When James Madison helped craft the Virginia Plan for the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he was only 36 years old. Yet America’s 4th president is widely celebrated as the “Father of the Constitution” and “Father of the Bill of Rights” because of his significant role in shaping both. 

This past Monday marked the 275th anniversary of James Madison’s birth on March 16, 1751. 

For decades in Colorado, Madison’s birthday was known as Liberty Day, formally recognized by Congress in 2000. In a remarkable bipartisan moment, two unlikely partners — ultra-conservative U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colorado) and ultra-liberal U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (Maryland) — led a resolution commemorating Liberty Day. 

Tancredo’s remarks credited the “tireless efforts of one individual in my district, a gentleman by the name of Andy McKean.” McKean had taken the lead in 1996 by establishing Liberty Day and a nationwide effort to educate young Americans about our nation’s founding documents. 

“No matter what your political affiliation was, everyone realized it’s important that we all need to know what’s in the Constitution,” McKean told me in 2021, reflecting on five years in the Peace Corps decades ago. 

For eight years, I led Liberty Day Institute — a national, educational nonprofit that worked in public schools — as president until it folded during the pandemic. We provided educators teaching materials, classroom resources and guest speakers to help them effectively introduce fifth-graders to the U.S. Constitution and American government.  

Over 24 years, LDI distributed millions of Constitution booklets and flashcards. My greatest joy was personally teaching dozens of fifth-grade classes about individual rights, how a bill becomes a law and why we have three branches of government. 

LDI stressed keeping politics and partisanship out. “No opinions. No interpretations. Just the facts,” our slogan read. For years the state House — in bipartisan fashion — embraced Liberty Day Kids at the Capitol, where they read the Declaration of Independence or the Bill of Rights on the House floor to celebrate Liberty Day. 

The best part? When the students would quiz legislators on the Constitution using our Q&A flashcards — and often found out they really weren’t smarter than a fifth grader! 

My experience revealed how badly civic education — and social studies broadly — is in decline. Its shortcomings stem from a lack of quality resources and the fact that standardized tests don’t assess civic literacy the way they do math, science, reading and writing. 

That leaves history, economics and civics perpetually underfunded, undertaught and underprioritized. Educators are often forced to seek materials and innovate on their own. 

That’s all the more reason it was so troubling when Colorado’s education department recently revised the state social studies standards to explicitly inject politics and ideology into the curriculum — distracting from the fundamentals. 

The data tells the story. According to the most recent Nation’s Report card, only 22% of students perform at or above proficiency in civics, while 31% don’t even reach the Basic level. 

Since Colorado became a state in the nation’s centennial year, we’ve been one of America’s most direct-democracy states. Coloradans don’t just elect representatives — they vote on tax increases, reshape laws and set policy through the ballot. 

In a state where voters directly decide constitutional amendments and billion-dollar fiscal measures, this isn’t just an educational failure. It’s a crisis of self-governance. 

“I think the key to preserving, protecting and defending our Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, is public education,” McKean said. “You have to know what you’re fighting for and what you’re protecting, what your rights are, and participate in our government.”  

The original intent of public education was to ensure civic literacy, equipping Americans for self-governance. As Madison put it, “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” 

He continued: “A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce, or a tragedy, or perhaps both.” 

Madison’s core lessons about civic literacy aren’t merely a philosophical ideal but a practical necessity. To a free society, he offers a warning. In Colorado, where voters effectively constitute a second legislature, it’s a clarion call. 

In Federalist No. 51, Madison explained the fundamental purpose of government: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary,” he wrote. “If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” Government is a necessary evil, but it must be constrained, lest it run roughshod over the people and their individual rights. 

In an 1829 speech, Madison declared: “The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.” 

Colorado’s constitution provides an additional check on government power: the voters. 

The state’s social studies standards have abandoned the basics. Our standardized tests don’t assess civic literacy like other subjects, and passing a senior-level government class doesn’t guarantee genuine understanding. 

Colorado’s education system is failing to meet Madison’s mandate. It’s time to reinvigorate the spirit of Liberty Day and refocus on the core mission of public education: empowering students with the “power which knowledge gives” — so that they may truly govern themselves. 

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and longtime local talk-radio host. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter.