In 1985, President Ronald Reagan named Chief Justice of the United States, Warren E. Burger, chairman of the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution. From the very beginning, under Burger's leadership, the Commission focused on providing America's young people with a "history and civics lesson" as part of commemorations. That lesson became We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, a national curriculum program launched under the leadership of the Center for Civic Education's founder, Charles N. Quigley.

During its initial years, under the auspices of the Bicentennial Commission, the program reached more than two million students, and its centerpiece was a competition to test students' knowledge of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The first national competition took place in 1988, and Chief Justice Burger presented the first-place trophy to the team from Gompers High School from San Diego, California.

In May of 2013, the competitions expanded with the introduction of the first National Invitational, open to both high school and middle school classes who had not earned entry into the National Finals. The first National Invitational took place on the campus of George Mason University, hosting five middle school and two high school teams. To accomodate more teams, the competition has taken place virtually in recent years.

In the decades since 1987, the Center's We the People program has engaged over 30 million students and 75,000 educators. Every year, over a thousand students from the country's best teams descend upon the nation's capital to continue a nearly 40-year-old tradition. Over the years, 14 different schools have won national championships, including Lincoln High School in Portland, Oregon, 2025's co-winner and a seven-time champion.