1. Rights, Duties, and Responsibilities
Chapter 24, section 2
Rights, Duties, and Responsibilities

2. Rights of citizens The right to vote and to hold elected office
The right to say what you think in speech or in writing
The right to practice your own religion
The right to have a fair trial
These rights, and our other rights as citizens, are based on the fundamental beliefs and values we Americans share: equal respect, freedom, equality, and justice.
Our rights are guaranteed to us by our Constitution and protected by our laws and our courts.

3. Duties of citizens Obeying the laws Defending the nation
Serving on a jury or as a witness in court
Paying taxes
Attending school
Be performing each of these duties, we, as citizens, support our government’s efforts to meet our needs as a society.

4. Obeying the laws
Your family and your classroom have rules that keep them running in an orderly way.
A society’s formal rules are called laws.
These laws are set in place to protect citizens.

5. The rule of law
In a democracy, no individual—even the President– is above the law.
The concept of a government of laws, rather than of men and women, is called the rule of law.
Officials must base their decisions on the law, not on personal opinion.
This is an important protection against government tyranny.

6. Defending the nation
The United States maintains armed services even in peacetime. In this way, the nation can defend itself in case of attack and can help other countries protect themselves.
When you are eighteen years old or older, you may volunteer to serve in the army, navy, air force, or marines.
In addition, young men must register for military service when they reach age eighteen.
Registering does not mean that they will have to serve in the armed force, but it does mean that they can be called to serve when there is a national emergency.

7. Paying taxes
Many students pay sales tax on items you buy, such as clothes and CDs.
When you get a job, you will have to pay state taxes and federal taxes on the money you make.
Through taxes, our local, state, and national governments raise money to pay for the services that citizens ask them to provide.

8. Attending school
Every day that you go to school, you are performing one of your duties as a citizen.
Society depends on school to make sure that young people are prepared for the future.
Each of us must be educated about our history, our government, and the workings of our society.

9. Quick Write
Which of the duties of citizens do you think is the most important? Why?
I believe attending school is the most important. I think this because without going to school and learning you would not be able to do all of the other duties.

10. Responsibilities of citizens
As American citizens, we have responsibilities as well.
Unlike duties, responsibilities are fulfilled by choice--- they are voluntary.
However, even though we are not required by law to fulfill our responsibilities, doing so is just as important a part of being a citizen as performing our duties.

11. Working toward the common good
The basic responsibility of citizens is to contribute to the common good.
The common good is the well-being of all members of society.
Contributing to the common good means acting in ways that protect the rights and freedoms of other Americans and make our communities good places to live.

12. voting
The right to vote is one of the basic rights of American citizens and one of our most important responsibilities.
To make good decisions and vote wisely, citizens have the responsibility to inform themselves.
You can get information by reading, asking questions, and discussing the candidates and issues with other people.
It is always important, when preparing to vote, to try to both separate facts from opinions and base your decisions on reasons instead of personal likes and dislikes.

13. Holding government office
The people who agree to hold government office are fulfilling another important responsibilities of citizenship.
They have accepted the responsibility of learning about the issues and trying to make decisions that are in the best interests of the people they represent.

14. Participating in election campaigns
One important way to fulfill the responsibilities of citizenship is to help a candidate, or person running for office, in his or her election campaign.
There are numerous ways to help candidates, such as carrying campaign sings at a rally, stuffing envelopes with information to send to voters, and making phone calls to encourage people to vote for your candidate.

15. Influencing government
Another way in which you can influence the government is to persuade government to take action regarding a cause you believe in.
Citizens of any age can influence government by expressing their opinions in letters to elected representatives and newspapers, and by speaking at city council and school board meetings.

16. Serving the community
Not all responsibilities of citizenship are directly connected with government.
Each of us is responsible for doing whatever we can to make our communities better places to live in.

17. Exit slip
Why is it important to study and understand the issues that get decided in elections?
If you make a decision on who to vote for or what to vote for without researching the topics and people on your own, you are not making a wise choice. Unfortunately, when dealing with elections, many people will lie in order to get elected or have their law passed. If people just vote based off what other people say and not their own knowledge, we might as well not have elections and just have a few people make all the decisions for us.

18. Group Activity
As a group, come up with 3 rights and 3 responsibilities that you have as a student.
Record these on your poster paper.
Share with class.

19. What responsibilities go along with these rights?
Turn to page 188 in the “We the People” book.
Each group is going to choose one of the group activities to complete. Write everyone’s name at the top of the page.
At the top of ONE sheet of paper, write the “right” that is in blue above your activity.
Then, read the short paragraph and answer the questions in COMPLETE sentences!
Each group needs to have everyone participating.
You will be sharing your activity. Please designate someone to speak for your group. If you want everyone to read one question and answer that would be great!