1. 1- Being an American 2- Becoming a Citizen
Ch. 3 Section 1 & 2
1- Being an American
2- Becoming a Citizen

2. About 13 percent of all Americans were born in another country
The United States population is made up largely of the descendants of people who came from other countries to settle here
About 13 percent of all Americans were born in another country
These people are called immigrants – people who move permanently to a new country
Not everyone who came to the Americas came willingly
Why do you think this is so?
Some immigrants came searching for freedoms and others came fleeing poverty and disease
The American population is very diverse and you can find many different ethnic groups
Ethnic groups share a common national, cultural, or racial background
Our shared values are shown in the important institutions of American life
Social institutions are the key practices, relationships, and organizations in a society
We can see institutions in the ways families are valued and people belong to churches
Government Institutions reflect how strongly Americans value freedom and the American government is based on popular sovereignty
This is the idea that the government receives it’s power from the people
In what ways do you think popular sovereignty shown in American society?

3. People’s values are important because they influence how people act
Values are broad ideas about what is good or bad
Shared values help unite people , but different values make each person unique
What is Civics? What does it mean to be a citizen?
Think about your responsibilities or duties at home. Think about your privileges or rights at home.
Civics is the study of the duties and rights of citizens
Citizens have both duties and rights
Citizens are members of the community who owe loyalty to a government and, in turn, are entitled to the protection of that government
To have an effective government, citizens must understand their rights and responsibilities so they can make wise decisions
Over the years, ideas about citizenship has changed and adapted as laws have changed
Citizenship is no longer based on wealth, gender, race, or religion as it had been in earlier years
A person is a citizen by birth or by going through a process
A natural born citizen is any person born in American
If a person is born on foreign soil by parents who are American citizens, they too, are an American citizen
Naturalization is the legal process to become a citizen

4. American can lose their citizenship in 3 ways:
Immigrants who want to become United States citizens must meet certain requirements:
18 years of age or older
Permanent resident for 5 years
Must be able to read, write, and speak English
Must be of good moral character
Must show understanding of U.S. civics
First, immigrants who meet these requirements must complete an application and then take the citizenship exam.
Finally, they have a special ceremony where they take an oath and pledge to be loyal to the U.S. above all other countries
American can lose their citizenship in 3 ways:
Expatriation: become a citizen of another country
Denaturalization: A person who has been found to have lied on their citizenship application
Being convicted of certain crimes: treason, rebellion, or trying to overthrow the government
Only the federal government can grant or take away citizenship
States can deny some privileges of citizenship
Like the right to vote for criminals
People who are foreign born residents that live in America and are not citizens of America are called aliens
America has legal and non-legal aliens

5. There are two categories of legal aliens
A resident alien is a legal immigrant who permanently lives in the United States and may stay in the country as ling as they want
A nonresident alien is someone who expects to stay in the United States for a short, specified amount of time
Refugees are sometimes accepted by the United States
Refugee is a person fleeing their country to escape danger such as persecution by the government, war, or natural disaster
Illegal Aliens are people who live in America illegally
Today, close to 12 million people are living in the U.S. illegally
Why do you think immigrants would come to America illegally?
The U.S. limits the number of immigrants who can enter the country each year to about 1 million people
Relatives of U.S. citizens get the highest priority
People that have desired job skills are move to the top of the list
The U.S. also tends to accept more people from countries who have had fewer immigrants in the past
Because more people want to live in the U.S. than the law allows, many come in illegally
Those who were refused permission but come anyway
Those who never applied and but cross borders from Canada or Mexico
Nonresident aliens who stay longer than their legal time limit
Illegal aliens are arrested and deported if they are discovered