Nov 03
Request for Proposals: “Contrasting the Revolutions” Curriculum Development
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is seeking proposals from experienced curriculum developers to help VOC develop a new curricular module on “revolutions.” The focus of this module, Contrasting the Revolutions, as a part of commemorations of America’s 250th anniversary, is to contrast the American “revolution” with communist revolutions in the 20th century.
Deadline to Apply: This RFP is open from October 28, 2026, through November 20, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EST. VOC will notify the selected contractor by November 30, 2026.
About VOC: The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) is an educational, research, and human rights nonprofit organization devoted to commemorating the more than 100 million people killed by communism around the world and to pursuing the freedom of those still living under totalitarian regimes. The Foundation was authorized in 1993 by a unanimous Act of Congress signed as Public Law 103-199 by President William J. Clinton on December 17, 1993. On June 12, 2007, President George W. Bush dedicated the Victims of Communism Memorial statue in Washington, D.C. The foundation opened the Victims of Communism Museum in 2022 in Washington, DC.
Purpose: The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is creating a short course entitled, “Contrasting the Revolutions: Teaching the Difference Between the American Revolution and Communist Revolutions.” The purpose is to provide clarity for educators and students on appropriate definitions for “revolution” as well as deeper understanding of the principles undergirding the American founding. The American War for Independence was not truly a military or societal “revolution,” but as John Adams called it was, “a revolution of the mind” as the people of the colonies realized that the fundamental rights they were trying to protect—jury trial, religious and press freedom, etc.—were being taken away by the government. In contrast, by definition, a “revolution” is the burning down of the old socio-political order and the violent imposition of a new society at the hands of zealous elites, hence the destructive communist revolutions that gave the world the Soviet Union, Communist China, and the like.
Learning Objective: This course will equip teachers with a resource that looks at the Declaration of Independence, early American history, and the Constitution to identify the key concepts that the American colonists were trying to protect after 1765. It lays out the founding principles of individual liberty, private property, and other rights that were being taken away by London and the founding principles of the new Republic. At the same time, the course contrasts these fundamentals rights, liberties, and citizen responsibilities with the revolutionary doctrines found in the Communist Manifesto, the document most responsible for causing communist tyranny around the world and instigating the Cold War. The Manifesto calls for state seizure of private property and the press, the destruction of religion and the family, and denigrates the individual as just a tool in the hands of the state. This model was implemented in the Soviet Union after 1917, in communist China after 1949, and in other violent revolutions elsewhere (e.g., Cambodia, Cuba, Ethiopia, etc.). Since most states’ standards of learning (SOLs) call for instruction on democracy, America’s founding documents, anti-democratic ideologies such as communism, free market economics, and the history of the Cold War, this course will be a novel and useful course for civics, history, and other instruction, and VOC curricular materials designed to engage students and develop a spark for civic engagement. These curricula are a plug-and-play model, designed to be easily adapted to align with existing course content and the terminology should primarily be at the advanced 8th grade lexile level.
Scope of Work: The contractor will work with VOC to develop a Contrasting the Revolutions curriculum and participate as a trainer in VOC’s “Liberty Echoes” teacher seminar in April 2027.
The contractor will be responsible for the following deliverables:
-A curriculum that will provide at least five short chapters with instructional materials contrasting the ideals, history, and outcomes of the American War for Independence with communist revolutions of the twentieth century. The curriculum should be directly tied to VOC’s existing high-school level Communism: Its Ideology, Its History, and Its Legacy (4th edition) and VOC’s First Principles curriculum.
-Participation in VOC’s April 2027 “Liberty Echoes” teacher seminar in Washington, DC as a trainer. The contractor will train 30 middle school and high school teachers from across the United Stations on the Revolutions curriculum.
RFP Response Instructions:
Contractors must submit a response application that includes the following:
-Technical proposal with the following information (no more than 3 pages).
-Contact information (name, registered address, telephone number, email address).
-Explanation of credentials, including proven experience in developing middle school and high school curriculum, particularly on American history, communism, and or revolutions.
-Proposed timeline for curriculum development.
-Cost proposal in US dollars.
-Resume
-Sample curriculum
Please submit all questions and applications directly to:
Dr. Eric Patterson, President & CEO
eric.patterson@victimsofcommunism.org
