Liberty: An Examination of the United States Constitution" is a very well done class on the Constitution by Richard Church. It is done in four parts and available for free on YouTube. I highly recommend it.
Introduction to the Constitution is a free online course by Hillsdale College. The 12 videos in this introductory course are 7.5 - 14.5 minutes long. This course introduces some key concepts that help in gaining an understanding of the Constitution.
Constitution 101: The Meaning & History of the Constitution is a free online course by Hillsdale College. The 12 videos in the 2019 version of this course are each typically 35-45 minutes long. This is an excellent course for gaining an understanding of how the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution work together along with a good deal more. Highly recommended. My family spent 10 Monday evenings watching and listening to the ten hour long lectures in the original Constitution 101 course as our "Family Home Evening" to help ensure our children knew more about Founding Principles than they would or did learn in the excellent public school they attended.
Constitution 201:The Progressive Rejection of the Founding and the Rise of Bureaucratic Despotism is a free online 10 video course made by Hillsdale College which helps you understand how the USA has for over one hundred years progressively rejected Founding Principles and ignored the Limits the Constitution places upon the federal government.
The Presidency and the Constitution is a free ten lecture online video course by Hillsdale College. This is another insightful course helping to answer what the President's role is according to the Constitution, etc..
The American Heritage Collection by David Barton. There are eight videos in this excellent educational series on YouTube or Amazon Prime Video. I very much enjoyed it and learned a lot as well. Video length in this collection is mainly an hour and a half to two hours with one short video just under a half hour long.
American Heritage Series by David Barton. There are 38 just under a half hour long videos in this excellent and engaging educational series on YouTube - towards the end of the playlist there are a few repeats. This could be an excellent way to help bolster your children's education whether they are attending public school or being home schooled.
Building on the American Heritage Series by David Barton. There are thirteen videos in this excellent educational series on Amazon Prime Video. I very much enjoyed it and learned a lot as well. Well worth watching the series or any part thereof that is on a topic of interest. This has been available free on Amazon Prime Video - just remember Amazon changes up what is or is not available on Amazon Prime Video.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B078WYK4K3/ref=pd_cbs_318_2Foundations of Freedom with historian David Barton There are eighteen videos (each just under a half hour long) in this excellent and engaging educational series. I very much enjoyed it and learned a lot as well. Well worth watching the series or any part thereof that is on a topic of interest. David Barton like many of us didn't like history growing up but as he went to original sources and learned REAL history he became very interested and is a GREAT teacher of forgotten parts of American history. Wallbuilders which he founded also owns a collection of over 100,000 documents and artifacts from early American history - and he often draws on those original source documents. Learn and enjoy!!
In Non-Compliant, the movie KrisAnne Hall (Constitutional Lawyer) and her husband J.C. Hall give a EXCELLENT and relevant 1-1/2 hr crash course on the Constitution and what YOU can and should do. Watch it - likely more than one time. Ponder on it. Act on what you learn.
"In America Rewritten, an exclusive special feature from The Epoch Times, we speak with leading experts on how history is being falsified and how the system of government is being misrepresented, and we explore what the world would lose if the American Constitution were lost.
Join host Joshua Philipp as he speaks with experts including Dinesh D’Souza, Victor Davis Hanson, Rick Green, Trevor Loudon, Mary Grabar, Thomas K. Lindsay, Kevin Roberts, Craig Parshall, Dustin Bass, and K. Lloyd Billingsley in America Rewritten.”
The 1776 Report published January 2021 by The President’s Advisory 1776 Commission "The declared purpose of the President’s Advisory 1776 Commission is to 'enable a rising generation to understand the history and principles of the founding of the United States in 1776 and to strive to form a more perfect Union.' This requires a restoration of American education, which can only be grounded on a history of those principles that is 'accurate, honest, unifying, inspiring, and ennobling.' And a rediscovery of our shared identity rooted in our founding principles is the path to a renewed American unity and a confident American future."
Founders’ Quotes on Founding Principles by Bill of Rights Institute - one example “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.” – John Adams, A Defence of the Constitutions of the Government of the United States of America, 1787
Monumental: In Search of America’s National Treasure by Kirk Cameron is not a course or lecture but is a movie worth watching which explores some history you likely aren't aware of and in the process teaches Founding Principles. As of 6 Oct 2019 it is available on Amazon but is currently not on the Amazon Prime Video list.