Constitutional Plaque InitiativeConstitutional Plaque Initiative
Leaving the Constitution and its Bill of Rights in the Schools
Introduction
While educating and inspiring American students about the cornerstone of their rights and freedoms is the principal purpose of the Spirit of Freedom Tour it also presents a vehicle by which schools can permanently place bronze plaque replicas of the US Constitution and its Bill of Rights in their institutions. This will be accomplished through our Constitution Plaque Initiative.Constitutional Plaque Initiative
Through the Constitution Plaque Initiative schools may acquire plaques identical to those displayed in the Entrance Hall and Rotunda of the Spirit Pavilion. The Tour’s outreach program provides students, teachers, and administrators with collateral material and local fund raising programs to assist each school with their efforts in obtaining the five-plaque set. The ultimate goal is to place these plaques in every school across America. Currently, Garfield High School in Los Angeles is the only school proudly displaying a set of plaques of the U S Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The educators at Garfield High continue to praise the significance of these plaques and the meaningful impact they have had on their children’s lives through out the years.History of the Plaques
For the first time in history, full size replicas of the Constitution and its Bill of Rights were created in a permanent form by casting bronze plaques that are true to the original documents down to the ink blots made by those who signed the parchment over 230 years ago.The Constitution and the Bill of Rights plaques consist of a complete set of solid bronze etchings. Each set contains five bronze plaques, four of the Constitution representing its four separate pages and one of the Bills of Rights. The plaques of the Constitution measure 25 ¾” wide by 32 ¾” high weighing 42 pounds. The plaque of the Bill Of Rights measures 29 ¾” wide by 35 ¾” high and weighs 52 pounds.
These plaque sets were officially dedicated by Chief Justice Warren Burger and President Ronald Reagan on September 17, 1987 and were created by renowned artist Brett Livingstone Strong, the same artist that sculpted the National Monument to the US Constitution and the US Presidency Monument.
Sponsor Grant Program
The Sponsor Grant Program has been developed to enable schools with smaller student bodies to participate in the Constitutional Plaque Initiative. Grant amounts are contributed to these schools once they reach a specified level of fund raising. A portion of our sponsorship fees from national and local sponsors is contributed to this program to help achieve the goal of eventually placing a full set of p