Citizenship Rights & Responsibilities

Citizenship Rights & Responsibilities Chapter 10

Ways in which citizens can influence their governments: • Working withIN the rules of government > • Absolute Monarchies > • Monarch receives advice from council of ministers in order to make decisions • King/queen may send agents to collect information • Depends on military leaders’ & wealthy, powerful subjects’ support • Citizens voice opinions & complaints to agents or ministers • Constitutional Monarchies > • King/queen shares powersw/ parliament • People participate in parliamentary elections, may write to members of parliament who represent them & may voice opinions to monarch’s advisors or ministers • Dictatorship > • Dictator may have seized power w/ support of people • Information & support comes from military or secret police

Working within gov. rules con’t • Dictatorship con’t • People can influence the dictator by joining his/her party; can give information or advice; cannot criticize dictator’s policies • Dictator controls & censors mass media, therefore, people are not well informed • Theocracy • Ruled by religious leaders (Iran is an example) • People influence gov. by being members of the religion • Those who are not part of the religious institution, have little (or no) say in the gov.

Working w/in the rules of gov. con’t • Parliamentary & Presidential Democracies • Citizens are guaranteedbasic rights (speech, assembly, religion, press, etc.) • Citizens can obtain info. from various uncensored sources; can express views & openly criticize gov. • Citizens participate in gov. by choosing (voting for) representatives in the gov., may join political parties, may run for office • Citizens may work to change public policy in a variety of ways

How citizens my influence U.S. government policy Political Parties> groups who share a belief in common principles; Goal: to see particular policies & programs adopted by gov.; Goal accomplished by getting party members elected Interest Groups > organizations based on common economic or other beliefs; Goal: pressure legislators to pass laws that favor their interests Lobbyists > agents of interest groups hired to pressure/inform members of Congress; Actions: testify in Congress, campaign to get laws passed for clients Media > newspapers, radio, television, Internet; Actions: inform the public, act as watchdogs of gov. by exposing problems in gov. Public Opinion > what the citizens think about the gov.; most important influence on gov. policy; shown by writing letters, demonstrating, phone calls, emails, voting

Ways in which American Gov. has been influenced: Extension of Suffrage > Women formed special interest groups, held conventions, demonstrated, published newspapers, formed their own political parties to win the right to vote (19th Amendment) Labor Legislation > labor unions urged workers to join political parties (Populist Party); turned public opinion in favor of unions; New Deal laws during the Depression protected workers’ rights & won collective bargaining Civil Rights Legislation > used special interest groups like NAACP, media, pressured political parties, media (esp. TV), to show rest of nation how Southern states mistreated African Americans Military Policy > during Vietnam Conflict, antiwar groups used media, lobbied Congress & worked to influence public opinion to end the “draft” & withdraw troops from Vietnam

Ways U.S. gov. has been influenced con’t Environmental Legislation > to protect nation’s natural resources, John Muir formed Sierra Club; Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring, exposing the dangers of pesticides; 1970 1st Earth Day brought about Clean Air Act & creation of EPA Business Regulation > Laissez faire policies of the 1800’s showed Americans felt gov. should not be involved in the economy; Late 1800s farmers formed special interest groups (the Grange)& political parties (Populists) to have influence over politicians, aiming for regulation of railroad rates; Progressives called for regulation of Big Business; “muckrakers” exposed abuses in society in business, resulting in consumer protection laws Education Policy > education is overseen by individual states; parent-teacher groups, taxpayers, newspapers, TV all keep a close watch on public districts spend tax dollars, how students score on tests; public opinion & reactions to the USSR moving ahead in the space race determined more federaal funds being designated to science & math; “No Child Left Behind” legislation is a reaction to public concern over education of ALL children

Working “OUTSIDE” the Government • Social Protest > demands by a group for change • some degree is legally permitted in U.S. like – peaceful assembly, circulate pamphlets, petitioning; when groups go beyond what is legally permitted, it is civil disobedience • Civil Disobedience > refusal to obey laws or to accept gov. authority; • occurs when individual or groups believes a gov. law is morally wrong & his/her conscience prevents obedience to that law; • goal of protesters: to force the govt. to change by deliberate, nonviolent & public acts that break the law • for example: Henry David Thoreau was jailed for refusing to pay taxes to support the Mexican War. He believed it promoted slavery; • Examples of Social Protest • Movement to abolish slavery & the slave trade > Britain, France & US citizens protested slavery & slave trade in late 1700s; 1787 Anti-Slavery Society formed & brought about the end of the slave trade in US, 1807 & Britain, 1833

Social Protest con’t • Women’s Suffrage Movement > 1872, Susan B. Anthony arrested for illegally leading women to vote in Rochester NY; a number of suffragists were arrested in Britain & US and went on hunger strikes while imprisoned • Independence Movement in India > Gandhi used civil disobedience (The Great Salt March) to protest British colonial rule; Gandhi felt law-breakers must be willing to accept punishment for breaking laws; India won its independence in 1947 • Civil Rights Movement > Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., followed Gandhi’s nonviolent methods using marches, “sit-ins”, “freedom rides” to protest segregation laws • Student Protests during the Vietnam War > Massive demonstrations in Washington DC & on college campuses: blocked traffic, closed colleges, occupied public buildings, burned draft cards, refused to serve in the military; protests eventually led to US withdrawal from Vietnam

Social Protest con’t • Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe > Armed uprisings in 1956 (Hungary) & 1968 and formation of the Solidarity Union in Poland, 1980, led to the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe; used massive demonstrations, demands for free elections, eventually brought non- Communists to power • End of Apartheid> (racial segregation in South Africa) protests led by African National Congress led to violence & uprisings; international pressure & economic sanctions also helped force South Africa to abandon apartheid practices & allow for majority rule

Revolution • When social protest & civil disobedience fail to bring desired reforms, groups resort to violent revolution to overthrow the gov. • The French Revolution, 1789-1799 > • Workers, peasants & middleclass merchants protested the king’s rule & strict social classes with a list of grievances & elected the Estates General, later the National Assembly • When the King attempted to break up the Assembly, French citizens stormed the Bastille to capture guns, etc., King gave into Assembly’s demands • Workers & radicals organized into groups (Jacobins, etc) & overthrew the monarch, executed the king & declared a “reign of terror” vs. opponents to the revolution

Revolutioncon’t • The Russian Revolution , 1917 > • Unpreparedness for WWI, loss of lives in the war, the collapse of the Russian economy, starvation & failure of the Czar to respond to the needs of the people led workers & soldiers to demonstrate & go on strike • Czar Nicholas II stepped down; new gov. failed & Bolsheviks/Communists & the Red Army (workers’ army), led by V.I. Lenin fought the White Army & won control of the gov. of the Soviet Union

Balancing INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS with PUBLIC NEEDS • Individual rights are RELATIVE, not absolute; those rights must be balanced with the rights of the majority of society, or the common good (society’s needs as a whole); often leads to the interpretation of the Bill of Rights by the Supreme Court • Individual Rights & the Rights of Society • Free Speech > 1st Amendment guarantees every American freedom of speech & of the press; US citizens can discuss ideas & criticize the gov. openly • “Clear and Present Danger” Test > During WWI, Supreme Court defined the limits of free speech; ruled that free speech is not absolute but limited & could not create a “clear & present danger” (clear, probable & immediate) = could not endanger lives • National Security > News reporters often gain information regarding gov. activities through “leaks” (gov. officials who are unhappy w/ gov. policy give secret info. to the press); • During Vietnam War information was leaked to the New York Times by a Defense dept. consultant & the gov. tried to block the printing of this information; Supreme Court ruled that the Times could print the information b/c of the 1st Amendment; • Patriot Act, passed after 9/11, allows the gov. to use wire taps, etc., to prevent acts of terrorism

Free Speech con’t • Libel & Slander > • Slander is an untruth spoken by one person, directed at another person; • Libel is a written statement that is untrue and deliberate in its intent to hurt another person; a person who is slandered or libeled my sue the person who voiced the untruth • Equal Opportunity is a strong belief held by Americans; in one case parents of students from a poor school district sued for equal spending on the education of their children as is provided in a rich school district; Supreme Court did not rule in favor of the parents from the poor district • Compelling Government Interest > the federal government may interfere in our individual rights in the case of public safety, to preserve the peace or to prevent harm/ “compelling gov. interest”

Times in American History when Individual Rights have been Restrained Conscientious Objectors in WWI > 1917, US drafted young men in order to raise troops to fight in Europe; “conscientious objectors” were exempted from combat, but not from serving; they had to perform noncombat duties; because of the nation’s need for self-defense, individuals’ religious & personal freedoms had to be balanced Immigrants during the Red Scare > After WWI many Americans feared a Communist revolution like what took place in Russia; in US suspected Communists were prosecuted as criminals conspiring to overthrow the gov. & immigrants were deported; Sacco & Vanzetti, known anarchists were executed for a crime they were never proven to have committed Intellectuals during the McCarthy Era > 1950’s US experienced a renewed fear of the spread of Communism; Anti-communists, led by Sen. McCarthy, held congressional hearings to filter out suspected Communists in the gov. & media; many suspected Communists were “blacklisted” African Americans during Civil Rights Movement > Leaders & demonstrators faced mob violence & imprisonment, especially in Southern states, for acts of nonviolent protest

Citizenship Rights & Responsibilities