Citizenship and Due Process of Law

1. Citizenship and Due Process of Law Chapter 14 Section 2,3

2. Section 2 Who Determines Citizenship? • The Founders assumed that the states would decide who was or was not a citizen and that state citizens would automatically be citizens of the nation. This rule had two exceptions: • African Americans; and • immigrants who became U.S. citizens through naturalization—the legal process by which someone who was not born in the United States is granted citizenship.

3. Section 2 Who Determines Citizenship? (cont.) • In 1857 the Supreme Court ruled that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, were not U.S. citizens. • In 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment established that: • people of all races, excluding Native Americans, were citizens; and • state citizenship was an automatic result of national citizenship.

4. Section 2 Gaining Citizenship • Like most other nations in the world, the United States follows the principle of jussoli—the law of the soil—which focuses on where a person is born. • Jus sanguinis—the law of the blood—focuses on parentage as a basis for citizenship. • All immigrants who want to be American citizens must go through naturalization.

5. Section 2 Gaining Citizenship (cont.) • To apply for citizenship, a person must: • be at least 18 years old; • have lived in the United States as a legal resident alien for 5 years and been physically present for half of that period; • have lived in the state where the petition is filed for at least 3 months; and • must provide witnesses to testify to the applicant’s moral character.

6. Section 2 Gaining Citizenship (cont.) • Collective naturalizationis a process under which an entire group of people becomes citizens by a treaty or by an act of Congress. • Citizenship can be lost in three ways: • expatriation—meaning a person gives up his or her citizenship by the act of leaving the United States and becoming the citizen of another country;

7. Section 2 Gaining Citizenship (cont.) • by being convicted of certain serious federal crimes, such as treason; and • in an administrative process of denaturalization, which occurs when it is proved that fraud, deception, or error occurred during naturalization.

8. Section 2 Citizen Responsibilities • Respect for the law is crucial in modern society, but this respect depends on knowledge of the law. • Voting is the most common way that a citizen participates in political life and expresses one’s support for democracy. • Many citizens fail to vote because they don’t think a single vote can make a difference despite numerous examples of close elections throughout history.

9. Section 2 Citizen Responsibilities • Respect for the law is crucial in modern society, but this respect depends on knowledge of the law. • Voting is the most common way that a citizen participates in political life and expresses one’s support for democracy. • Many citizens fail to vote because they don’t think a single vote can make a difference despite numerous examples of close elections throughout history.

10. Section 2 Citizen Responsibilities (cont.) • Citizens can affect the political system by campaigning for a candidate or working at the polls on Election day. • Sharing opinions through writing letters to newspapers and magazines has always been an important way to participate in politics.

11. Section 3 What Is Equal Protection? • The Fourteenth Amendment says that no state can “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” • The Supreme Court has three basic guidelines for considering whether a law or an action violates the equal protection clause: • The rational basis test asks if the classification is reasonably related to an acceptable government goal.

12. Section 3 What Is Equal Protection? (cont.) • The second test is used if a law involves a “suspect classification”—a classification made on the basis of race or national origin. • The third test usesfundamental rights—rights that go to the heart of the American system or are indispensable to a just system.