Citizenship at the Founding: Citizenship, Part 1

 

Center for Civic Education: Citizenship at the Founding: Citizenship, Part 1

What was citizenship at the founding of our country? Professor Henry L. Chambers Jr. of the University of Richmond School of Law explains how citizenship was initially decided by each individual state, and how this presented a challenge as the United States gained independence and evolved into a more mature republic.

Civil Discourse: An American Legacy is funded under the 2022 Leonore Annenberg Civic Mission of the Nation Initiative,  sponsored by the Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics. LAIC is a project of the Annenberg  Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

60-Second Civics, Episode 5342, March 31, 2025 (a rebroadcast of Episode 4982, September 25, 2023)

Subscribe and take the Daily Civics Quiz at http://civiced.org/60-second-civics

(AI summary)  At the beginning of the United States, citizenship was not very clear. Each of the 13 states had its own rules for who was a citizen. When the states joined together, U.S. citizenship was a mix of all these state citizenships. The Constitution showed that citizenship was important, but it did not fully explain what it meant. For example, only people born in the U.S. or citizens at that time could become president.

2024-2025 MAE Citizenship Class 24

NY Historical Society: World War II // The Citizenship Project [E06]

This is the eighth class of our new semester.  

• Future Citizenship: WWI, WWII, 20th Century Wars 39 -46; Unit 3:2 pg 150-151
• 08 Practice Citizenship Interview based on the USCIS Form N-400 (2024)
• N-400 Quiz 6
• Preparing for the Oath: 1900s

Learn more:

• US Citizenship Resources for Women's History Month post  

Celebrating America during National Poetry Month

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TED-ed: "New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus

An animated interpretation of Emma Lazarus' poem "New Colossus"

For an analysis of this poem, watch this video: http://bit.ly/TEDEdColossusAnalysis

This animation is part of our series, "There's a Poem for That," which features animated interpretations of poems both old and new that give language to some of life's biggest feelings. Check out the full series here: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTheresAPoemForThat

More Resources

American English at State: An American Poetry Project for Low Intermediate ESL Adults

American English at State: Poetry Resources

American Writers Museum: Honoring Immigrant and Refugee Experiences

Arapahoe Libraries: Immigrant Poets and the Poetry of Immigration 

Angel Island Immigration Station: Poems and Inscriptions

Facing History: Angel Island Poetry

Gilder Lehrman Institute: "America the Beautiful," 1893

LitHub: Read every presidential inauguration poem ever performed (there are fewer than you think).

LOC: U.S. Poet Laureate | Poet Laureate Projects | Living Nations, Living Words

NPS: Poetry in Parks 2024

PBS/KQED: Poetry in America

Poetry Foundation: Poems on Immigration

Poets.org: Thirty Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month in the Classroom

Poets.org: Poems about Migration

Poets.org: Poems about Politics and Patriotism

Citizenship Resources for Cesar Chavez Day

On the last Monday of March, schools in California, Texas, and Colorado observe Cesar Chavez Day.

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uscitizenpod: Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta

Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta started the United Farm Workers union, because farm workers did not have

"the legal right to organize and to vote for collective bargaining. They didn't have the right to have clean drinking water, access to portable toilets, lunch breaks, or short rest breaks during workdays. And they were not entitled to the minimum wage or unemployment insurance."

• Cesar Chavez Day resources from California Department of Education
• EL Civics Cesar Chavez Day 
• ESL Library Cesar Chavez
• ListenAndReadAlong: Biography - CC - Cesar Chavez - Hero of the Migrant Farm Workers Labor Union
• NPS: Cesar E. Chavez National Monument
• UFW: The Story of Cesar Chavez
• UFW: Cesar Chavez: Embrace the Legacy
• VOANews: Cesar Chavez Day in California - Reflecting on Immigration (2018)

USCIS 100:51. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?

• freedom of expression
• freedom of speech
• freedom of assembly
• freedom to petition the government
• freedom of worship
• the right to bear arms

Listen:

• Cesar Chavez and Civil Rights mp3

Family Fun:

• education.com: Cesar Chavez Coloring Page (fixed)
• education.com: Dolores Huerta Coloring Page

NEW (Jan 2019) New Readers Press: Field of Vision - Novel 
Scenes Reader, Low-Intermediate Level by Ana Gianola

Rafael is a farmworker foreman who takes pride in his work. After putting off eye surgery, an emergency in the field changes everything. Teacher Guide

Central Valley High School welcoming nearly 50 new U.S. citizens in naturalization ceremony

KREM: Central Valley High School welcoming nearly 50 new U.S. citizens in naturalization ceremony

Should American Samoans be Automatic U.S. Citizens?

PBS: Should American Samoans be Automatic U.S. Citizens?

Explore the debate around the unique legal status of American Samoa, a U.S. territory whose residents are not U.S. citizens, and as a result, retain Indigenous ownership over their land. Two American Samoans share their opposing viewpoints: a traditional chief who wants to maintain the status quo and a U.S. Marine veteran who believes in the right to citizenship for his people. Both perspectives bring forward questions about American Samoans’ relationship to land, family, and identity.

'HOMEGROWN: A Part Of/Apart From' is a collection of short films from the U.S. territories and Hawaiʻi exploring issues of cultural identity, sovereignty, and agency, as residents and members of the diaspora grapple with what it means to be “a part of and apart from” the mainland U.S.

Watch the whole series: Not a U.S. Citizen | HOMEGROWN

Happy National AI Literacy Day!

 

Generated with MS Image Designer AI· March 27, 2025 at 11:49 PM

AI tools, such as ChatGPT, can enhance civic and citizenship education for adult learners, specifically for the U.S. naturalization process.  For more info, see this presentation.  Below are key points.  Happy National AI Literacy Day!

1. AI and Digital Literacy in Civics Education

• AI tools help create level-appropriate materials for citizenship and civics courses.
• Emphasis on **Critical Democratic Literacy**, which includes:
• Civic Literacy (history, government, civil society)
• Information Literacy (evaluating sources)
• Digital Literacy (safe use of tech)
• Media Literacy (analyzing media messages)

2. AI-Powered Naturalization Preparation

• USCIS N-400 Online Preparation
• Teaching digital skills: creating strong passwords, safe data sharing, using email.
• Using AI for Level-Appropriate Materials
• AI-generated adaptations of the USCIS Civics Textbook (One Nation, One People) at different English levels.
• AI-Assisted N-400 Interview Practice
• Mobile AI apps simulate USCIS interviews with realistic questioning sequences.

3. AI Tools for Civic Engagement and Instruction

• AI for Question Generation
•   Tools like Magic School generate quizzes from YouTube videos.
• AI-Driven Research Projects**
•   Claude 3.0 App for learning about government services and civic participation.
• AI Historical Simulations
• Humy.AI enables students to “interview” historical figures like Harriet Tubman, creating deeper personal connections to history.

4. AI and Media Literacy

• AI’s Role in Media Analysis
•  AI-powered comparison of articles for bias and reliability.
• Fun tools like Simulator and IFakeTextMessage.com simulate social media misinformation scenarios.
• Fun tools like Claude, Fodey, MS Designer can simulate traditionl media misinformation scenarios.
• AI Hallucination & Information Verification**
• AI-generated misinformation awareness (e.g., USCIS case processing times).

5. AI for Advocacy and Data-Driven Decision Making

• Use USCIS LPR Eligible to Naturalize and Census data for civic participation projects.
• Use demographics tools like California Immigrant Data Portal and USC Dornsife’s Literacy Maps to target services and requests for funding.

Final Reflections

• Students: How does AI impact trust in online information and civic participation?
• Educators: How does AI reshape civic education and teaching strategies?

This presentation highlights AI’s transformative role in citizenship education, enhancing learning through personalized, interactive, and data-driven approaches.

Native American Women in the Colonial Era

 
Center for Civic Education: Native American Women in the Colonial Era

Europeans were surprised that Native American women had so much power and influence, particularly within the Haudenosaunee nations. In those nations, women held political power within the tribes, appointing and removing chiefs at their discretion.

60-Second Civics, Episode 5326, March 10, 2025 (a rebroadcast of Episode 4276: March 6, 2021)

Subscribe and take the Daily Civics Quiz at http://civiced.org/60-second-civics

POP QUIZ:

• USCIS 100: 59.  Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
• USCIS 100:87.  Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.

Learn more: 

• PBS: Women in Haudenosaunee Culture lesson plan
• WNED: Haudenosaunee Influence on the Women's Suffrage Movement