The Meaning of Citizenship Chapter Three

What It Means to Be a Citizen Section 1

Who is a Citizen? Anyone born in the United States or in one of its territories (even if the parents aren’t citizens) At least one of the parents was a citizen at the time of birth (no matter where the baby was born) A person who has gone through the process of becoming a citizen Any child under 18 whose parent went through this process

The Naturalization Process Step One: Application Step Two: Examination—must prove the following Age 18 or older Legal resident of country for 5 years, state for 3 months Good moral character Loyal to the U.S. Constitution Able to read, write, and speak English Knowledge of U.S. history and form of government Step Three: Final Hearing Takes oath of loyalty in court

Naturalized citizens have all the rights and duties of citizens by birth except: the right to be President or Vice President

Rights, Duties, and Responsibilities Section 2

Citizen Rights To vote and hold elected office To say what you think in speech or in writing To practice your own religion To have a fair trial And others as expressed in the Constitution

Citizen Duties Obeying the laws Defending the nation At 18, men must register May choose to be a conscientious objector Serving on a jury or as a witness in court Paying taxes Attending school

Should women also register?

Citizen Responsibilities Work toward the common good Voting Holding government office Participating in election campaigns Influencing government Serving the community

Citizenship and Our Other Roles in Society Section 3

The Seven Social Roles self consumercitizen family member student or worker social group member friend

Problems with our Roles Changing Roles: sometimes we have to adapt within one of our roles…we cannot do the same thing all the time Overlapping Roles: sometimes we have to fulfill more than one role at the same time Conflicting Roles: sometimes we are expected to fulfill two roles at once and we’re not able to do so

As a Citizen We are able to choose our level of participation We can choose to be very involved in politics We can choose to participate in social events instead We have the right to prioritize our roles