United States Citizenship

Transcription

1 United States Citizenship Beginnings through the Civil War The concept of citizenship has evolved considerably since the English colony era. In western thought the concept has its origins in the classical republicanism of the ancient Greek and Roman city-states. Simply put, citizenship involves the recognition that each individual has both a private self and a public self, and as the private self enjoys rights and privileges as a part of an organized community, the public self contributes to the good of all through service and informed participation in community life. This simple notion forms the basis of American politics, economics, and education. The early English colonists thought of themselves as subjects of the British king or queen, but also as members of colonial societies. Gradually the rights and responsibilities of colonial life became more important to them than their accidental or ancestral bond to the English monarchy. They came to see themselves not as subjects, but as citizens of their colonies. Once achieved, this affiliation was strong. Even after the United States of America: was conceived in 1776 many still thought of themselves as citizens of one of the thirteen colonies first, and as Americans second. The difficulty in creating a national definition of citizenship was not only related to the colonial affiliation. Although the Constitution requires officeholder s to be United States citizens, or in the case of the President a natural born citizen, no formal definition of citizen, or how one becomes a citizen, was included in the Constitution. This is at least partly because the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were deeply divided on the issue of whether to grant citizenship status to former slaves, slaves, or free African Americans. So under the 1787 Constitution citizenship was defined by each of the new states. But Congress shortly passed the Naturalization Act of 1790, which limited naturalization to aliens who were free white persons, thus excluding African Americans, indentured slaves, and Native Americans. Naturalization is discussed below. In the following years up to the beginning of the U. S. Civil War, the issue of slavery, and the related issue of the citizenship status of enslaved and free African Americans, moved to the center stage of U. S. politics. It took the Civil War to resolve these disputes, where annexation treaties and court decisions could not. After the war a number of important amendments and pieces of legislation were passed which defined national citizenship and extend it to greater numbers of Americans than before. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery for all time in the entire United States. Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment defines national citizenship in this way: All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws CompassLearning Inc. Page 1

2 The definition of citizenship in the Fourteenth Amendment is based on the principle of jus soli, or right of birthplace. Anyone born in the United States is a citizen, even if their parents are not. U.S. allotting surveyor and his interpreter making an American citizen of Chief American Horse, Oglala Sioux Naturalization Naturalization is a legal procedure through which foreign-born individuals (or entire foreign populations) can gain citizenship. The power to establish rules of naturalization is granted to Congress in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Naturalization laws are closely tied to immigration policy, and as a result have been changed many times due to political and economic pressures. The most important change in the 20th century was the enactment of the Immigration and Naturalization Act in This was a major reorganization of immigration law. Even this law has been amended many times since its passage. The naturalization of foreigners in New York City - Judge McCunn sitting in the Superior Court, passing on applications for citizenship, Friday evening, October 22, CompassLearning Inc. Page 2

3 Under current law individuals generally qualify for naturalization if they: are at least 18 years old are permanent residents of the United States, and have been issued a Permanent Resident Card (formerly called Alien Registration Card) have been permanent residents for at least five years during the last five years, have not been out of the United States for 30 months or more during the last five have not taken a trip out of the United States that lasted one year or more have resided in the district or state in which they apply for citizenship for the last three months can read, write and speak basic English know the fundamentals of U.S. history and the form and principles of the U.S. government (civics test required) are persons of good moral character can attest that one of the following is true: o I am female, or o I am a male registered with the Selective Service, or o I am a male who did not enter the United States under any status until after my 26th birthday, or o I am a male who was in the United States between the ages of 18 and 26 but who did not register with the Selective Service, and I will send a Status Information Letter from the Selective Service explaining why I did not register with my application have never deserted from the U.S. Armed Forces. Large group of overseas soldiers who applied for Naturalization, June 6, Man in center is Raymond Crist, Director of Citizenship, Bureau of Naturalization, Department of Labor have never received an exemption or discharge from the U.S. Armed Forces on the grounds that they are alien 2010 CompassLearning Inc. Page 3

4 are willing to perform either military or civilian service for the United States if required by law. (NOTE: If their religious teachings and beliefs prohibit them from performing military service, they must be willing to perform non-military service.) will support the Constitution of the United States. take an oath of allegiance to the United States. The U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services listing additional requirements, fees, and information about the required civics test at Loss of Citizenship In Trop v Dulles, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that natural born citizens may not be stripped of citizenship. However, certain voluntary acts can result in the loss of citizenship. These include: formally renouncing one s citizenship swearing an oath of allegiance to another country serving the armed forces of a nation at war with the United States being convicted of treason becoming a naturalized citizen of another country An individual can also have citizenship revoked through denaturalization if the government can prove that the individual committed fraud in the process of seeking naturalized citizenship status. Rights of Citizenship As a citizen of the United States each individual may vote in federal elections run for federal office obtain citizenship for children born abroad serve on juries bring family members to the United States travel with a United States passport become eligible to apply for and receive federal grants and scholarships Responsibilities of U. S. Citizens As a citizen of the United States each individual must support and defend the Constitution serve the nation when required participate in the democratic process participate in the local community 2010 CompassLearning Inc. Page 4

5 respect the rights, opinions, and beliefs of others obey and respect federal, state, and local laws 2010 CompassLearning Inc. Page 5