U.S. Citizenship Challenge
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FLAGS
. The colors on the flag are red, white and blue.
White symbolizes purity and innocence;
Red, hardiness and valor;
Blue, Vigilance, Perseverance and Justice.
. The flag of the United States consists of 13 stripes,
with alternating red and white.
The stripes stand for the 13 original states.
There are 50 stars. They stand for the 50 states in the union.
. June 14, 1777 Congress made the following resolution:
"The flag of the U.S. shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and
white, with a union of thirteen stars of white on a blue field."
. On September 3, 1777 the official annoucement of the flag was made.
. In 1795 Congress voted to increase to 15 stars.
. In 1818 Congress established the following policy: "That on the
admission of every new state into the union, one star be added to
the union of the flag..."
. During the Mexican War in 1846, there were 29 stars.
. At the start of Civil War in 1861 the flag contained 34 stars.
. 1898, Spanish American War, there was 45 stars.
. October 29, 1912, President William Howard Taft ordered to fix the
overall width and height of 1:1.9, with 13 stripes of equal width.
. In 1942, Congress established a uniform code for display of the flag.
It should usually be displayed daily from sunrise in the open in main
administration buildings of all public institutions and in or near
schools during school days. Every polling place should display flags
on election days.
. When carried with another flag, it should be borne to the right by
marcher. When it is carried with several flags, it should be borne in
front of center of the line. No other flag or pennant should be placed
above the U.S flag. When displayed against a wall or in a window, the
blue field should be uppermost and to the left of observer.
. Finally in 1959 and 1960, the 49th and 50th stars were added for Alaska
and Hawaii.
GOVERNMENT
. The supreme law of the United States is the Constitution. The Preamble
is the Introduction of the constitution. An amendment is a change to
the constitution. In 200 years the constitution has had only 27 changes.
Much credit goes to men like Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and
James Madison. The constitution was drafted in 1787, but it wasn't until
1789 that in was put into effect. In 1791, changes known as the Bill of
Rights (the first 10 amendments) were added, guaranteeing Americans the
freedom of speech, religion and more.
. The United States has a Republican type of government. This means the
government is run by the people. There are three branches in the United
States government: Executive, Legislative, and the Judicial.
. The Executive branch consists of the President, the Vice President and
the cabinet. The electoral college elects the President. Presidential
elections are held every four years in November. In January the new
President is inaugurated. A president can serve a maximum of two terms.
If the President should die then the Vice President will become
President. If both the President and the Vice President die the Speaker
of the House of Representative will become President. A special group
called the Cabinet advises the president. The President's duties are to
enforce laws, to be the commander in chief of the U.S. military, and to
sign bills into laws.
. Congress makes up the Legislative branch. Congress includes the Senate
and the House of Representatives. Their duties are to make laws.
Congress is elected by the citizens. There are 100 hundred senators in
Congress, two from each state. Senators' elections are held every six
years. There are 435 representatives in Congress. The number of
representatives from each state depends on the population of the state.
Representatives are elected every two years. There is no limit to the
number of terms for which the Senators and Representatives are elected.
Congress has power to declare war.
. The Judicial branch of our government is the Supreme Court, the highest
court in the Nation. The Supreme Court's duty is to interpret laws.
There are nine Supreme Courts justices. They are selected by the
President. Once they are selected they serve for life.
RIGHTS OF CITIZENS
. In the Summer of 1787, delegates from the 13 colonies convened in
Philiadelphia to draft the Constitution. However the framers did not
include a specific declaration of rights. The Constitution specified
what the government could do but not what the government could not do.
. The Constitution was signed in September 1787 and sent to the Congress.
The people ratified the Constitution only after its framers pledged to
add to it such protections. Congress added them in 1789, and in 1791
two-thirds of the states ratified the first ten amendments to the
Constitution, which became known as the Bill of Rights.
. On August 24, 1789, the House approved 17 admendments and passed them
on to the Senate for its consideration. The Senators reduced the 17
admendments to 12. The states rejected only two of the proposed
amendments. So the Bill of Rights are the firs t 10 amendments to the
Constitution.
. The first amendment guaranteed the Freedom of: Speech, press, religion,
peaceable assembly and requesting (petitioning) for changes in the
government. Every citizen and non-citizen is entitled to these rights.
. The minimum voting age in the United States is 18. In order to be a
president a person must be born in the United States and be at least
35 years of age.
BEFORE 1776
. One day in December of 1606, a little over a hundred Englishmen crowded
onto three small ships, the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery.
They set sail from London for what one of the men hopefully called
"Virginia, Earth's only paradise". This became known as the colony of
Jamestown. Years later the 13 colonies was created and they are
Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut,
Delaware, New Hapshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey,
Pennylvania, and Georgia.
. On September 16, 1620, the Pilgrims left Plymouth, England, for America
on the Mayflower. They were seeking religious freedom. On November 21,
the Mayflower dropped anchor at Plymouth, Massachussetts. The Pilgrims
established a government and created the Mayflower Compact, the first
constitution in America.
. The Wampanoag Indians, under the leadership of Massasoit, helped the
Pilgrims during their first year. After the first harvest was completed
by the Plymouth colonist in 1621, Governor William Bradford proclaimed a
day of thanksgiving and prayer, shared by all the colonist and Native
Americans. This was the first Thanksgiving.
. The Revolutionary war was fought from 1775 to 1783 to establish
independence from England. The Declaration of Independence, written in
1776, declared that all men are created equal. George Washington was
Commander in Chief of the army and became known as "Father of our
Country".
. Independence Day, July 4th, is the most important holiday in the United
States. It celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence
by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776 written by Thomas
Jefferson. The day has always been the occasion for parades and
patriotic speeches and for every variety of noisy jubilation. In fact,
the firing of cannon and fireworks caused so many injuries, by the
early 1900�s, ordinances forbidding private pyrotechnics were passed in
many cities. Today, Fourth of July fireworks are largely handled by
professionals.
AFTER 1776
. On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal
Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first
President of the United States. George Washington was also the first
commander in chief of the U.S. military.
. Our Constitution was written in 1787.
. The Star-Spangled Banner was born out of the emotions experienced by
Francis Scott Key as he watched the bombardment of Fort McHenry during
the War of 1812. The first musical edition was published by Benjamin
Carr of Baltimore and titled "The Star-Spa ngled Banner." With the
passage of time the song grew in popularity, and in 1931 an act of
Congress made it our official national anthem.
. The 16th President of the United States, Lincoln presided over the great
American conflict called the Civil War. That conflict was driven by
goals of freedom, liberty, and the practice of slavery. On September 22,
1862 the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Lincoln which ended
evil of slavery.
. During World War II our (United States) enemies were Germany, Italy,
and Japan. The United States entered the war on December 8, 1941.
. The 49th state that joined the Union (United States) was Alaska in
January 1959, and the 50th was Hawaii in August 1959.
. Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American civil rights leader. He
led the 2000 men march in Washington D.C. to protest about blacks'
civil rights. Martin Luther King Jr. was famous for his "I have a Dream"
speech in 1963.
. The Immigration and Naturalization service form that we use to apply
to become a naturalized citizen is the N-400.
AMERICA TODAY
Since its independence from Britian in 1776, the 13 colonies have
nowgrown to 50 states including several outlying dependencies,
partially independent Puerto Rico, the Islands in the West Indies and
Guam in the Mariana Islands. The United States is the fourth largest
country in the world in both population and area.
. Land and People
United States has geographical features as diverse as itspeople. The
RockyMountains hover over the west, and the Appalachian Mountains run
southwest along the Atlantic Coast from New England to Alabama. But
from New York to the south, a coastal plain covers it. In the central
area, vast plains cover the huge area.
Unlike any country in the world, United States is the most diverse
country racially and ethnically. Reports has shown that the white
majority has been somewhat reduced since 1970s by migration from Asia,
Latin America, and other areas. Population growth rates among blacks
continues to grow. In the past, the United States had an official
policy of admitting more European immigrants than Asian, African,
and Latin American immigrants. An immigration policy was taken into
effect in the 1970s that resulted in large numbers of non-European
immigrants entering the United States. In turn added diversity and
cultural understanding of the new Americans.
Today government of the United States has changed tremendously from
its past. The American government has served its people well. With
democracy on the American side, they have freedom. There are many
benefits to being a citizen. For example you get to vote for the
candidate of your choice, obtain Federal Government jobs, travel with
a U.S. passport, and petition for close relatives to come to the U.S.
to live. These are just the many examples of the benefits to being an
American citizen. The most important right granted to a U.S. citizen
is the right to vote.
. State and Federal Government
The government of the United States has developed gradually from trial
and errors. Today the U.S. government operates within a system that
allows the state governments and the Federal Government to work together.
State government deals within the state. In each of the 50 states there
is one head executive called Governor. A head executive of a city
government is called a Mayor.
In today's complicated situation the shift in power has been
leaningtoward Federal Government, in order to solve problems. Washington,
D.C. is the capitol of the United States. The Capitol building where
congress meet, and the White House (1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NE.) the
official residence of the president is also located there.
Sometimes problems involve the world. The United Nations was established
to help solve international issues and provide means for countries to
discuss problems.
The system of political parties in the United States has a great effect
on the president and on Congress. The two major parties are Democratic
and Republicans. The two political parties serve as checks on each other.
The president of the United States historically has belonged to either
of two major political parties. Bill Clinton is the president of the
United States today. He's the 42nd president and was the first to
president to be born after World War II. He was 46 years old whe he
took office, which makes him the third youngest president, after
Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy.
Al Gore is the vice president of today. He is the 45th vice president.
He graduated from Havard University in 1969.
. Other Resources
Below are links to current information to help you prepare for the test.
http://www.ins.usdoj.gov
the official page of immigration and naturalization service. how and
where to apply for citizenship. form N-400
http://www.uscitizenship.org
include test info. and online test
http://www.senate.gov/senator/state.html
http://clerkweb.house.gov/mbrcmtee/members/mbrsstate/uolmfram.htm
find out the names of the senators
http://www.50states.com
find out the names of the 50 states and its capital
http://www.nga.org/Governor/GovMasterList.htm
find out who is the current governor of your state
http://www.uscourts.gov/understanding_courts/8995.htm
who is the chief justice of the Supreme Court
http://pti.nw.dc.us/AllAboard.htm
find out who's the head of your local government
http://www.un.org
learn more about the United Nations
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Welcome.html
learn about the White House and who lives there
http://www.politicalindex.com/sect8.htm
find out what the two major political parties in the U.S are
=== End: updated in 2000 ===