U.S. Citizenship and Naturalization Process

Naturalization Process

• Steps of naturalization include: declaration of intent, five years of residency, application, citizenship test, and oath of allegiance.

Losing U.S. Citizenship

• Citizenship can be lost through expatriation, renouncing citizenship, denaturalization, or committing certain crimes.

Alien Classifications

• Resident alien: Foreign-born, non-U.S. citizen residing in the U.S.
• Non-resident alien: Alien who hasn't met the green card or substantial presence test.
• Refugee: Person forced to leave their home country due to persecution, violence, or war.
• Illegal immigrant: Alien entering or remaining in a country unlawfully.

Citizen Responsibilities

• Duties of a citizen include paying taxes, voting, attending school, serving on juries, and obeying laws.

Legal Protections

• Habeas corpus: Court order ensuring arrested individuals appear before a judge.
• Ex post facto laws: Laws punishing actions that weren't crimes when committed.

Government Functions

• The main function of government is creating and enforcing laws.

Types of Governments

• Monarchy: Ruled by a king or queen.
• Dictatorship: Ruled by a dictator.
• Democracy: Government by the people, further divided into representative and direct.
• Representative democracy: U.S. system where citizens elect representatives to make decisions.

Census

• A census is conducted every ten years to determine the population.

Theories of Government

• Evolutionary theory: Oldest male in family leads.
• Force theory: Strongest leads.
• Divine rights of kings: God chooses rulers.
• Social contract theory: People choose leaders.

Historical Events

• Declaration of Independence: Signed in 1776.
• Tinker v. Des Moines: Supreme Court case upholding students' right to symbolic speech.
• Articles of Confederation: First united government of the U.S.
• Shay's Rebellion: Farmers' rebellion against banks.
• Constitutional Convention: Led by George Washington.
• Virginia Plan: Favored votes by population.
• New Jersey Plan: Favored equal votes per state.
• Connecticut Plan: Combined Virginia and New Jersey Plan, creating a bicameral legislature.
• Electoral College: Established to elect the president.
• Constitution finalized: 1787.
• Delaware: First state to ratify the Constitution.
• Preamble: Introduction to the Constitution.

Branches of Government

• Legislative: Creates laws (Article 1).
• Executive: Enforces laws (Article 2).
• Judicial: Interprets laws (Article 3).

Constitutional Principles

• Checks and balances: System preventing any one branch from becoming too powerful.
• Supremacy clause: Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
• Concurrent powers: Shared powers between national and state governments.
• Amendment process: Process for changing the Constitution (Article V).
• Loose constructionist: Broad interpretation of the Constitution.
• Strict constructionist: Narrow interpretation of the Constitution.

Incorporation & Implied Powers

• Incorporation doctrine: Bill of Rights applies to states.
• Elastic clause: Provides for implied powers not explicitly stated in the Constitution.
• McCulloch v. Maryland: Supreme Court case clarifying implied powers.

First Amendment Rights

• Freedom of speech, press, assembly, petition, and expression.

Religion Clause

• Establishment clause: Government cannot establish a religion.
• Free exercise clause: Individuals can practice any religion they choose.

Freedom of Speech

• Slander: Spoken lies.
• Libel: Written lies.
• Prior restraint: Preventing publication of information considered damaging to the nation.

Second Amendment

• Right to bear arms.

Fourth Amendment

• Privacy and protection against illegal searches and seizures.

Exclusionary, Plain View, and Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

• Exclusionary rule: Evidence obtained illegally can't be used in court.
• Plain view doctrine: Evidence in plain view can be seized.
• Fruit of the poisonous tree: Evidence found as a result of an illegal search is inadmissible.

Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments

• Fifth Amendment: Due process, double jeopardy, self-incrimination.
• Sixth Amendment: Right to a speedy trial, counsel, confrontation.
• Eighth Amendment: Cruel and unusual punishments.

Eminent Domain

• Eminent Domain: Government can take private land for public use, with just compensation.

Rights for Criminal Defendants

• Bail: Sum of money paid to be released from jail.
• Freedom of expression: Right to express oneself through speech and other methods.

Reconstruction Amendments

• Thirteenth Amendment: Abolished slavery.
• Fifteenth Amendment: African Americans gain voting rights.
• Nineteenth Amendment: Women gain voting rights.
• Twenty-sixth Amendment: 18-year-olds gain voting rights ( Vietnam war).

Landmark Supreme Court Cases

• Engel v. Vitale: School prayer deemed unconstitutional.
• Gregg v. Georgia: Death penalty reinstated.
• Plessy v. Ferguson: "Separate but equal" doctrine established.
• Lemon v. Kurtzman: Government aid to religious institutions must neither support nor hinder them.
• Wisconsin v. Yoder: Amish can withdraw children from school.
• Tinker v. Des Moines: Students' right to symbolic speech upheld.
• Miranda v. Arizona: Rights of the accused to remain silent during arrests.
• Gideon v. Wainwright: Right to legal counsel during criminal trials.
• Furman v. Georgia: Temporary ban on the death penalty.
• Miller v. California: Guidelines for determining obscenity.
• Roe v. Wade: Legalized abortion.
• Wallace v. Jaffree: Moment of silence in school unconstitutional.
• United States v. Nixon: No executive privilege in criminal cases.
• Brown v. Board of Ed: Segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
• Texas v. Johnson: Flag burning protected under free speech.
• Everson v. Board of Ed: Tax-funded transportation of children to parochial schools not unconstitutional.

Checks and Balances

• Executive on Judicial: Primarily via appointments of federal judges.

Types of Powers

• Expressed powers: Powers explicitly granted to the government in the Constitution.

Civil Liberties vs. Civil Rights

• Civil liberties: Freedoms from government interference (e.g., speech, religion).
• Civil Rights: Rights ensuring equal treatment (e.g., voting rights).

Civil Rights Cases

• Plessy v. Ferguson: Established the separate-but-equal doctrine.
• Brown v. Board of Education: Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, deemed segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Civil Rights Organizations

• SCLC: Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led by Martin Luther King Jr.
• NAACP: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Affirmative Action

• University of California v. Bakke: Landmark Supreme Court case addressing affirmative action in college admissions.

Political Movements

• SDS: Students for a Democratic Society.
• OWS: Occupy Wall Street.
• AIM: American Indian Movement.
• NOW: National Organization for Women.

Political Parties

• Current major parties: Democratic and Republican.
• Historical parties: Democratic-Republican party, Federalist party.

First Presidents

• First President: George Washington

Political Parties (beliefs)

• Republican: Limited government, pro-life, low taxes, strong in the South.
• Democratic: Big government, pro-choice, higher taxes, strong presence among higher earners.

Hispanic Voting Trends

• Cuban-Americans: Typically vote Republican due to historical experiences and policies.

Political Party Symbolism

• Democrats: Donkey
• Republicans: Elephant

Voting Systems

• Plurality: Candidate with more support than any other, but not necessarily the majority.
• Third parties: Offer alternative viewpoints.
• Realigning elections: Moments in history where voters switch allegiance from one party to another.
• Signatures for new parties: 1000-5000 voter signatures in smaller states; 10,000+ signatures in larger states.

Political Campaigns

• Campaign strategies: Plain folk, card stacking, glittering generality, endorsement, bandwagon, fear, symbols, ads.
• Types of tickets: Split-ticket and straight-ticket voting.
• Ballot measures: Referendum (voter approval/rejection of laws) and recall (removing an elected official).

Electoral College

• Electoral College: Potential for a candidate to win the popular vote but lose the election.

Types of Primaries

• Open primary: Any registered voter can participate.
• Closed primary: Only registered party members can participate.

Role of Political Parties

• Goal of political parties: Winning elections.
• Finding party information: Party Platforms

Campaign Strategies

• Campaign strategies used: Plain folk, card stacking, glittering generality, endorsement, bandwagon effect, appeal to fear, symbols, ads and images. .

Money and Elections

• Individual campaign donations: Up to $3,000
• PAC donation limits: Up to $5,000

American Political System, Additional terms

• Caucus: Process where party members select their candidate.
• Primary: Method for voters to choose the candidates in a party's primary.
• Iowa: First caucus
• New Hampshire: First primary