Citizenship and Civic Participation PDF

Citizenship and Civic Participation Objective In this lesson, you will recall the duties associated with civic life and citizenship in the United States; identify civic groups and associations. Citizenship As a whole, citizenship has these qualities:...

Citizenship and Civic Participation Objective In this lesson, you will recall the duties associated with civic life and citizenship in the United States; identify civic groups and associations. Citizenship As a whole, citizenship has these qualities: community A citizen is a legally recognized member in a self-governing ________________. degrees Citizenship confers full membership in a self-governing community: no ____________ of citizenship or inferior legally recognized states of _____________ citizenship are tolerated. Citizenship confers certain rights and privileges. certain rights under the law (such as the right to vote, to serve on a jury, etc.). Citizenship confers _________ race ethnicity, nor Citizenship is not dependent on inherited, involuntary groupings such as _______, religion ancestral ____________. Becoming a Citizen birth The US government determines citizenship by _____________ born in one of two ways: A person who is ________ parent on US soil or who has at least one _______________ who is a US citizen is considered a citizen. People who move to the United States from other countries and want to become citizens must go through the naturalization process of ______________. To become a naturalized US citizen, a candidate must: 5` be at least 18 years old and have resided in the United States for _______ years; government pass a test on US history and _______________; moral _______________; be considered a person of good _________ character read be able to ________, write ____________, speak English. and _________ Rights of Citizens Constitution Citizens of the United States have rights that are protected by the _________________. These rights include vote the right to ________, protection of private property, the freedom of ____________, the ____________ religion the freedoms of speech and thought, and many others. political Because personal, ___________, overlap and economic rights ____________, it is quite difficult to determine where reinforce one right ends and another right begins. No problem exists when these rights work together to ____________ arise one another. Problems __________, however, when personal, political, and economic rights are at odds.  Criteria used in determining what limits should Many legal scholars spend their entire careers writing be placed on certain rights include the following: scope about the _________and limits _________ of rights. Likewise, clear and present danger striking the right balance between rights is a primary national security libel or slander lawyers concern of legislators, ____________, judges and __________. public safety Congress passed the USA Patriot Act on October 21, 2001. Supporters argued that fewer limits on law enforcement agencies increased the United States' ability to protect itself against terrorism. Detractors argued that the new powers violated Americans' rights and weakened the protection of civil liberties. The Patriot Act: sharing allows ____________ criminal information throughout government and intelligence agencies allows one authorization to wiretap multiple devices home allows "_____________ business warrants to avoid alerting suspects and ___________" allows easier access to business records in foreign intelligence investigations Responsibilities of Citizens Democracy cannot function without an informed, engaged, and participating population. US citizens have many rights, but citizenship also bears certain responsibilities. Personal Responsibilities rights Personal esponsibilities are the flip side of personal __________; act they relate to the way individuals _______ public sphere but in their __________ not in the _________ private lives. Although these responsibilities are private, they affect society as a whole. Because of this effect on society, behaviors the government has an interest in promoting certain ________________. welfare Public discussions of personal responsibility occur often, especially in debates about ___________ programs food such as Temporary Aid to Needy Families and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (aka ________ stamps ___________). support to get out of a bad spot Government aid programs ensure that people receive ___________ responsibilities over time. while also cultivating a greater sense of personal __________________ Civic Responsibilities mandatory In contrast to personal responsibilities, civic responsibilities entail the ________________ and voluntary democratic system function. behaviors that make a ______________  Mandatory responsibilities include: ______________ Voluntary ______________ responsibilities include: obeying the law voting paying taxes being well-informed serving jury duty, if called hodling elective office serving in the military Voting might be one of the most important rights shared by US citizens. While voting does not give citizens opinions control over the government, it acts as the vehicle by which they state their ____________ on public policy. Civil Disobedience refusal Civil disobedience is the ________________ induce to obey the law in an effort to ____________ change _____________ in government policy or legislation that is deemed unjust. Civil disobedience involves the use of passive nonviolent means of protest. Those who engage in civil disobedience often risk resistance or other _____________ imprisonment, violent retaliatory acts, and status as a social outcast in their efforts to change society. In general, practitioners of civil disobedience adhere to several key principles: silent peaceful and often _________ acts of protest harassment turning the other cheek to acts of verbal or physical ______________ quietly or limply resisting arrest (or voluntarily submitting to arrest if the former becomes impossible) Civic Participation The United States has a long tradition of civic participation. For example, consider the religious Pilgrims, a group who left England because of _______________ persecution in 1620 and traveled to America aboard the Mayflower. This group voluntarily created the Mayflower ________________ Compact _______________, which outlined the basic principles by which the new Plymouth colony would be governed. Cotton Mather, a Puritan minister, also played an influential role during the Colonial period. Mather preached charitable the value of associations and collective voluntary action in support of _______________ causes. De Tocqueville on American Civic Participation exceptional Alexis de Tocqueville stated that "the position of America is therefore quite _____________________, and it may be believed that no democratic people will ever be placed in a similar one." De Tocqueville's writings were not filled entirely with praise for US democracy, however. gain In his view, if the desire for personal ______________ and "physical gratifications" suffer became too strong in too many people, American civic life would ___________ and so democracy. too would ______________ Voter Turnout divided Voter turnout can be defined as the number of people who voted in an election ____________ by the number eligible of people who were ______________ to vote. 18 In general, all citizens age ______ and older are considered eligible voters, though states add a eligibility number of different regulations on voter ____________, including voter identification requirements and restrictions for convicted felons (persons convicted of a crime). lower The official turnout rate in US elections remains considerably __________ than in other democratic countries, declined and it has ____________ over time. income People from lower ____________ groups, groups There are several reasons that voter turnout in the United States is low: with less education, and minority groups typically low participate in voting at _______ rates. registering to vote the difficulty of ____________ lower Younger people also vote in ___________ absentee the difficulty in obtaining an _____________ ballot number numbers than older Americans. the ______________ of elections The low rates of voter turnout in these groups the attitudes of voters, such as apathy and alienation means they are significantly less well represented time the need to take _________ off from work to vote less by election outcomes, and they carry _________ weak the __________ influence of political parties weight in decisions made by elected officials. Political Associations and Groups Citizens can also fulfill their civic duties by forming or joining an association or some other citizens' group. Interest Groups Interest groups are political organizations that are devoted to advancing specific causes. single Some are __________-issue groups, like the National Rifle Association (NRA) or the anti-abortion group multi Operation Rescue. Others are __________-issue groups, like the National Organization for Women (NOW), wide ____________ which is concerned with a _______ variety of issues relating to legal and economic equity for women. government Interest groups seek to influence ________________ political process in many different ways: and the __________ they lobby, or attempt to exert influence on, Congress, the executive branch, and the courts; they lobby at grassroots the _______________ citizens level to mobilize _____________ to pressure the government; they conduct protest endorse and rate political candidates; and they form __________ activities; they __________ action political __________ committees (PACs) to contribute money to election campaigns. powerful and often ___________________ Successful interest groups share three qualities: ____________ charismatic leaders, funding good sources of _______________, members and active and committed _________________. Political Action Committees elect A political action committee (PAC) forms when a private group organizes to __________ or defeat government interest officials in order to promote legislation, often supporting the group's special _______________. Civic Organizations social These groups focus on promoting the civic and ______________ interests of their members, often stay out of politics partisan _______________ communities where their members or governing, and work to improve the _______________ live and work. Summary What are some of the responsibilities of United States citizens? Some resposibilities of U.S. citizens is to participate in your community, pay your taxes on time, serve on a jury if called upon, voting, and even holding an elected office position or serving in the military.