civics

1. THROWBACK THURSDAY REVIEW FOR END OF COURSE EXAM civics

2. **Define the term "citizen," and identify legal means of becoming a United States citizen. SS.7.C.2.1

3. Citizensare members of a community who owe loyalty to a government and, in turn, are entitled to the protection of that government. Civicsis the study of the duties and rights of citizens.

4. For many years, U.S. citizenship was limited largely to white men. Gradually, and with much struggle, other groups gained full citizenship. African Americans were made citizens through the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868. Women gained the right to vote in 1920, as a result of the Nineteenth Amendment. Members of a few Native American groups became citizens through treaties with the federal government. Not until 1924 did Congress pass the Indian Citizenship Act making all Native Americans citizens.

5. In the United States today, citizenship is not based on wealth, gender, race, or religion. A person can become an American citizen in either of two ways.

6. Natural Born Citizens Any person born in any of the 50 states or in the District of Columbia automatically becomes an American citizen at birth. The same is true of someone born in an American territory, such as Puerto Rico, or on a U.S. military base overseas.

7. A person born in another country can claim American citizenship in two cases. He or she can be a citizen if both parents are U.S. citizens or If one parent is a citizen who has lived in the United States. Someone who is born in another country may choose to hold dual citizenship. He or she can be a citizen of both the United States and the country where he or she was born. NOTE!!

8. Naturalized Citizens Naturalization is a legal process to obtain citizenship. Only the federal government can grant citizenship. More than 40 percent of the foreign-born people who live in the United States are naturalized citizens. Immigrants who want to become United States citizens must meet certain requirements.

9. They must be age 18 or older. They must have been a lawful permanent resident for five years. They must be able to read, write, and speak English. They must be of good moral character. They must show an understanding of U.S. civics.

10. The first step in this process is to complete an application and send it to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The next step is to take a citizenship exam. The last step is a special ceremony. At this event, applicants take an oath in which they swear to be loyal to the United States above all other countries.

11. Americans can lose their citizenship Expatriation. Someone who gives his or her allegiance to a foreign country is expatriated. Denaturalization. Naturalized citizens who are found to have lied on their citizenship application are denaturalized. Being convicted of certain crimes. Those guilty of any of three very serious crimes can lose citizenship. The crimes are treason, taking part in a rebellion, and trying to overthrow the government by violent means.

12. In what ways can a foreign person enter the United States? Legal Aliens *A resident alien is a legal immigrant who permanently lives in the United States. *A nonresident alien is someone who expects to stay in the United States for a short, specified period

13. Illegal Aliens Currently, the United States limits the number of immigrants who can enter the country each year to about 1 million people. Many more people want to come to the United States to live than the law allows, however. As a result, some people decide to come to the country without the government allowing it. Each year, about 1 million aliens enter or remain in the nation illegally. Some of these people were refused permission to immigrate, but they come anyway. Others have never applied for permission but simply cross our borders with Mexico and Canada illegally.

14. REVIEW What is the difference between a legal alien and an illegal alien?

15. SO? What IS an “American? (click) Let's see...

16. **Evaluate the obligations citizens have to obey laws, pay taxes, defend the nation, and serve on juries. SS.7.C.2.2

17. What are the duties of American citizens?

18. Obey Laws A citizen’s most important duty is to obey the law. Laws are sets of rules that allow people to live together peacefully. Laws keep order in society by letting people know which actions are acceptable and which are not.

19. Pay Taxes Taxes provide most of the money government needs to keep running. Without taxes, the federal government could not pay its employees, defend the country, or help those in need. Taxes allow your local community to hire police officers and firefighters, run schools, and pave roads. People who try to avoid paying taxes face penalties.

20. Defend the Nation In the United States, the law requires most male citizens aged 18 to 25 to register with the Selective Service System (SSS). Registering with the SSS does not mean that a person will necessarily be drafted. In fact, the United States has not had a draft since 1973. Since then, volunteers have met the needs of the armed forces. In a recent year, nearly 75,000 people volunteered to join the U.S. Army. Thousands also volunteer each year for the U.S. Navy, the Marine Corps, the U.S. Air Force, or the Coast Guard.

21. Serve in Court The U.S. Constitution guarantees anyone accused of a crime the right to a trial by jury. Every adult citizen must be prepared to serve on a jury. Citizens have the duty to serve as witnesses at a trial if they are called to do so.

22. Attend School The government provides free public elementary and secondary education. Most states have laws that require children to attend school between the ages of 7 and 16. In school, students are taught the knowledge and skills they need to become good citizens.

23. Compare parliamentary, federal, confederal, and unitary systems of government. SS.7.C.3.2

24. Parliamentary democracy is the type of government where the public vote government into power and parliamentarians are representatives of the people.

25. The United States did not always have a federal system of government. When it achieved its independence, it was governed under a confederal system of government. A confederal system consists of member states that have agreed to join together voluntarily. The states or nations create a common body to carry out certain functions, but they retain their powers.

26. The United States has a federal system of government. In a federal system, power is divided among a central, national government, and smaller self-governing political units such as states. The central government cannot dissolve or take power from the smaller units. Germany, Brazil, and India are other countries that have federal systems of government.

27. In a unitary system, the central government is supreme. It may create smaller administrative units to carry out some of its functions. But those smaller units are not protected by a constitution. The central government can dissolve them or reallocate their powers as it sees fit. France, Japan and Great Britain have unitary systems of government.

28. **Recognize how Enlightenment ideas related to natural law and how Locke's social contract influenced the Founding Fathers. SS.7.C.1.1

29. A French writer named Baron de Montesquieu developed the idea that the power of government should be divided into branches. Then, Montesquieu believed, no one branch would become too strong and threaten people’s rights. Montesquieu called this idea the separation of powers.

30. An early Enlightenment thinker, Thomas Hobbes believed that an agreement, called a social contract, existed between government and the people. In this contract, the people agreed to give up some freedom and be ruled by government. In return, government had to protect the people’s rights. But Hobbes thought that people needed a strong leader because they were too selfish to be able to rule themselves.

31. Another English thinker, John Locke was influenced by the events of the Glorious Revolution. In 1690 he published Two Treatises of Government. (A treatise is a long essay.) Locke wrote that all people were born equal with certain God-given rights, called natural rights. These included the rights to life, to freedom, and to own property. Like Hobbes, Locke believed in a form of social contract. Locke believed that people agreed to give up some rights and to be ruled by a government. But Locke believed that if the ruler failed to protect the rights of the people, the social contract was broken. Then the people could choose new leaders.

32. Locke: NATURAL RIGHTS, rights to life, to freedom, and to own property. Give up some rights to be ruled by government – but ability to choose new if needed Montesquieu: SEPARATION OF POWERS – so no one branch becomes too big Hobbes: SOCIAL CONTRACT – give up freedom and be ruled by government. In return the government would protect. *need a strong leader

33. Colonists’ views about government were shaped by the Enlightenment thinkers. Ideas about a social contract, natural rights, and separation of powers influenced the writers of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

34. Trace the impact that the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Mayflower Compact, and Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" had on colonists' views of government. SS.7.C.1.2

35. The Roman Empire collapsed around 476 AD. For the next 700 years, kings and lords ruled most of Europe. Lords were noblemen who usually inherited land, wealth, and power. Over time the growth of towns as business and trade centers weakened the power of the lords. The kings gained greater control of their kingdoms. Many nobles resisted this change. In England they rose up against King John in 1215. They forced him to sign a document called the Magna Carta (Latin for “Great Charter”).

36. *The Magna Carta limited king’s power. *It forbade him from placing taxes on the nobles without their consent. *It gave rights to free men. *Gave nobles the right to rebel if the king broke his part of the agreement.

37. The Magna Carta is important because it established the principle of limited government. This is the idea that a ruler or a government is not all-powerful. At first, many of the rights protected by the Magna Carta applied only to nobles. Over time, however, those rights came to apply to all English people.

38. The English Bill of Rights In 1688 Parliament forced King James II, the son of Charles I, from the throne. It asked James’s daughter Mary and her husband, William, to rule instead. This transfer of power is known as the Glorious Revolution. But first William and Mary had to accept rules set by Parliament. They agreed that English citizens had rights that no king could violate. Citizens had the right to a fair trial. They also could not be taxed unless Parliament agreed. The rights set out by Parliament became known as the English Bill of Rights. The signing of the English Bill of Rights signaled the end of the struggle between Parliament and the monarch. Parliament had won. It was now the leading force in English government. Such events changed English government.

39. The Mayflower Compact In 1620 Pilgrims set sail for Virginia, seeking religious freedom. A storm in the Atlantic blew their small ship, the Mayflower, off course. They anchored off the coast of what is now Massachusetts instead The Pilgrims knew they had reached a land that had no English government. They knew that to survive they needed to form their own government. So they drew up a compact, or written agreement. All the Pilgrim men aboard the ship signed. They agreed to choose leaders and work together to make their own laws for the colony. They also agreed to obey the laws that were made. Then the colonists went ashore and founded the town of Plymouth. The signers of the Mayflower Compact established a direct democracy in colonial America.

40. Meanwhile, support for independence grew in the colonies. In January 1776, Thomas Paine published a pamphlet titled Common Sense. He used the ideas of John Locke to make the case for independence. He argued that “common sense” called for the colonists to rebel against the king’s “violent abuse of power.” More than 500,000 copies of Common Sense were sold in 1776. By spring more than half the delegates of the Second Continental Congress favored independence

41. **Describe how English policies and responses to colonial concerns led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence. SS.7.C.1.3

42. Colonists believed that Parliament should protect the rights of British people from abuses by the king.Yet the king and Parliament made laws for the colonists. Also, Americawas far away, so the colonists had little voice in what happened in England. In addition, the king’s governors ruled many of the colonies. That meant colonists had little voice in choosing these leaders. Moreover, their policies favored British interests over the colonists’ needs. These concerns combined with a series of events in the 1760s to cause growing resentment against British rule.

43. The French and Indian War had been long and costly. Fighting it had left Britain deep in debt. The colonists had caused the war by moving west. Therefore, King George decided they should pay for it. He also wanted to end the fighting in America. The colonists disagreed and felt they had no voice to argue with the King. If they had no voice, why should they pay taxes?? “No taxation without representation”

44. It forbade the colonists from settling in the lands won from France. He placed over 10,000 British troops in the colonies to keep order. The king’s actions enraged the colonists. Many felt that their only hope of owning land was now gone. Others suspected that the king was punishing the colonies. They thought he was trying to limit the economic growththey might achieve through expansion into the new lands. Next, King George asked Parliament to tax the colonies. The money would help pay off Great Britain’s war debts. In 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act. The law required that the colonists buy and place tax stamps on many kinds of documents. These included legal papers and even newspapers. The colonies protested this tax. Colonial leaders called on the colonists to boycott, or refuse to buy, British goods. They claimed that only their elected representatives had the right to tax them. Leaders based the claim on the English Bill of Rights and on political traditions. For more than 100 years only their own legislatures had taxed the colonists. Colonial leaders also organized a Stamp Act Congress in New York City. Representatives from nine colonies met to write a united protest to Parliament and the king. In 1766 Parliament repealed, or canceled, the Stamp Act. The same day, however, it passed the Declaratory Act. This law stated that Parliament had the right to tax the colonies and make decisions for them “in all cases whatsoever.”

45. The Townshend Acts placed duties on a wide range of goods that the colonies imported from overseas. Parliament passed the Tea Act. This measure was not a tax. In fact, it allowed a British company that grew tea in India to import its tea into the colonies without paying the existing tea tax. This made the British company’s tea cheaper than other tea sold in the colonies. Still, Parliament’s control of taxes angered the colonists. The protesters dumped 342 chests of the company’s tea into the water. This protest became known as the Boston Tea Party.

46. How did Parliament respond to the Boston Tea Party? It passed laws called the Coercive Acts. These laws were meant to punishMassachusetts—and especially Boston—for resisting Great Britain’s rule. The Coercive Acts were so harsh that the colonists called them the Intolerable Acts. Some of the laws violated the English Bill of Rightsthat the colonists held so dear.

47. Parliament thought the Coercive Acts would frighten the colonists into respecting British rule. Instead, the reverse occurred. The other colonies banded together to help Massachusetts and challenge British authority.

48. The Congress chose a committee to draft a document to explain to the world why the colonies should be free.The committee consisted of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman. The committee chose Jefferson to write the document.

49. **Analyze the ideas (natural rights, role of the government) and complaints set forth in the Declaration of Independence. SS.7.C.1.4

50. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Then, drawing on Locke’s views about the social contract, Jefferson wrote: "[T]o secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving [getting] their just powers from the consent of the governed, Thatwhenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute [create] new Government.” Natural Law ----------------- The people are the voice 