Civic Participation in a Democracy Unit 12 Essential Question: How can we get involved in our government?

Citizenship Historically, it was a bit unclear, especially for slaves. Amendment XIV (14) made it clear… “all persons born or naturalized in the United States…” Also says states can’t discriminate against citizens or remove rights. For about 100 years, this was largely ignored in the South. Civil Rights Act (1964) sought to change this. Banned discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin. Made enforcement a goal of U.S. government.

Civic Rights Includes rights listed in Bill of Rights. Legal U.S. residents have these rights too. U.S. citizens have more rights. Right to vote To hold public office Claim social & economic benefits (E.g., welfare) Hold federal gov’t jobs

Responsibilities Everyone in the U.S. must… Obey laws Pay taxes Cooperate with public officials Males, 18+, must register for military service U.S. citizens… Should be informed & participate in public affairs (most basic— vote)

Naturalization See video on uscis.gov website https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/learners/study-test/study- materials-civics-test/becoming-us-citizen-overview-naturalization- process Also, take the uscis.gov practice test

Political culture in the U.S. Political culture = shared values, beliefs, attitudes on politics & gov’t Things in common… Liberty – We like max liberty as long as it harms no one else Equality – We love equality of opportunity (vote, education, job, pursue happiness). Note: this is NOT equality of outcome. Democracy – We feel power comes from the people, not top-down. Individualism – Personal freedom and responsibility matters. Do your thing, but own up to it as well.

continued Free enterprise – Freedom to do your thing in business (your job, how you spend $, without gov’t bossing you). Also means some win, some lose. Justice & rule-of-law – We want laws that are enforced and done so fairly. Patriotism – We love our country, are proud of it, fly the flag. Civic duty – We must do our part in our democracy. (vote, serve) Optimism – We believe we can do things & our best days are coming. Amer-I-can!

Liberals vs. Conservatives Liberals – like the gov’t to be active in people’s lives. They’re “on the left” Liberals are Democrats Say gov’t should: Regulate business Reduce economic inequality Protect the environment Provide health care Abortion is okay

Cont. Conservatives – like the gov’t to stay out of people’s lives They’re “on the right” Conservatives are Republican Say gov’t should: Leave biz & people alone Reduce gov’t size, debt Lower taxes & spend less Abortion is not okay

Criticism 101 Liberals say of conservatives: You let some get rich while others stay poor. You don’t care about real people. Conservatives say of liberals: You take tax $ from people who work and give it to others. You reward laziness.

Other ideologies Socialism – sliding from capitalism (our free enterprise economic system) toward communism (where gov’t owns/runs everything) Further left than liberals/Democrats Libertarianism – just let me live my life as I wish. Give me liberty, or give me death! Environmentalism – focused mostly on the environment. Save the baby polar bears!