Power stems from knowledge, which is gained as a result of learning.
Misinformation does a serious disservice to those believing an altered version of truth. They consider themselves educated, and they may be, but on others opinions, purposeful mistruths or passed along miseducated visions.
Whether accidental or malicious, it is clear that the vicious cycle of misinformation (aka Fake News) must end.
Clean learning is a necessity.
Accessing reliable resources to learn from requires unfiltered, undoctored materials. The need for trusted sources in all informational flow has become increasingly important.
We’ve noticed the news we read or watch being all too often not credible, we see increases in biased censorship, and the need to be first (or get the most views/likes) taking precedence over being accurate.
It’s clear; truth is under siege.
In recent times, we’ve seen upticks in attempts to hide, remove, or alter historical and everyday facts or occurrences. Opinions on agenda-fueled missions seek to override, or otherwise change history. What is going on here, exactly?
Some now argue that truth is unrelated to fact.
Reality begs to differ.
In these questionable times, now more than ever, we need truth. We need to filter out the garbage that is not conducive to an educated populace. Our amazing country full of rich resources, and although some of our historical happenings may be open for debate, or defamation, our core documents are not. So, this is where I propose to start and base the quest for truth.
There is surely an odd equation forming which I can’t yet fully grasp, but I see the answer. The math is a bit blurry, or scary, but I believe in our founders. They were experts or maybe even fortune tellers.
Luckily, these are available for anyone to freely access in public libraries and online. Copies can also be purchased in bookstores and via online vendors. I am thrilled to have happened upon the Ashbrook Center, of which I am not affiliated, but have found free access to trustworthy materials.
An amazing American institution that I will be using as a primary resource, the Ashbrook Center of Ashland University, provides these materials on their website. They have compiled a list of what they consider our 50 Core American Documents.
Not only do they offer free viewing of the documents on their website, but also a free Kindle download on Amazon, individual document links and PDFs. All of this information can be found at the link address below.
50 Core American Documents Page: Link to Ashbrook
Individual document links and full resources can be found on my Resources page. Links outside this website will open in a new tab, so you can easily return here. The very top, core documents can also be found linked below.
A bit more about the Ashbrook Center
The reason I chose the Ashbrook Center as my primary resource is due to the desire for impartial, trusted facts. In researching, they appear to be non-partisan, which is critical to non-biased information, yet challenging in today’s climate. President Ronald Reagan personally dedicated the Ashbrook Center on May 9, 1983. As an independent, 501(c)(3) organization, they offer programs and materials for teachers, students and citizens in order to restore and strengthen the capacities of the American people for constitutional self-government.
Along with promoting the importance of learning through primary source documents, they created a Master’s program to address the lack of proper history and civic education in schools. This provides teachers with a deep, broad understanding of the subjects they teach, focusing on the use of original historical documents in classrooms. The program notes it also does not teach methodology or classroom management techniques.
Their mission
“Ashbrook offers educational programs…as well as publications encouraging citizens to develop a deeper understanding of the principles upon which our great nation was founded.”
“Ashbrook teaches students and teachers across our country what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world. Ashbrook creates informed patriots.”
External Links
50 Core American Documents – PDF
Declaration of Independence – 1776
Constitution of the United States – September 1787
Gettysburg Address – November 1863
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