Questions & Answers: U. S. Government - Citizenship and the Bill of Rights

Review the rights and responsibilities of a citizen of the U.S.
Citizens are granted certain rights under the US government. The most important of these are defined in the Bill of Rights, and include freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and a variety of other rights the government is not allowed to remove.
Duties of a US citizen include:
1. Paying taxes
2. Loyalty to the government, though the US does not prosecute those who criticize or seek to change the government
3. Support and defend the Constitution
4. Serve in the Armed Forces as required by law
5. Obeying laws as set forth by the various levels of government.

Responsibilities of a US citizen include:
1. Voting in elections
2. Respecting one another’s rights and not infringing upon them
3. Staying informed about various political and national issues
4. Respecting one another’s beliefs

Explain how someone is a considered a citizen of the United States.
Anyone born in the US, born abroad to a US citizen, or who has gone through a process of naturalization to become a citizen, is considered a citizen of the United States. It is possible to lose US citizenship as a result of conviction of certain crimes such as treason. Citizenship may also be lost if a citizen pledges an oath to another country or serves in the military of a country engaged in hostilities with the US. A US citizen can also choose to hold dual citizenship, work as an expatriate in another country without losing US citizenship, or even to renounce citizenship if he or she so chooses.

Review some major issues in today’s political climate.
The civil rights movements of the 1960s and ongoing struggle for women’s rights and rights of other minorities have led to challenges to existing law. In addition, debate has raged over how much information the government should be required to divulge to the public.

Major issues in today’s political climate include:
· Continued debate over women’s rights, especially as regards equal pay for equal work
· Debate over affirmative action to encourage hiring of minorities
· Debate over civil rights of homosexuals, including marriage and military service
· Decisions as to whether any minorities should be compensated for past discriminatory practices
· Balance between the public’s right to know and the government’s need to maintain national security
· Balance between the public’s right to privacy and national security

Explain the differences between civil rights and civil liberties.
While the terms civil liberties and civil rights are often used synonymously, in actuality their definitions are slightly different. The two concepts work together, however, to define the basics of a free state.
1. “Civil liberties” defines the role of the state in providing equal rights and opportunities to individuals within that state. An example is non-discrimination policies with regards to granting citizenship.
2. “Civil rights” defines the limitations of state rights, describing those rights that belong to individuals and which cannot be infringed upon by the government. Examples of these rights include freedom of religion, political freedom, and overall freedom to live how we choose.

Give a brief history of the Bill of Rights.
The first ten amendments of the US Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. These amendments prevent the government from infringing upon certain freedoms that the founding fathers felt were natural rights that already belonged to all people. These rights included freedom of speech, freedom of religion, right to bear arms, and freedom of assembly. Many of the rights were formulated in direct response to the way the colonists felt they had been mistreated by the British government.

Review the history of suffrage in the United States.
Suffrage and franchise are both terms referring to the right to vote. Which individuals actually have the right to vote has changed as the US has developed as a nation.
In the early years, only white male landowners were granted suffrage. By the nineteenth century, most states had franchised, or granted the right to vote to, all adult white males. The Fifteenth Amendment of 1870 granted suffrage to former slaves. The Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote, and in 1971 the Twenty-sixth Amendment expanded voting rights to include any US citizen over the age of eighteen. However, those who have not been granted full citizenship and citizens who have committed certain crimes do not have voting rights.

Review the sixth amendment through the tenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
· Sixth Amendment—right to criminal trial by jury, right to legal counsel.
· Seventh Amendment—right to civil trial by jury.
· Eighth Amendment—no excessive bail, no cruel and unusual punishment.
· Ninth Amendment—prevents the absence of rights not explicitly named in the Constitution from being interpreted as a reason to have them taken away.
· Tenth Amendment—any rights not directly delegated to the national government, or not directly prohibited, belong to the states or to the people

Review the first amendment through the fifth amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The first ten amendments were passed by Congress in 1789. Three-fourths of the existing thirteen states had ratified them by December of 1791, making them official additions to the Constitution.
· First Amendment—grants freedom of religion, speech, freedom of the press, and the right to assemble.
· Second Amendment—right to bear arms.
· Third Amendment—Congress cannot force individuals to house troops.
· Fourth Amendment—protection from unreasonable search and seizure.
· Fifth Amendment—no individual is required to testify against himself, and no individual may be tried twice for the same crime.

Review some situations that would not be protected by the first amendment.
In some cases, the government restricts certain elements of First Amendment rights. Some examples include:
· Freedom of religion—when a religion espouses activities that are otherwise illegal, the government often restricts these forms of religious expression. Examples include polygamy, animal sacrifice, and use of illicit drugs or illegal substances.
· Freedom of speech—can be restricted if exercise of free speech endangers other people.
· Freedom of the press—laws prevent the press from publishing falsehoods.

In emergency situations such as wartime, stricter restrictions are sometimes placed on these rights, especially rights to free speech and assembly, and freedom of the press, in order to protect national security.

Explain how the Constitution addresses the rights of those accused of crimes.
The US Constitution makes allowances for the rights of criminals, or anyone who has transgressed established laws. There must be laws to protect citizens from criminals, but those accused of crimes must also be protected and their basic rights as individuals preserved. In addition, the Constitution protects individuals from the power of authorities who act in case of transgressions to prevent police forces and other enforcement organizations from becoming oppressive.
The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth amendments specifically address these issues:
· No unreasonable search and seizure (Fourth Amendment)
· No self-incrimination or double jeopardy—being tried for the same crime more than once (Fifth Amendment)
· Right to trial by jury and right to legal counsel (Sixth Amendment)
· No cruel or unusual punishment (Eighth Amendment)