National Standards for Civics and Government

Preface

I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion.    Thomas Jefferson (1820)

It has been recognized since the founding of the nation that education has a civic mission: to prepare informed, rational, humane, and participating citizens committed to the values and principles of American constitutional democracy. This civic mission of the schools has recently been affirmed in the National Education Goals included in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act of 1994.

Goal 3: Student Achievement and Citizenship

By the year 2000, all students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter including…civics and government…so that they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment…

All students will be involved in activities that promote and demonstrate…good citizenship, community service, and personal responsibility.

Goal 6: Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning

By the year 2000, every adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skill necessary to… exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

To help achieve these goals, the Center for Civic Education (Center) has developed these voluntary National Standards for Civics and Government for students in kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) supported by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) of the U.S. Department of Education and The Pew Charitable Trusts.

These National Standards for Civic and Government are intended to help schools develop competent and responsible citizens who possess a reasoned commitment to the fundamental values and principles that are essential to the preservation and improvement of American constitutional democracy.

This document is limited to content standards specifying what students should know and be and to do in the field of civics and government. Content standards are not course outlines. They are "exit" standards; they do not specify what students should know and be able to do as they "exit" or complete grades 4, 8, and 12. Achievement of these standards should be fostered not only by explicit attention to civic education in the curriculum, but also in related subjects such as history, literature, geography, economics, and the sciences and by the informal curriculum of the school, the pattern of relations maintained in the school and its governance. To achieve the standards students must be provided with the kinds of learning opportunities in the classroom, school, and community that foster the skills necessary for civic participation.

Standards alone cannot improve student achievement, teacher performance, or school quality, but they can be an important stimulus for change. They provide widely agreed upon guidelines for what all students in this nation should learn and be able to do in the field of civics and government. They are useful in the development of curricular frameworks, course outlines, textbooks, professional development programs, and systems of assessment. These national standards are voluntary. They are provided as a resource to state and local education agencies and others interested in the improvement of education in civics and government.

These standards should not be considered to be a static or "finished" document. They should form the basis for continuing discussion, and they will be revised periodically in light of research, new scholarship, and public commentary.

The Center wishes to express its appreciation to the many people who have contributed to the development of the National Standards for Civics and Government, and to the funding agencies that supported the project. The developmental process benefited from the comments of persons who have participated in more than one hundred-fifty open hearings and public discussions of the standards. Well over one thousand teachers and other educators, scholars, parents, elected officials, and representatives of public and private organizations and groups have provided critical comments on successive drafts in the two-year developmental period. Leaders in civic education from numerous other nations also have shared the benefit of their experience and provided valuable insights in the standards-setting process. Names of all colleagues who have provided written critiques are listed in the appendices.

The Center has attempted to be responsive to the many excellent suggestions received. Our aim has been to provide a useful and balanced document reflecting a broad consensus among educators, scholars, and others who have contributed to the development of these standards. Any shortcomings in the standards are the responsibility of the Center.

Ultimately, the value of these standards will be determined in the classroom by knowledgeable, skilled, and dedicated teachers who have the capacity to make the study of civics and government the relevant, vital, and inspiring experience it should be. Teachers who foster students’ natural, youthful idealism, and commitment to working together enhance the realization of the goals of American constitutional democracy.

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Copyright 1994 Center for Civic Education
All rights reserved

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National Standards for Civics and Government

Introduction

1. Rationale for education in civics and government

There is an old saying that the course of civilization is a race between catastrophe and education. In a democracy such as ours, we must make sure that education wins the race.
John F. Kennedy (1958)

1. The civic mission of the schools. Although it has been argued that the establishment of the proper institutions is sufficient to maintain a free society, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, and others recognized that even the most well-designed institutions are not sufficient. Ultimately, a free society must rely on the knowledge, skills, and virtue of its citizens and those they elect to public office. Civic education, therefore, isessential to the preservation and improvement of American constitutional democracy.

The goal of education in civics and government is informed, responsible participation in political life by competent citizens committed to the fundamental values and principles of American constitutional democracy. Their effective and responsible participation requires the acquisition of a body of knowledge and of intellectual and participatory skills. Effective and responsible participation also is furthered by development of certain dispositions or traits of character that enhance the individual's capacity to participate in the political process and contribute to the healthy functioning of the political system and improvement of society. Many institutions help to develop Americans' knowledge and skills and shape their civic character and commitments. The family, religious institutions, the media, and community groups exert important influences. Schools, however, bear a special and historic responsibility for the development of civic competence and civic responsibility. Schools fulfill that responsibility through both formal and informal curricula beginning in the earliest grades and continuing through the entire educational process.

Formal instruction in civics and government should provide students with a basic understanding of civic life, politics, and government. It should help them understand the workings of their own and other political systems as well as the elationship of American politics and government to world affairs. Formal instruction provides a basis for understanding the rights and responsibilities of citizens in American constitutional democracy and a framework for competent and responsible participation. The formal curriculum should be augmented by related learning experiences, in both school and community, that enable students to learn how to participate in their own governance.

In addition to the formal curriculum, the importance of the informal curriculum should be recognized. The informal curriculum refers to the governance of the school community and relationships among those within it. These relationships should embody the fundamental values and principles of American constitutional democracy. Classrooms and schools hould be managed by adults who govern in accordance with constitutional values and principles and who display traits of character worth emulating. Students should be held accountable for behaving in accordance with fair and reasonable standards and for respecting the rights and dignity of others, including their peers.

1. The need for increased attention to civic education. Although the National Education Goals, as well as the goals, curricular requirements, and policies of every state, express the need for and extol the value of civic education, this vital part of the student's overall education is seldom given sustained and systematic attention in the K-12 curriculum. Inattention to civic education stems in part from the assumption that the knowledge and skills citizens need emerge as by-products of the study of other disciplines or as an outcome of the process of schooling itself.

While it is true that history, economics, literature, and other subjects do enhance students' understanding of government and politics, they cannot replace sustained, systematic attention to civic education. Civics should be seen as a central concern from kindergarten through twelfth grade, whether it is taught as a part of other curricula or in separate units or courses.

Civics and government should be seen as a discipline equal to others. Civics and government, like history and geography, is an interdisciplinary subject, whose substance is drawn from the disciplines of political science, political philosophy, history, economics, and jurisprudence.

In sum, civic education should not be considered incidental to the schooling of American youth. Civic education instead should be considered central to the purposes of American education and essential to the well-being of American democracy. It is particularly important for students in less privileged socio-economic circumstances. Research tells us that if these students are to have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills essential for informed, effective citizenship, it must be provided at elementary and secondary levels of their education. "Government of the people, by the people, and for the people," in Lincoln's phrase, means that the people have the right to control their government. But this right is meaningless unless they have the knowledge and skills to exercise that control and possess the traits of character required to do so responsibly.

1. Goals and standards

The following definitions should be kept in mind while reading the standards document.

Goals. Goals are statements of the overarching aims or ends of education such as fostering the development of competent and responsible citizens.

Standards. In the continuing effort to improve education in the United States, standards of varying kinds have been identified.

• Standards for students. Standards for students are statements specifying what students should know and be able to do, as well as the level of achievement that is to be expected of them. Standards for students include content standards and performance standards.
• Content standards. Content standards are statements of what students should know and be able to do in a specific discipline such as civics, history, or geography. Content standards are concerned with the knowledge students should acquire and the understandings they should develop, as well as with the intellectual and participatory skills students should develop in the course of their K-12 experience.
• Performance standards. Performance standards are criteria for determining students' levels of achievement of content standards.
• Standards for teachers. Standards for teachers are criteria for determining whether teachers have the capacity to assist their students in attaining high content and performance standards. These criteria include the adequacy of their preparation in the subjects they will teach, their ability to communicate their knowledge, their pedagogical skills, and the degree to which they stay abreast of their academic and professional disciplines.
• Standards for schools. Standards for schools are called delivery, equity or opportunity-to-learn standards. They are intended to guarantee insuring an equitable educational environment by insuring that all children have the opportunity to learn challenging subject matter.

Standards for state and local education agencies. Standards for state and local education agencies are criteria for judging the success of state and local educational agencies.

Content standards and intellectual and participatory skills The content standards in this document specify not only the content to be mastered in civics and government, but also what students should be able to do in relation to that content. These standards include, either explicitly or implicitly, a specification of the intellectual and participatory skills students should acquire.
Intellectual skills. Intellectual skills in civics and government are inseparable from content. To be able to think critically about a political issue, for example, one must have an understanding of the issue, its history, and its contemporary relevance, as well as a set of intellectual tools or considerations useful in dealing with such an issue.

Many of the content standards require that "Students should be able to evaluate, take, and defend positions about..." a particular topic or issue. These standards are followed by subsidiary statements which are intended to specify the knowledge and intellectual skills required to attain the standard.

For example, the following standard is from the grade 9-12 standards:

Part III, E. "How does the American political system provide for choice and opportunities for participation?"on page 118-119.

3.  Political communication: television, radio, the press, and political persuasion.Students should be able to evaluate, take, and defend positions on the influence of the media on American political life.

To achieve this standard, students should be able to

• explain the meaning and importance of freedom of the press
• evaluate the role in American politics of television, radio, the press, newsletters, data bases, and emerging means of communication, e.g., the internet, faxes, electronic mail
• compare and contrast various forms of political persuasion and discuss the extent to which traditional forms have been replaced by electronic media
• explain how Congress, the president, state and local public officials use the media to communicate with the citizenry
• evaluate historical and contemporary political communications using such criteria as logical validity, factual accuracy, emotional appeal, distorted evidence, appeals to bias or prejudice, e.g.,
• speeches such as Lincoln's "House Divided," Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?", Chief Joseph's "I Shall Fight No More Forever," Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms," Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream"
• government wartime information programs
• campaign advertisements
• political cartoons

1. Terms used to identify intellectual skills. Verbs in common usage are used in these content standards to identify the intellectual skills which students should develop. For example, the standards require students to "describe," "explain," "evaluate," and "take and defend" positions. These verbs were chosen rather than those found in some taxonomies used by professional curriculum developers because they are readily understandable by a broader audience—parents, students, and the larger community.

The use of these verbs should not be interpreted to mean that the standards do not call for the development of higher-order thinking skills. Descriptions, explanations, and the evaluation, adoption, and defense of positions can range from basic intellectual tasks to those of the highest order.

The following are the verbs most commonly used in the standards and the intellectual skills they specify. It should be noted that each verb, such as the verb "identify," may specify a skill that may be exercised at a range of levels, from the very simple act, for example, of identifying a member of Congress in a particular district, to identifying the criteria being used in a Supreme Court opinion.

• 1.      "Identify." To identify things that are tangible (one's representative) or intangible (justice). To identify something may involve being able to (1) distinguish it from something else, (2) classify or catalog something with other items with similar attributes or, in some cases, (3) determine its origin.
• 2.      "Describe." To describe tangible or intangible objects, processes, institutions, functions, purposes, means and ends, qualities. To describe something is to be able to give a verbal or written account of its basic attributes or characteristics.
• 3.      "Explain." To identify, describe, clarify, or interpret something. One may explain (1) causes of events, (2) the meaning or significance of events or ideas, (3) reasons for various acts or positions.
• 4.      "Evaluate a position." To use criteria or standards to make judgments about the (1) strengths and weaknesses of a position on a particular issue, (2) goals promoted by the position, or (3) means advocated to attain the goals.
• 5.      "Take a position." To use criteria or standards to arrive at a position one can support (1) one may select from alternative positions, or (2) create a novel position.
• 6.      "Defend a position." To (1) advance arguments in favor of one's position and (2) respond to or take into account arguments opposed to one's position
1. Participatory skills. Education in civics and government must not only address the acquisition of knowledge and intellectual skills; it also must focus specifically on the development of those skills required for competent participation in the political process. These include such skills as
• the capacity to influence policies and decisions by working with others
• clearly articulating interests and making them known to key decision and policy makers
• building coalitions, negotiating, compromising, and seeking consensus
• managing conflicts

Participatory skills are developed by providing students with opportunities to practice these skills and to observe and interact with those in their community who are adept in exercising them.

Learning opportunities useful in fostering participatory skills include:

• Monitoring politics and government. Students should learn how to monitor the handling of issues by the political process and by government. To help them attain this skill, they might be assigned to
• track an issue in the media; research the issue in libraries; gather information from interest groups, members of government, and government agencies
• perform research tasks in the community, such as interviewing people in public and private sectors involved in the political process, or observing meetings and hearings of public and private sector groups dealing with particular issues
• report and reflect on their experiences
• Influencing politics and government. Students should learn how to influence politics and government. To help them attain this skill, they can
• take part in the politics and governance of their classrooms and schools by working in groups to reach agreements about school rules, assuming roles of authority, campaigning for student offices, advocating desired changes in school policy, and taking part in student courts
• take part in simulations of the activities of government and private sector agencies and organizations, e.g., town meetings, administrative and legislative hearings, judicial hearings such as mock trials and moot courts, policy development meetings of organized groups, lobbying, nominating conventions, campaigns and elections, model UN meetings
• observe governmental agencies and private sector organizations at work
• learn how members of government and private organizations attempt to influence public policy by listening and talking to representatives visiting their classrooms
• present positions to student councils, school administrators, school boards
• write letters to newspapers and members of government
• meet with members of government to advocate their positions
• testify before public bodies
• perform service in their schools or communities directly related to civic life, politics, and government
1. Performance standards

Performance standards are statements of criteria to be used to measure levels of student achievement of content standards. These criteria may be used, for example, to assess a student's written or oral performance related to a specific content standard. An illustrative performance standard specifying three levels (basic, proficient, and advanced) of increasingly sophisticated student responses, each including and expanding on the previous level, is included in an appendix to this document. A complete set of performance standards to accompany these content standards will be developed by the Center if funding becomes available.

1. Vocabulary used in content standards

These standards are multidisciplinary; they draw most heavily from the fields of political philosophy, political science, constitutional law and jurisprudence, and history. Two criteria have guided the selection of vocabulary for the standards: (1) those terms most essential for all students and (2) those terms most useful in understanding the world of politics and government.

In the first instance, the standards have refrained from using some of the terms of scholarly discourse and, in some cases, have used commonly known synonyms when it appeared useful to do so. In the second instance, the standards employ terms required to understand the world of politics and government. The standards, therefore, have sometimes used terms from scholarly discourse that may not be generally familiar, because they are useful in describing and understanding politics and government.

Some essential terms not in common usage or which might be misunderstood are described briefly. These and other terms are defined in the standards or included in the glossary.

1. Civic life/private life. Civic life is the public life of the citizen concerned with the affairs of the community and nation, that is, the public realm. Private life, by comparison, is the personal life of the individual devoted to the pursuit of private interests.
2. Civil society. Civil society is the sphere of voluntary personal, social, and economic relationships and organizations that, although limited by law, is not part of governmental institutions. Civil society provides a domain where individuals are free from unreasonable interference from government. Many people argue that civil society, by providing for centers of political power outside government, is an indispensable means of maintaining limited government.
3. Constitution. The term "constitution" has various meanings, and constitutions serve differing purposes in different nations. In some nations a constitution is merely a description of a form of government. In the United States, as well as in some other nations, a constitution is a form of higher law that establishes and limits government in order to protect individual rights as well as to promote the common good. In the United States, constitutional government is equated with limited government.
4. Liberalism. In addition to the experience of limited self-government during the colonial period and the experience of the American Revolution, the development of American constitutional democracy has been influenced by several intellectual traditions. Two of the most important of these are the complementary but sometimes contradictory philosophical traditions of classical republicanism and liberalism. Classical republicanism emphasizes the ideal of the common good while liberalism stresses individual rights. The Preamble of the United States Constitution contains ideals often associated with republicanism. The Declaration of Independence is a classic and succinct statement of the central ideas of liberal theory.

The term "liberal" is derived from "liberty." The ideas associated with liberalism were developed during the Protestant Reformation, the rise of market economies and free enterprise, and were further elaborated during the eighteenth-century Enlightenment. Liberalism refers to a political theory developed by thinkers such as John Locke. They argued that the principal purpose of government is the protection of individual rights, the "unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," of which Jefferson spoke in the Declaration of Independence. They also held that the authority of the government is based on the consent of the people. That authority, they insisted, should be limited to the protection of individual rights.

A liberal democracy is a democracy based on the ideas of liberalism, the most important of which are the protection of individual rights and consent of the governed as the basis of political authority. Historians and political scientists have characterized most of the advanced western democracies as "liberal democracies." The United States is a classic example of this form of government. Since "liberal" is often used to identify a position on the liberal–conservative political spectrum in American politics, these standards classify the United States as a "constitutional democracy" rather than a "liberal democracy" and limit the treatment of the history of liberalism and liberal democracy to the standards at the 9-12 level.

1. Republicanism. Republics are states governed by elected representatives of the people. Republics can be contrasted to monarchies. While monarchs traditionally ruled by personal authority over their subjects, the government of republics is in principle the common concern of the people (res publica, "thing of the people"). Republics are similar to direct democracies in that sovereignty lies in the whole citizenry; but republics differ from direct democracies in that power is usually exercised by elected representatives rather than directly by the people.

The American Founders were influenced by the republican ideas of both ancient Greece and Rome. Classical republicanism, especially in Rome, stressed two central ideas. One was that the primary purpose of government is to promote the common good of the whole society rather than that of one particular class or segment of society. The second purpose was the necessity for the civic virtue of its citizens. Civic virtue requires the citizen to place the public or common good above private interest.

1. Politics. Politics is the process by which a group of people, whose opinions or interests might be divergent (1) reach collective decisions that are generally regarded as binding on the group and enforced as common policy, (2) seek the power to influence decisions about such matters as how their government will manage the distribution of resources, the allocation of benefits and burdens, and the management of conflicts, and (3) accomplish goals they could not realize as individuals.
2. Systems of shared powers. Although the political system of the United States has traditionally been called a presidential system or system of separated powers, these terms do not reflect the reality of the complex system of dispersed powers created by the Constitution. It is inaccurate to say, for example, that the power to make laws has been separated and given solely to the legislature.

Although powers are separated among the different branches of national, state, and local governments, they also are shared. Each branch shares some of the powers and functions of the other branches. For example, although Congress may pass laws, the president may veto them. Some law, administrative law, is created by the executive branch. Finally, Congress passes laws, but the Supreme Court may review their constitutionality.

Contemporary students of government increasingly refer to the United States and nations with similar arrangements for the distribution, sharing, and limitation of powers as "systems of shared powers," because this phrase is a more accurate description than the term "separation of powers." It is therefore being used in these standards.

1. Citizens and Americans. The term "citizen" is used throughout this document in a broad, encompassing sense. For example, students are citizens of their classroom and their school. They also are citizens of their neighborhood and community. As a matter of fact, many of the rights, responsibilities, and citizenship activities described in these standards apply to all residents of the United States and its territories, not to natural-born or naturalized citizens alone. Section V.1.A., of the 5-8 and 9-12 standards, however, does define citizenship more precisely where it is appropriate to do so.

The term "Americans" also is used throughout this document. While it is true that others in the Western Hemisphere also consider themselves to be "Americans," that name generally is recognized as designating the people of the United States of America.

1. Audiences and uses of national standards

The principal audiences for this document are

1. Teachers. Content standards provide teachers with clear statements of what they should teach their students. They promote fairness by providing teachers with adequate notice of what is expected of them.
2. Teacher education and credentialing institutions. Standards provide teacher education and credentialing institutions with clear guidelines for training teachers and granting credentials. Specifying what students from kindergarten through grade twelve should know and be able to do will give guidance for pre-service course selection and help ensure that teachers themselves benefit from a rigorous curriculum.
3. Assessment specialists. Standards are essential to the development of assessment programs designed to determine acceptable levels of performance.
4. Parents and the community. Standards will provide parents and other community members with understandable information about what should be taught and learned in K-12 education.
5. Curriculum developers. Standards provide guidance for the development of high quality curricular programs, textbooks, and other related educational materials.
6. Policy makers. Standards and evidence of their achievement provide a rational basis for the development and implementation of public policy in education.

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National Standards for Civics and Government

K-4 Content Standards

      I.            What is Government and What Should It Do?

1. What is government?
2. Where do people in government get the authority to make, apply, and enforce rules and laws and manage disputes about them?
3. Why is government necessary?
4. What are some of the most important things governments do?
5. What are the purposes of rules and laws?
6. How can you evaluate rules and laws?
7. What are the differences between limited and unlimited governments?
8. Why is it important to limit the power of government?

  II.            What are the Basic Values and Principles of American Democracy?

1. What are the most important values and principles of American democracy?
2. What are some important beliefs Americans have about themselves and their government?
3. Why is it important for americans to share certain values, principles, and beliefs?
4. What are the benefits of diversity in the United States?
5. How should conflicts about diversity be prevented or managed?
6. How can people work together to promote the values and principles of American democracy?

III.            How Does the Government Established by the Constitution Embody the Purposes, Values, and Principles of American Democracy?

1. What is the United States Constitution and why is it important?
2. What does the national government do and how does it protect individual rights and promote the common good?
3. What are the major responsibilities of state governments?
4. What are the major responsibilities of local governments?
5. Who represents you in the legislative and executive branches of your local, state, and national governments?

IV.            What is the Relationship of the United States to Other Nations and to World Affairs?

1. How is the world divided into nations?
2. How do nations interact with one another?

   V.            What are the Roles of the Citizen in American Democracy?

1. What does it mean to be a citizen of the United States?
2. How does a person become a citizen?
3. What are important rights in the United States?
4. What are important responsibilities of Americans?
5. What dispositions or traits of character are important to the preservation and improvement of American democracy?
6. How can Americans participate in their government?
7. What is the importance of political leadership and public service?

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National Standards for Civics and Government

5-8 Content Standards

      I.            What are Civic Life, Politics, and Government?

1. What is civic life? What is politics? What is government? Why are government and politics necessary? What purposes should government serve?
2. What are the essential characteristics of limited and unlimited government?
3. What are the nature and purposes of constitutions?
4. What are alternative ways of organizing constitutional governments?

  II.            What are the Foundations of the American Political System?

1. What is the American idea of constitutional government?
2. What are the distinctive characteristics of American society?
3. What is American political culture?
4. What values and principles are basic to American constitutional democracy?

III.            How Does the Government Established by the Constitution Embody the Purposes, Values, and Principles of American Democracy?

• 1.      How are power and responsibility distributed, shared, and limited in the government established by the United States Constitution?
• 2.      What does the national government do?
• 3.      How are state and local governments organized and what do they do?
• 4.      Who represents you in local, state, and national governments?
• 5.      What is the place of law in the American constitutional system?
• 6.      How does the American political system provide for choice and opportunities for participation?

IV.            What is the Relationship of the United States to Other Nations and to World Affairs?

•  .        How is the world organized politically?
• A.     How has the United States influenced other nations and how have other nations influenced American politics and society?

   V.            What are the Roles of the Citizen in American Democracy?

•  .        What is citizenship?
• A.     What are the rights of citizens?
• B.     What are the responsibilities of citizens?
• C.     What dispositions or traits of character are important to the preservation and improvement of American constitutional democracy?
• D.    How can citizens take part in civic life?

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National Standards for Civics and Government

9-12 Content Standards

      I.            What are Civic Life, Politics, and Government?

1. What is civic life? What is politics? What is government? Why are government and politics necessary? What purposes should government serve?
2. What are the essential characteristics of limited and unlimited government?
3. What are the nature and purposes of constitutions?
4. What are alternative ways of organizing constitutional governments?

  II.            What are the Foundations of the American Political System?

1. What is the American idea of constitutional government?
2. What are the distinctive characteristics of American society?
3. What is American political culture?
4. What values and principles are basic to American constitutional democracy?

III.            How Does the Government Established by the Constitution Embody the Purposes, Values, and Principles of American Democracy?

1. How are power and responsibility distributed, shared, and limited in the government established by the United States Constitution?
2. How is the national government organized and what does it do?
3. How are state and local governments organized and what do they do?
4. What is the place of law in the American constitutional system?
5. How does the American political system provide for choice and opportunities for participation?

IV.            What is the Relationship of the United States to Other Nations and to World Affairs?

1. How is the world organized politically?
2. How do the domestic politics and constitutional principles of the United States affect its relations with the world?
3. How has the United States influenced other nations, and how have other nations influenced American politics and society?

   V.            What are the Roles of the Citizen in American Democracy?

1. What is citizenship?
2. What are the rights of citizens?
3. What are the responsibilities of citizens?
4. What civic dispositions or traits of private and public character are important to the preservation and improvement of American constitutional democracy?
5. How can citizens take part in civic life?

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National Standards for Civics and Government

Organizing Questions and Content Summary

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National Standards for Civics and Government

Glossary

• affirmative action. Policy or program designed to redress historic injustices committed against racial minorities and other specified groups by making special efforts to provide members of these groups with access to educational and employment opportunities.
• alien. Anyone not a citizen of the country in which he or she lives.
• amendment (constitutional). Changes in, or additions to, a constitution. Proposed by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or by a convention called by Congress at the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures. Ratified by approval of three-fourths of the states.
• anarchy. Absence of formal legal order; also the social context in which legitimate political authority does not exist.
• Articles of Confederation. First constitution of the United States, 1781. Created a weak national government, replaced in 1789 by the Constitution of the United States.
• authority. Right to control or direct the actions of others, legitimized by law, morality, custom, or consent.
• Bill of Rights. First ten amendments to the Constitution. Ratified in 1791, these amendments limit governmental power and protect basic rights and liberties of individuals.
• Bill of Rights of 1689. See English Bill of Rights.
• British constitution. Framework for running the British government. The British constitution is unwritten, consisting of common law, acts of Parliament, and political customs and traditions.
• Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Supreme Court case which declared that "separate-but-equal" educational facilities are inherently unequal and therefore a violation of equal protection of the law guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.
• bureaucracy. Organizations that implement government policies.
• cabinet. Secretaries, or chief administrators, of the major departments of the federal government. Cabinet secretaries are appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate.
• caste system. Divisions in society based on differences of wealth, inherited rank, privilege, profession, or occupation.
• chauvinism. Fanatical patriotism, blind devotion to and belief in the superiority of one's group.
• checks and balances. Constitutional mechanisms that authorize each branch of government to share powers with the other branches and thereby check their activities. For example, the president may veto legislation passed by Congress, the Senate must confirm major executive appointments, and the courts may declare acts of Congress unconstitutional.
• citizen. Member of a political society who therefore owes allegiance to and is entitled to protection by and from the government.
• citizenship. Status of being a member of a state, one who owes allegiance to the government and is entitled to its protection and to political rights.
• civil law. Body of law that deals with the private rights of individuals, as distinguished from criminal law.
• civil liberties. Areas of personal freedom with which governments are constrained from interfering.
• civil rights. Protections and privileges given to all U.S. citizens by the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
• civil rights laws. Laws passed by Congress or state legislatures designed to protect the rights of individuals to fair treatment by private persons, groups, organizations, businesses, and government.
• civil rights movements. Continuing efforts to gain the enforcement of the rights guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution.
• Civil War Amendments. Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, passed following the Civil War. They freed the slaves, granted them citizenship, and guaranteed them the rights of citizens.
• class system. System in which members of social classes are prevented from moving into other classes.
• clear and present danger. Standard used to justify limitations on speech that will lead directly to harm to others.
• colonial charters. Documents granting authority to the original colonies by the British.
• common law. Body of unwritten law developed in England from judicial decisions based on custom and earlier judicial decisions. It constituted the basis of the English legal system and became part of American law.
• common or public good. Benefit or interest of a politically organized society as a whole.
• compact. See covenant.
• concurrent powers. Powers that may be exercised by both the federal government and the state governments – for example, levying taxes, borrowing money, and spending for the general welfare.
• consent of the governed. Agreement by the people to set up and live under a government. According to the natural rights philosophy, all legitimate government must rest on the consent of the governed.
• constitutionalism. Idea that the powers of government should be distributed according to a written or unwritten constitution and that those powers should be effectively restrained by the constitution's provisions.
• covenant. Binding agreement made by two or more persons or parties; compact.
• criminal law. Branch of law that deals with disputes or actions involving criminal penalties (as opposed to civil law), it regulates the conduct of individuals, defines crimes, and provides punishment for criminal acts.
• delegated powers. Powers granted to the national government under the Constitution, as enumerated in Articles I, II, and III.
• democracy. Form of government in which political control is exercised by all the people, either directly or through their elected representatives.
• divine right. Theory of government that holds that a monarch receives the right to rule directly from God and not from the people.
• domestic tranquility. Internal peacefulness; lack of disturbance within a country.
• due process of law. Right of every citizen to be protected against arbitrary action by government.
• English Bill of Rights. An act passed by Parliament in 1689 which limited the power of the monarch. This document established Parliament as the most powerful branch of the English government.
• enumerated powers. Powers that are specifically granted to Congress by Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.
• equal protection clause. Fourteenth Amendment provision that prohibits states from denying equal protection of the laws to all people – that is, discriminating against individuals in an arbitrary manner, such as on the basis of race.
• equal protection of the law. Idea that no individual or group may receive special privileges from nor be unjustly discriminated against by the law.
• Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Placed before Congress in 1923, the ERA stated that "Equal rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex." ERA passed Congress in 1972, but the required three-quarters of the states failed to ratify it. Time for its adoption expired in 1982.
• equality of opportunity. An equal chance for all persons in such areas as education, employment, and political participation.
• established church or established religion. Official, state-sponsored religion.
• establishment clause. Clause in the First Amendment that says the government may not set up, or establish, an official religion.
• ethnicity. Group of people that can be identified within a larger culture or society on the basis of such factors as religion, ancestry, or language.
• European Union (EU). Successor organization to the "European Community," itself successor to the European Economic Community (EEC), also known as the European "Common Market."
• excise taxes. Taxes on the manufacture, sale, or consumption of a manufactured article within a country.
• exclusionary rule. Judicial doctrine based on the Fourth Amendment's protection against illegal searches and seizures, which provides that evidence obtained illegally may not be used in a trial.
• executive power. Power of the president to implement and enforce laws.
• federal judiciary. Nine members of the U.S. Supreme Court and approximately five hundred judges appointed by the president and approved by the Senate for the federal courts created by Congress. The judges are divided among ninety-four district courts and twelve courts of appeal (the "constitutional courts") and a number of specialized courts, such as tax and military courts (the "legislative courts").
• federal supremacy clause. Article VI of the Constitution providing that the Constitution and all federal laws and treaties shall be the "supreme Law of the Land." Therefore, all federal laws take precedence over state and local laws.
• federal system (or federalism). Form of political organization in which governmental power is divided between a central government and territorial subdivisions – in the United States, among the national, state, and local governments.
• federalists. Advocates of a strong national government and supporters of adoption of the U.S. Constitution.
• feudalism. Political and economic system in which a king or queen shared power with the nobility who required services from the common people in return for allowing them to use the noble's land.
• foreign policy. Policies of the federal government directed to matters beyond U.S. borders, especially relations with other countries. Much domestic policy has foreign policy implications.
• Founders. People who played important roles in the development of the national government of the United States.
• Framers. Delegates to the Philadelphia Convention held in 1787 and those who wrote and ratified the Bill of Rights.
• franchise. Right to vote.
• free exercise clause. Clause in the First Amendment that says the government shall make no law prohibiting the free practice of religious beliefs.
• freedom of assembly. Freedom of people to gather together in public.
• freedom of conscience. Freedom of belief. Many consider freedom of conscience an absolute right, one that has no limitations.
• freedom of expression. Refers to the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and petition that are protected by the First Amendment.
• freedom of petition. Freedom to present requests to the government without reprisal.
• freedom of the press. Freedom to print or publish without government interference.
• freedom of religion. Freedom to worship as one pleases.
• freedom of speech. Freedom to express oneself, either verbally or non-verbally, that is, symbolically.
• fundamental rights. Rights considered to be essential.
• general welfare. Good of society as a whole; common or public good.
• general welfare clause. Clause in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution that gives Congress power to provide for "the general welfare of the United States."
• government. Institutions and procedures through which a territory and its people are ruled.
• habeas corpus. Court order demanding that the individual in custody be brought into court and shown the cause for detention. Habeas corpus is guaranteed by the Constitution and can be suspended only in cases of rebellion or invasion.
• "hate" speech. Speech that is intentionally deeply offensive to a racial, ethnic, religious, or other group, seeking to condemn or dehumanize members of such a group.
• higher law. In describing a legal system, refers to the superiority of one set of laws over another. For example, the Constitution is a higher law than any federal or state law. In natural rights philosophy, it means that natural law and divine law are superior to laws made by human beings.
• House of Commons. One of two houses of the English Parliament; represents the common people.
• House of Lords. One of two houses of the English Parliament; represents the nobility.
• ideology. Combined doctrines, assertions, and intentions of a social or political group that justify its behavior.
• impeachment. Power of Congress to remove the president, vice president, federal judges, and other federal officers from office.
• incorporation. Process by which the Supreme Court interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment to extend the Bill of Rights to include protections against actions of the state governments.
• individual rights. Rights possessed by individuals as opposed to those rights claimed by groups.
• institution (political). Organizations such as Congress, the presidency, and the court system that play a significant role in the making, carrying out, and enforcing laws and managing conflicts about them.
• interest group. Organized body of individuals who share some goals and try to influence public policy to meet those goals.
• international law. Customs, treaties, agreements, and rules that govern relations among nations.
• judicial power. Power to manage conflicts about the interpretation and application of the law.
• judicial review. Doctrine that permits the federal courts to declare unconstitutional, and thus null and void, acts of the Congress, the executive, and the states. The precedent for judicial review was established in the 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison.
• junta. Group of persons controlling a government, especially after a revolutionary seizure of power.
• justice. Fair distribution of benefits and burdens, fair correction of wrongs and injuries, or use of fair procedures in gathering information and making decisions.
• law of nature (or natural law). As used by natural rights philosophers – a moral rule discovered by the use of reason, which everyone should obey at all times and places.
• legislative power. Power to make laws.
• legitimacy. Acceptance as right and proper.
• loyal opposition. Idea that opposition to a government is legitimate; organized opponents to the government of the day.
• Magna Carta. Document signed by King John of England in 1215 A.D. that guaranteed certain basic rights. Considered the beginning of constitutional government in England.
• majority rule. Rule by more than half of those participating in a decision.
• Marbury v. Madison (1803). Case in which the Supreme Court held that it had the power of judicial review over acts of Congress.
• Marshall Plan. U.S. foreign policy, named after Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, which gave substantial aid to Western European countries after World War II (1948-52) to rehabilitate their economies, ensuring the survival of democratic institutions.
• Mayflower Compact. Document drawn up by the Pilgrims in 1620 while on The Mayflower before landing at Plymouth Rock. The Compact provided a legal basis for self-government.
• minority rights. Rights of any group less than a majority.
• monarchy. Government in which political power is exercised by a single ruler under the claim of divine or hereditary right.
• national security. Condition of a nation's safety from threats, especially threats from external sources.
• natural rights. Belief that individuals are naturally endowed with basic human rights; those rights that are so much a part of human nature that they cannot be taken away or given up, as opposed to rights conferred by law. The Declaration of Independence states that these natural rights include the rights to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
• Nineteenth Amendment. Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1920, guaranteeing women the right to vote.
• Ninth Amendment. This amendment states, in effect, that the Bill of Rights is only a partial listing of the people's rights.
• nobility. Group of persons having legally recognized titles, usually of a hereditary nature, who compose the aristocracy in a society. In Great Britain, the nobility is represented in the House of Lords.
• OAS. Organization of American States, an international governmental organization formed by the states of North and South America for the protection of mutual security and interests.
• political culture. Fundamental beliefs and assumptions of a people about how government and politics should operate.
• political efficacy. Belief that one can be effective and have an impact on public affairs.
• political ideology. Organized, coherent set of attitudes about government and public policy.
• political party. Any group, however loosely organized, that seeks to elect government officials under a given label.
• political philosophy. Study of ideas about government and politics.
• political rights. Rights to participate in the political process.
• preamble. Introduction to a formal document that explains its purpose.
• principle. Basic rule that guides or influences thought or action.
• private (or personal) domain. Areas of an individual's life that are not subject to governmental control.
• private property. Property belonging to a particular person or persons as opposed to the public or the government.
• public good. See common good.
• public service. Service to local, state, or national communities through appointed or elected office.
• Puritan ethic. Belief in the primacy of religious duty, work, conscience, and self-restraint in the life of the individual. Traditionally associated with economic individualism.
• representative democracy. Form of government in which power is held by the people and exercised indirectly through elected representatives who make decisions.
• republican government. System of government in which power is held by the voters and is exercised by elected representatives responsible for promoting the common welfare.
• revolution. Complete or drastic change of government and the rules by which government is conducted.
• Roman Republic. Society whose origins were in Rome, dating from 509 B.C. to 27 B.C. Rome served as the model for the theory of classical republicanism.
• royalty. Kings, queens, and members of their families. Royalty can also refer to that part of the government that represents the monarch.
• rule of law. Principle that every member of a society, even a ruler, must follow the law.
• "rule of men." Ability of government officials and others to govern by their personal whim or desire. Opposed to the "rule of law."
• separation of church and state. Concept that religion and government should be separate; basis for the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
• separation of powers. Division of governmental power among several institutions that must cooperate in decision making.
• social contract (compact). Agreement among all the people in a society to give up part of their freedom to a government in return for protection of their natural rights. A theory developed by Locke to explain the origin of legitimate government.
• social equality. Absence of inherited or assigned titles of nobility or of a hierarchical caste or class social system.
• sovereignty. Ultimate, supreme power in a state; in the United States, sovereignty rests with the people.
• suffrage. Right to vote.
• supremacy clause. Article VI, Section 2, of the Constitution, which states that the Constitution, laws passed by Congress, and treaties of the United States "shall be the supreme law of the land," binding on the states.
• time, place, and manner restrictions. Government regulations which place restrictions on free speech. These regulations, specifying when, where, and in what way speech is allowed, are applied when unrestricted free speech will conflict with the rights of others.
• treaty. Formal agreement between sovereign nations to create or restrict rights and responsibilities. In the U.S. all treaties must be approved by a two-thirds vote in the Senate.
• "unalienable" (inalienable) rights. Fundamental rights of the people that may not be taken away. A phrase used in the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Declaration of Independence.
• unenumerated rights. Rights which are not specifically listed in the Constitution or Bill of Rights, but which have been recognized and protected by the courts.
• unitary government. A government system in which all governmental authority is vested in a central government from which regional and local governments derive their powers. Examples are Great Britain and France, as well as the American states within their spheres of authority.
• United Nations. International organization comprising most of the nations of the world, formed in 1945 to promote peace, security, and economic development.
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights. International declaration of rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948.
• veto. Constitutional power of the president to refuse to sign a bill passed by Congress, thereby preventing it from becoming a law. The president's veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both the Senate and House of Representatives.
• World Court. Court in The Hague, the Netherlands, set up by the United Nations Treaty to which nations may voluntarily submit disputes.