Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge

Scoutles.com – As an American involved in Scouting, you’ll require to earn your Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge to reach the ranking of Eagle.

This badge will certainly teach you what it indicates to be a good citizen and give you the knowledge and indicates to create a favorable adjustment in your nation.

Maintain analysis, due to the fact that in this message I’ll be strolling you via each of the solutions needed to make you the Citizenship in the Nation merit badge!

Being an informed citizen is crucial, specifically in today’s disorderly political climate. By comprehending the structures of our freedom as well as being a good citizen in your neighborhood, you’ll help infuse the Scouting spirit in others and guide our nation in the best instructions!

Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge Requirements

Citizenship in the Nation has an equivalent mix of understanding needs, study, and also activities. For the activities you select, I’ll also be providing some understandings and also pointers from when I finished this badge.

Be warned, there are some complicated demands and badge will certainly take at least 2 weeks to end up, so be prepared.

If you’re up for the difficulty, it’s time to start. Take a couple of mins to thoroughly read and also recognize the needs you’ll require to complete. You’ll be prepared to start gaining your Citizenship in the Nation merit badge.

1. Explain what citizenship in the nation means

The first requirement is to explain what citizenship in the nation means and what it takes to be a good citizen of this country. Discuss the rights, duties, and obligations of a responsible and active American citizen.

Citizenship offers a private right, responsibilities, and also lawful obligations related to coming from a nation. In your instance, you’re likely a person of the United States and are managed particular opportunities like protection under our government and also the capability to vote when you have actually gotten to the age of 18.

Not every person can be an American resident. You can be given citizenship either by being birthed within the US, having parents who are residents, wedding a US resident or by making an application for United States citizenship and also finishing a lengthy migration procedure (this is called becoming a naturalized citizen).

American citizenship is not offered for everybody and is actually one of the most popular kinds of citizenship in the world. As a matter of fact, generally, only around 680,000 immigrants are naturalized yearly out of a pool of over 6 million candidates.

That implies that just 10% of individuals that attempt to end up being US people in fact do.

What Does It Mean To Be a Good Citizen?

At a minimum, a good citizen is one who adheres to every one of a nation’s laws and also gives back to their country by paying tax obligations.

Acting as a constructive participant of culture, you’ll assist to sustain our federal government’s activities and make your neighborhood a better place to reside in.

Within the United States, one more action of a good citizen is their involvement in our democracy. By following the information and also making an initiative to recognize our national problems, you’ll come to be informed and make more enlightened decisions when voting.

In turn, this will certainly help to extract corruption as well as form a much more honest federal government.

The ballot in political elections is just one of the duties of an active United States citizen. When they end up being naturalized, every person has non-negotiable assumptions that are positioned on them at birth or.

Some of your obligations as a United States person include:

• Making on your own knowledgeable about all federal, state, and also local regulations.
• Complying with all legislations as well as guidelines in good faith.
• If you witness any kind of criminal offenses, reporting what you’ve seen to the authorities.
• Going to court duty if you are contacted.
• Paying every one of your tax obligations truthfully as well as in a timely way.
• Fighting in the armed forces and defending your country, if required.
• Voting in local, state, and government political elections to strengthen our democracy.

The Costs of Legal rights lays out many of your basic liberties as an American citizen (more on this later). As a United States citizen, your primary rights include:

• The right to vote (if age 18 or older).
• Flexibility of religion, expression, and also speech.
• The right to a fast, fair test by jury.
• Freedom to make an application for employment and also work within the country.
• The ability to compete in a political office.
• The right to life, freedom, and the pursuit of joy.

Basically, the goal of US legislation is to provide residents with the right to do or think practically anything they want, as long as it does not damage any person else.

To place it much more elegantly, “Your right to swing your arms finishes just where another person’s nose starts.” (the identification of the audio speaker is disputed).

To be a good citizen, you should fulfill more than just your tasks. You should additionally make an effort to improve your neighborhood as well as the country.

Overall, the main concepts that need to lead your activities, as an active person of the UNITED STATES, include:

• Being great to your fellow-countryman. Try to comply with the Scout Oath and Scout Law in any way times.
• Remaining informed and making an initiative to take part in our democracy.
• Trying to be active in your area.
• Respecting everyone’s rights to voice their own viewpoints. If those viewpoints differ from your very own, even.
• Calling out any kind of injustices and also defending the much less privileged.
• Volunteering or contributing to return to your community.

2. Do two of the following four choices

A. Visit a place that is listed as a National Historic Landmark or that is on the National Register of Historic Places. Tell your counselor what you learned about the landmark or site and what you found interesting about it.

B. Tour your state capitol building or the U.S. Capitol. Tell your counselor what you learned about the capitol, its function, and history.

C. Tour a federal facility. Explain to your counselor what you saw there and what you learned about its function in the local community and how it serves this nation.

D. Choose a national monument that interests you. Using books, brochures, the Internet (with your parent’s permission), and other resources find out more about the monument. Tell your counselor what you learned, and explain why the monument is important to this country’s citizens.

During the time I was dealing with Citizenship in the Nation, I selected to finish options 1 and 4.

It was an actually great experience to check out a historic spot in my state, and also I assume you’ll delight in checking out a site too! Later, it was a quick process to end up researching my selected nationwide monument.

When dealing with this demand, I ‘d recommend you full requirement 4 and pick some sort of national facility to the excursion. Nevertheless, if you have the opportunity to check out two locations with your troop, that ‘d be a fun time also.

In the section, I’m posting likely to be guiding you through alternative 4 and also providing you suggestions on exactly how best to look into the national monolith of your finding.

Step 1: Visit the list of national monuments and select a monument to research.

Step 2: Note the important details, then write out a list of facts concerning your monolith. This can consist of the day of creation, place of the monolith, variety of visitors annually, and a short summary of its history. Take the time to create this info down to later review it with your counselor.

Example of my list after step 2:

• Name: Statuary of Freedom
• Date developed as a national monument: October 15, 1924
• Place: New York/New Jersey
• Description: Roughly 151 feet (46 m) tall, the Sculpture of Liberty honors the signing of the USA Declaration and is a gesture of friendship from France to the U.S. It obtains over 4 million site visitors yearly.

Step 3: Click your place’s name to check out the complete article on your monument. Skim through the information and also select some intriguing information. Write 3 fun facts from the write-up to additionally show to your counselor.

Additions to my listing after step 3:

• Enjoyable fact 1: Developed by French carver Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and its steel framework was built by Gustave Eiffel (designer of the Eiffel Tower.
• Enjoyable fact 2: The Statue Of Liberty was dedicated (formally opened up) on October 28, 1886. It was additionally refurbished and rededicated from 1982-2000.
• Enjoyable fact 3: The robed female shown by the statuary stands for Libertas, the Roman goddess of flexibility.

Step 4: Click one of the government website citations at the bottom of the write-up to find a respectable internet site to make use of in your resources. Take 1 reality from that internet site to likewise include in your listing.

Additions to my listing after step 4:

• Fact 4: You are able to check out the crown and pedestal of the Statue of Freedom, yet the schedule is restricted and also needs to be reserved beforehand. Citation: National Parks Solution (nps.gov).

With these 4 steps, you ought to have sufficient details as well as respectable sources to consult with your counselor. Make sure to additionally highlight why your picked monument must be taken into consideration essential to our nation’s residents.

In addition, if you ‘d like to go above and beyond, you can additionally see your school or library to discover a publication on your national monolith.

I understand that for some of you this type of research method might seem evident, but to those of you who aren’t using it, you truly should.

Not only will outlining your findings and also recognizing trustworthy resources in web page citations conserve you time in looking into merit badge answers, yet it’ll likewise make your school jobs simpler.

Also Read: Eagle Required Merit Badges

3. Watch or read the national evening newspaper five days in a row

Watch the national evening news five days in a row OR read the front page of a major daily newspaper five days in a row. Discuss the national issues you learned about with your counselor. Choose one of the issues and explain how it affects you and your family.

Remarkably, I discovered this to be among the most fun requirements of this badge. Just join them for a few days if your moms and dads or any of your brothers or sisters enjoy the news.

Ask just how they think the concerns you’re hearing about would certainly affect your family. It’ll produce a fantastic conversational topic, as well as you’ll be able to find out more concerning just how they see the world.

This demand obtained me to view the information with my Father for the very first time as well as was the start of a fantastic ritual. Also after completing the merit badge, I ‘d still join him to watch the evening news at the very least once or twice a week.

If you aren’t able to enjoy the news on TV, in newspapers or perhaps news web sites would also be great. It does not take as well long to obtain a keynote of some of the present national issues that are occurring.

Once you have a couple of subjects in mind, make sure to take into consideration how these continuous occasions may influence you and also your family.

4. Discuss each of the following documents

Discuss each of the following documents with your counselor. Tell your counselor how you feel life in the United States might be different without each one. A. The Declaration of Independence B. The Preamble to the Constitution C. The Constitution D. The Bill of Rights E. Amendments to the Constitution

A. The Declaration of Independence

The Declaration was an official statement, composed by our nation’s founding fathers, that insisted the splitting up of American colonies from the guideline of the English crown.

From this document, validated on July 4, 1776, we established ourselves as an independent nation, regulated by the individuals, for the people.

In the renowned declaration, the line, “We hold these realities to be self-evident, that all guys are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Freedom as well as the pursuit of Happiness” is specifically crucial.

This sentence promises to oppose tyranny as well as helped to guide our nation on the appropriate course.

If Thomas Jefferson did not create the Declaration of Independence, we may still be a part of England today. Democracies may be much rarer, or may not even exist at all.

Regardless, there is little chance we would certainly enjoy the very same freedoms and legal rights as we currently do.

B. The Preamble to the Constitution

The Prelude to the Constitution shows up over the Constitution and serves to introduce the Constitution’s function, directing concepts, and intended worths. Scholars think that the prelude represents the founding father’s intentions of what the Constitution represents, along with what they wished it would certainly achieve.

Given that it’s a brief passage, take a 2nd to review the whole Prelude to the Constitution:

We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The main messages in the prelude, in order, are ensuring justice, assurance, security, success to all, and continued freedom for ourselves and also our kids.

The preamble assists us to much better recognize and also interpret the Constitution. Without it, we could incorrectly concentrate on the incorrect facets of the Constitution.

C. The Constitution

The Constitution is the supreme regulation of the United States of America. This means that it takes concern over all other federal, state, and local laws. The Constitution basically acts as an overview to the approach and also concepts that provide citizens of the US specific civil liberties and flexibilities.

There are seven articles that compose the United States Constitution. These write-ups describe our country’s political, judicial, as well as civil framework.

The Constitution creates a system and also process where no part of the government can end up being also effective.

The goal of the constitution is to stop tyrants and also queens from coming to power. Without the Constitution, we ‘d likely not have been able to preserve a secure federal government for over 200 years.

The constitution can be altered to better overview justice according to the times (these adjustments are called changes).

D. The Bill of Rights

The Bill of Legal rights consists of the very first 10 changes to the United States Constitution.

Basically, these amendments ensure the personal rights people residents and limit the abuse of federal government power. Essentially, the first 10 changes comprising the Bill of Civil liberties are:

1. Freedom of religion, speech, and the press.
2. The right to keep and bear firearms.
3. Freedom to refuse housing soldiers in your home.
4. Protection from searches and confiscation of property without a warrant.
5. Protection from self-incrimination, being tried twice for the same crime, and a guarantee to a fair trial by jury. An individual will also not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due legal process and will be compensated for any unjust losses they might suffer.
6. The right to a jury, lawyer, and speedy trial.
7. Guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil cases. Prevents courts from overturning the prior verdict.
8. Prohibits ‘cruel and unusual punishments,‘ as well as excessive fines or bail costs.
9. If some rights are not mentioned in the constitution, they cannot take away from rights held by the people.
10. Powers not defined in the Constitution are delegated by the states or the people.

While the Constitution works as a blueprint for the US government, the Expense of Rights safeguards the freedoms of its citizens.

Without the Costs of Legal rights, the federal government could put in way too much power over its citizens as well as infringe on their freedom.

By instantly adding these changes to the constitution, our founding fathers aided to preserve the rights of individuals for generations ahead.

E. Amendments to the Constitution

Including the Costs of Rights, the US Constitution has actually seen a total of 27 modifications. These changes work as clauses contributed to the constitution that maintain our federal government current with the altering times.

The abolition of slavery, as well as the right for ladies to vote, are consisted of in the checklist of amendments that have been added throughout our nation’s background.

Presently, since it takes two-thirds sustain from both the Home as well as Senate to accept a new modification, one of the most current changes was added practically three decades back on May 5, 1992.

Without changing the US Constitution, we wouldn’t have actually been able to make changes to our laws and also end up being a much more forgiving nation.

Amendments are a terrific means to make positive changes with time. However, we need unity as well as cooperation within our government.

Also Read: Citizenship in the Community

5. List the six functions of government

List the six functions of government as noted in the preamble to the Constitution. Discuss with your counselor how these functions affect your family and local community.

To refresh your memory on what we covered previously, the Preamble to the constitution presents the Constitution’s objective, leading principles, as well as worths. The six features of government as noted in the Preamble are as adheres to:

1. We the people, in order to form a more perfect union: As a nation, we’re open to continual improvement. We’ll continue to make amendments to our constitution in order to improve the unity of our country and the lives of its people.
2. Establish justice: We will handle disagreements in a fair and just manner. Our laws will be in the interests of all citizens.
3. Ensure Domestic Tranquility: We’ll make the United States a safe country to live within. Citizens will be protected, and have no need to fear for their lives.
4. Provide for the Common Defense: Our nation will uphold a strong military to defend against foreign attacks. There will be no need to fear the possibility of an invading nation.
5. Promote the General Welfare: The United States will use its resources to improve the standard of living for all of its citizens.
6. Secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America: These rights and freedoms will be secured, not only in the present, but also for your children and future generations as well.

Each of the features of the Prelude assists to protect United States citizens. By guaranteeing an appropriate standard of living and assurance from outside risks, the Preamble to the Constitution helps to develop a risk-free atmosphere for American families as well as areas.

6. Choose a speech of national historical importance

With your counselor’s approval, choose a speech of national historical importance. Find out about the author, and tell your counselor about the person who gave the speech. Explain the importance of the speech at the time it was given, and tell how it applies to American citizens today. Choose a sentence or two from the speech that has significant meaning to you, and tell your counselor why.

For this requirement, you’ll need to pick a speech of nationwide historic importance to research study.

You can discover a list of significant American historical speeches by clicking the web link here.

Pick one that you might such as. Listed below, I’ll be using the Gettysburg address as an instance of what main points you might cover when assessing your speech.

Example:

Gettysburg Address

Abraham Lincoln offered his renowned Gettysburg address on November 19, 1863, throughout the American Civil Battle. At the time of his influential speech, Abraham Lincoln was the 16th Head Of State of the United States of America. Lincoln is one of one of the most widely known US head of states, having defended the emancipation of all servants during his time in office. Today, Abraham Lincoln is still well respected and also born in mind, also having his profile sculpted into the side of Mount Rushmore. In his famous Gettysburg address, Abraham Lincoln commemorated the dropped Union soldiers as well as reaffirmed America’s nationwide purpose of freedom and equal rights for every one of its occupants. Among one of the most appreciated and priced estimate lines from his speech is, “This country, under God, will have a new birth of liberty– which federal government of individuals, by the individuals, and for individuals, will not die from the earth.” This line still rings true for American residents today. As a society, we’re always attempting to develop a much more perfect nation, and also by creating a government of the people, for individuals, our nation will certainly continue to succeed. The importance of this line is that, even 150 years later on, we have actually still had the ability to preserve our democracy as well as prosper as a country. More than that, we have actually combated injustices as well as passed favorable regulations, making our nation an extra complimentary and also just area for every one of its residents.

7. Name the three branches of our federal government

Name the three branches of our federal government and explain to your counselor their functions. Explain how citizens are involved in each branch. For each branch of government, explain the importance of the system of checks and balances.

Our federal government is separated into three different divisions called the Legislative, Judicial, and also Executive branches. This separation is called a system of checks and equilibriums and also is done to restrict the power of any kind of one team. In the area below, I’ll be breaking down each of the government branches, separately:

The Legislative Branch

The Legislative branch of federal government is in charge of producing our nation’s legislations. This branch is mostly guided by the US Congress, which is comprised of both the Senate as well as Legislature.

As citizens of the United States, we elect our fellow-countrymans as congress members, thereby creating a federal government of individuals.

Congress is likewise accountable of creating an annual spending plan, authorizing proposed regulations, as well as keeping the Head of state’s power in check.

By representing the people of the USA as well as creating just legislations, the Legislative branch exists to be the primary voice for the citizens of the United States.

The Executive Branch

The Executive Branch supervises of authorizing and implementing our nation’s legislations. This branch contains the President, Vice President, the Head of state’s closet, and also 15 various other divisions in addition to numerous various other staffers.

The Head of state is charged with appointing Supreme Court Justices for the Judicial branch, performing diplomacy with various other countries, and evaluating laws sent by the Legislative Branch.

To preserve a system of checks as well as equilibriums, the Head of state can likewise ban legislation developed by Congress. Nevertheless, Congress can overturn this veto with a 2/3rds majority vote.

The Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch of government analyzes the meaning of regulations as well as courts whether any type of governmental actions violate the Constitution.

This branch consists of our High court and also other federal courts. The United States Head of state is in charge of appointing High court Justices.

The Judicial Branch has the final say in all lawful situations that might set a precedent within our country. If there are any inquiries regarding whether the other branches are acting unconstitutionally, the Judicial Branch will supervise of providing a decision.

This system of checks and balances exists to avoid one branch from getting excessive power. Here are some examples of checks as well as equilibriums that you can go over with your advantage badge therapist.

• The Head of state can veto laws proposed by the Legislative branch.
• The Head of state additionally holds the power to select High court Justices to the Judicial branch.
• Congress can reverse the Head of state’s veto with a 2/3rd majority vote as well as additionally has control over the spending plan the Executive branch is permitted.
• Congress additionally has the power to impeach (begin the procedure to remove) members of both the Exec and Judicial branches.
• Within the Judicial branch, the High court can proclaim both recommended legislations as well as governmental actions unconstitutional.
• Members of the Judicial branch additionally have no optimum time they’re able to serve.

As citizens today, we’re able to entail ourselves in each branch of government by electing members to Congress, voting for our President, as well as finalizing applications that are evaluated by our courts.

Via this intricate system of checks and equilibriums, we have actually had the ability to distribute power equally throughout the 3 branches of federal government as well as keep our nation cost-free.

8. Name your two senators and the member of Congress from your congressional district

Name your two senators and the member of Congress from your congressional district. Write a letter about a national issue and send it to one of these elected officials, sharing your view with him or her. Show your letter and any response you receive to your counselor.

After complying with the news for a week and discovering your country’s background, creating a brief message concerning a nationwide problem need to be a wind for you. Use this internet site to recognize who your two state legislators are. After that, click the adhering to link to recognize one of the Congress members from your state.

All that’s delegated do is to compose a short letter to one of these people. My letter had to do with 2 paragraphs, but yours can be a little shorter or a bit much longer. Generally, one of their personnel will certainly reply to you, however, if you’re lucky, your real representative could return to you also!

If you’ve made it to this point in the overview, congratulations! The citizenship in the nation merit badges isn’t easy, however, it will certainly offer you the abilities to much better comprehend the world around you. Since you prepare to make Citizenship in the Nation, you’re one action closer to becoming an Eagle Scout!

Also Read: How to Earn Citizenship in the World Merit Badge