Unit 4A: Citizenship, Voting, & Elections

Chapters 1, 5, 10

The United States of America has sometimes been known as a "Nation of Immigrants." Most people are either immigrants to the nited States or descendants of immigrants. The culture of this nation consists of a blending of the many cultures have helped make this nation great. While we have already learned about the structure of government and the functions of each of the branches in our federalist system, this unit focuses on "Who Are Americans?", the uniqueness of our identity as "American", Citizenship, the process of becoming a citizen, the Right, Duties, and Responsibilities of being a citizen. We will take a look at how a person can become a citizen and how that citizen can be an active participant of the government and community. We will pay particular attention to the most basic act of civic participation, one often ignored or taken for granted: voting.

Study Tools

Online Textbook Resources

These pages contain the links to the online content for student practice. It includes Chapter Overviews, Web Activities, Self-Check Quizzes, ePuzzles and Games, Vocabulary Flashcards, Charts in Motion (to accompany diagrams in the textbook), and Interactive Graphic Organizers.

• Chapter 1 Student Center: The American People
• Chapter 5 Student Center: Citizenship and Government in a Democracy
• Chapter 10 Student Center: Voting and Elections

Vocabulary

Link to Quizlet! Vocabulary is the key to understanding any subject. Once you can break down the barrier of language the ideas and concepts are wide open. Here you can find the vocabulary for the unit to practice by using online flash cards and by practicing online generated vocabulary quizzes.

• Unit 4A Vocabulary Quiz on Quizlet

When you get to the Quizlet Quiz page, you can adjust what type of quiz to take by using the check boxes on the right.

Slide Shows

The slideshows are best viewed full screen. Slideshows will be blocked until AFTER the homework is due to encourage students to read the required sections of the textbook.

American Metaphors

This slideshow demonstrates a few different historical ideas about American Culture, from the Melting Pot, to the Salad Bowl, and the Cultural Mosaic. Included in the slideshow are questions to answer that accompany each reading. Look for the culminating assignment on the last slide of the show.

e pluribus Unum

This brief presentation summarizes the ways a person can become a citizen, either by birth or by naturalization.

Political System Cycle

The following is a 12-minute PowerPoint Presentation that I have recorded on VoiceThread.com. Use the handout listed on the right Political System Cycle PowerPoint Handout. This presentation describes how popular sovereignty currently works in United States politics. It is thanks to this system that government is able to respond to the needs of the people and make changes peacefully. However, this system would not be possible were it not for the 1st Amendment and the rights of the people to express their views and opinions to government while requesting action to correct problems.

Here is the PowerPoint for the Presentation above in case you are unable to get the VoiceThread to work on your mobile device. I stongly urge you se the narrated version above as the narration adds more information than can be gotten from just the PowerPoint.

Voting

This slideshow reviews the voting process in North Carolina, including the requirements.

Videos

Schoolhouse Rock: The Great American Melting Pot

Cute little cartoon and jingle about the idea of the culture of United States of America as a melting pot. This metaphor was coined by Israel Zangwill in 1909. And although it is an outdated way of thinking of American culture, it is a good starting point for a discussion on the topic.

HipHughes History: US Immigration in Ten Minutes

McKinley Vocational High School in Buffalo, NY brings us "HipHughes History" on a website called "SchoolTube." This ten minute video features Mr. Hughes giving a brief overview of immigration history in the United States.

Note: I do not know who Mr. Hughes is, but this video applies to the topic of immigration in this unit.

Declare Yourself

This was an advertisement for voting in the 2008 election. While that election is behind us, the message is the same, go out and vote. This year it is November 3 (but it is always the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November). This website has since been renamed OurTime and advocates for young Americans.

From the website: "The mission of OUR TIME is to combine the voting and purchasing power of young Americans so that politicians and businesses represent our needs better. Currently, they are not doing a good job. At least 1 in 6 of us is unemployed, almost 1 in 3 of us lack insurance, and those of us lucky enough to attend college on average owe more than $24,000 in student loan debt. This has got to stop..."

For more than 200 years Americans have been fighting to protect this great experiment that is the government of the United States of America. Never before had a nation actually created a system that allowed the people to run government (popular sovereignty). And since the creation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the number of people who are eligible to vote has continued to grow - not just through growing population but through the greatest thing about our government, the voice of the people. People have stood up to declare themselves and declare what is important to them. Why should this year, or any year, be different? We have something that so many people in the world only wish they could have: a voice in government. It is so important to us that we protect it in our Bill of Rights - the First Amendment! Do not throw away what so many people have fought and died for - go vote.

I am going to vote, because I care.

Video Link:  Annenberg Media - Learner.org

• The Constitution: That Delicate Balance - "Campaign Spending"

  Nearly 1 hour, this video is an interview of many members of Congress about thier understanding and feeling about Federal Election Campaign Act, campaign finance, and influence by outside groups. (from 1984)

Glencoe Online: Spotlight Videos

These videos accompany the textbook. Each is about 2-3 minutes and uses real news reports that demonstrates a main idea from each section.

• Chapter 10.1: Who Can Vote?
• Chapter 10.2: Election Campaigns
• Chapter 10.3: Paying for Election Campaigns

Links

Citizenship

• Department of the Census

  The Census was last conducted in 2010. Efforts have been underway to make sure that an accurate account can be made when the forms are mailed. Take a look here to see what the Census is all about, and why it is important to complete the Census.

• Census Interactive Form

  Take a look at THE Census, line by line, that will be mailed to every household in the United States.

• USCIS (US Citizen and Immigration Services)

  This is the website for Immigration Services. It contains the information, forms, and documentation necessary for somebody who seeks citizenship in the United States of America.

• Sample INS Questions

  Think you have what it takes to be a US Citizen? Try answering these questions.

• The Citizen by James Francis Dwyer.

  An excellent short story about a man and his wife chosing the dangers of leaving their homeland in Eastern Europe to come to the United States.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Clean Water Education Partnership

  From the website:
  "The Clean Water Education Partnership aims to protect North Carolina’s waterways from stormwater pollution through public education and outreach.

  "The Clean Water Education Partnership (CWEP) is a cooperative effort between local governments, state agencies, and nonprofit organizations to protect water quality in the Tar-Pamlico, Neuse, and Cape Fear River Basins."

Voting and Elections

• NC Voter

  This is a one stop website that answers all of your voting questions from, "Am I registered to vote?" to "Who will I be able to vote for?"

• Federal Election Commission

  The Federal Election Commission (FEC) was created by the Federal Election Campaign Act (1971). The purpose of this law and the FEC is to oversee elections, campaign practices, and individual states to make sure that the process remains fair and just for all voters. One of the biggest tasks of this Independent Agency of the President is to make sure that large institutions, such as corporations or interest groups, do not have an unfair control over the election process. This website is a good reference for laws and rules for elections, as well as interactive maps and data from previous elections.

• Wake County Board of Elections

  The Wake County Board of Election is responsible for running and overseeing all elections in Wake County. There aer many useful resources on this website including the results of past elections, sample ballots, guidelines for for voting, how to get onto the ballot in Wake County, interactive maps, and more.

• League of Women Voters

  Originally an interest group that promoted women's issues regarding suffrage, this organization has now transcended that role to now embody concerns for all voters in general. This organization has essentially become the authority on all things involving voting and voters rights, not just for women but for everyone. The website includes many FAQs as well as news and updates regarding current voting issues and reforms. Click here for the website for Wake County's League.

• Declare Yourself

  From the website: Declare Yourself is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign to empower and encourage every eligible 18-29 year-old in America to register and vote in local and national elections. Using the power of strategic media and retail partnerships, celebrity spokespeople, and most importantly, mobile and Internet technology, Declare Yourself's campaign blankets the landscape of popular culture, as well as universities and high schools, with a simple, clear message: REGISTER and VOTE!

• 270 to Win

  Interactive Website that allows you to view previous year election results as well as play with the current electoral college map and figure the outcome of this year's Presidential election. You can also run simulations to try and predict and allow the website to predict the outcome if you tweak the perectages of each state.

  From the website: 270towin.com is an interactive Electoral College map for 2012 and a history of Presidential elections in the United States. Since electoral votes are generally allocated on an "all or none" basis by state, the election of a U.S President is about winning the popular vote in enough states to achieve 270 electoral votes, a majority of the 538 that are available. It is not about getting the most overall popular votes, as we saw in the 2000 election, when the electoral vote winner (Bush) and the popular vote winner (Gore) were different.

Campaign Finance

• Federal Campaign Finance Laws

  From the FEC Website: "The FEC administers and enforces provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act, Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act and Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account Act. This page provides access not only to those statutes, but also to other documents relevant to federal campaign finance legislation."

• Buckley v. Valeo

  The first Supreme Court Case to challenge the Federal Electgions Campaign Act. Explain how this case helped clarify the FECA.

• Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA or McCain-Feingold Act)

  From the FEC Website: "n March 27, 2002, President Bush signed into law the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), Public Law No. 107-155. The BCRA contains many substantial and technical changes to the federal campaign finance law."

• McConnell v. Federal Elections Commission

  The first test of McCain-Feingold.

• Citizens United v. the Federal Elections Commission

  This is the most recent major Supreme Court case dealing with limits on Campaign Finance and Contributions. Describe the case and and tell what changes the decision has made for campaign finance.

Copyright M. Caggia 2018