◆ Sample Work · Civic Foundation · Almanack Voice ← Return to the Shire
★ Spring Drive Every dollar matched through July 4th, by a friend who prefers to remain anonymous, but who is well-known to us.
— A foundation in the keeping of liberty's better lessons —

Liberty is a candle.
It is the duty of each generation to pass it lit.

We come now to a small and stubborn idea: that the keeping of a free people is the work not of statesmen alone, but of schoolchildren, teachers, librarians, postmasters, and the occasional honest neighbor. We were founded to do that keeping, in a quiet and serious manner, and we propose to keep at it.

— from the Foundation's Charter, signed in plain ink, 1986
Make a Gift See the Work
The Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York Harbor
"She lifts her lamp beside the golden door."  —  Photo: Barth Bailey / Unsplash
— from the Almanack of Liberty, 2026 edition —

Six small maxims for the upkeep of a republic.

Drawn, in the manner of Mr. Franklin, from Foundation experience over forty years, and offered freely. Reprinting permitted, attribution appreciated.

I.

"He who reads the Constitution but once a year, may yet be surprised by what he finds in it."

We keep a printed pocket edition in stock for this very purpose. They are free to teachers, librarians, and any citizen who requests one. We have given out 184,000 of them since 2012.

II.

"A vote unstudied is a vote half-cast — yet a vote half-cast still counts."

Our Civics Commons trains 6,000 students per year in the practical mechanics of casting an informed ballot. We do not endorse candidates. We do endorse showing up.

III.

"The naturalized citizen has read more of the founding papers than the natural-born — let us be honest about it."

We provide free coaching for the citizenship interview, in seven languages, in person and by post. Eighty-eight percent of our students pass on the first attempt.

IV.

"Monuments are the silent teachers — keep them clean and they will keep us honest."

We have restored 41 civic monuments since 1992, and we have removed none. The work of teaching is rarely the work of erasing.

V.

"Disagreement is the form liberty takes when it is wide awake."

We sponsor an annual debate season for high schools — 240 schools, 9,600 students, no winners declared, on principle.

VI.

"A foundation that turns away from the present, that it might venerate the past, has buried both."

We are not in the business of nostalgia. We are in the business of continuance, which is a harder thing, and a worthier one.

— Three programs, all year, all free —

Where the work is done.

We the People — opening words of the United States Constitution

Civics Commons

Free K–12 civics curriculum, taught by 1,200 teachers in 38 states. Every student who completes the unit receives a pocket Constitution at no cost.

See the curriculum
Lady Justice statue holding scales

Naturalization Coaching

Free, in seven languages, by mail or in person. We have walked beside 22,000 new citizens to the courthouse door since 2008.

Sign up to be coached
A statue atop a historic building under restoration

Monuments & Stewardship

Restoration of small civic monuments — town squares, courthouse plaques, naturalization halls. Forty-one restored since 1992. The plaques are kept clean.

Project map
— Coming soon, in towns large and small —

Public gatherings.

All free of charge. Bring a friend, a neighbor, a child of any age who can sit still for a half-hour.

Jun
14

Flag Day Reading of the Constitution

11 AM · Town squares in 38 cities · cosponsored by 412 local libraries
Find a Square
Jul
04

Naturalization Ceremony & Reception

10 AM · Federal Hall, NYC · 240 new citizens · open to the public
Attend
Sep
17

Constitution Day · Annual Debate Finals

6 PM · The Cooper Union · 16 schools · winners not declared, on principle
RSVP
Nov
11

Veterans Day · A Reading of Letters Home

2 PM · Independence Hall, Philadelphia · letters from 1776 to last year
Details