U.S. Government--Mr.

Sloss 
Citizen Participation in a Democracy 
Directions:​ There are several activities you are assigned to complete in this handout, 
including a reading assignment, a video assignment, and textbook assignment. All 
questions to answer and writing assignments are included. Be sure to answer questions 
carefully with thorough explanations. ​ Have fun! 
 
OBJECTIVES:​ T ​ here are 5 basic things you should know and be able to do when you have 
completed the following activities: 
1. Describe what motivates people to become involved in political activities, using 
examples from the reading ​“Portraits of 4 Citizens”.  
2. Explain what citizenship is, and summarize how someone becomes a citizen. 
3. Distinguish between ​civic duties​ and ​civic responsibilities​ and be able to cite 
examples from ​“Portraits of 4 Citizens”.  
4. Evaluate and grade the political participation of each of the characters in “​ Portraits 
of 4 Citizens”​. Support your conclusions with evidence from the reading. 
5. Distinguish between “conservative” and “liberal”, be able to explain the conservative 
view vs. liberal view about selected issues, and determine whether you see yourself 
as liberal or conservative, stating specific issues or positions to explain why. 
 
 
WARM-UP:   
Part 1-- 
● What are the characteristics of good citizenship? How would you describe what it 
means to be a good citizen?   
○ People that share and respect other people. Respectful of the law and 
Helpful. Knows when the law is wrong and protects those harmed by it. 
● What motivates people to be politically and civically involved? 
○ Gaining power or rule over something, usually to get something they want 
(Mostly freedom).  
 
Part 2-- 
● Important Political Issues Today--List 1​ 0 political issues​ of interest to voters today. 
These should be issues that are interesting to you one way or another. Focus on 
issues you believe would give people an i​ ncentive to get involved in their 
community and to go vote​. These issues might be national, but also consider state 
and local issues, too. 
1. Impeachment 
2. Global warming 
3. Chinese trade 
4. G7 
5. North korea 
6. Hong Kong riots 
 7. Forest fires 
8. Women in jobs 
9. Greenland 
10. Immigration  
 
— Political socialization:  
● We learn politics from an early age. Political socialization. We are influenced 
by teachers and peers. From reading books and newspapers and stuff.  
● our ideas are based on many things. Our family situation. From reading and 
watching thinks. Education and religion make us all different and causes us 
to have different politics. 
— Political Participation:  
● People go to politics for influence, support, or change. 
Popular sovereignty and republican, or representative government. 
 
— Conventional participation: Low risk 
Political routines, voting, campaigning or working with one. Posting signs or bumper 
stickers, being informed, engaging in a political conversation. 
— Can people influence government through normal routine behaviors, like voting 
in elections? If not… 
— Unconventional participation: High risk 
Actions that groups have taken to fight for civil rights; marches, sit-ins, boycotts, and so 
forth. Groups that are disenfranchised take action to gain political rights, freedoms, and 
recognition.  
Trained to be beat up and to spend time in jail.  
Used when conventional participation does not work. 
— People change political ideas due to situations in their life. 
— The news gets unconventional behaviors because they have a bigger story to it. 
They get stories to get more views.  
— Conventional is more common because it is used most of the time, the news 
does not report on this because this isn’t exciting. 
Civil duties- required by law, things we have to do.  
Civil responsibilities- by choice or voluntary, but also important. 
 
Citizen Participation:​ W ​ hat are the characteristics of good citizenship? 
 
  
 
The above photograph is of a student-led lunch counter sit-in during the Civil Rights Era. 
Examine the photograph carefully.   
1. What interesting details do you see? Are there details that you expect to see, but 
seem to be missing? 
a. There is no cook or waiters. The people seem to be black and they seem to be 
doing some work or writing things on paper. 
2. What actions do these people appear to be taking? What’s going on in the photo? 
a. They seem to be writing on paper. This is probably why it’s a sit-in. They don’t 
seem to be eating but they’re just there. 
3. Based on the information given, what problem or problems do you think these 
people are trying to address? 
a. I believe that these people are trying to address their rights. They all seem to 
be black and are in the Civil Rights Era so this could be related to MLK and his 
marches.  
4. What motivated these people to become involved? 
a. They were motivated to gain equal rights as whites.  
5. What were the results of their actions? (If you don’t know, Google it!) 
a. Four students who did a sit-in in an all whites lunch counter sparked national 
interest for the push of civil rights. 
 
Citizen Participation: Civic Duties vs. Civic Responsibilities 
Examine the following slides carefully. Then answer the questions that follow. 
 
 
 
  
1. What is the difference between civic duties and civic responsibilities? 
a. Civil duties are extremely important and is not voluntary. These are things 
that you can’t pass on and can affect you. We have to do them. 
2. Which is most important? Why?  
a. Civil Duties, because it is a must and if you don’t, you have a chance of going 
to jail or something.   
3. In the photo of the sit-in, are the students engaging in civic duty or civic 
responsibility? Explain your response.  
a. They were doing civil responsibility9. They got together not because the 
government told them to but because it was their duty to gain their rights as 
citizens or the U.S. 
 
Reading:​ “Portraits of 4 Citizens” 
Directions: Read the story about the 4 citizens. As you read, underline/highlight 
examples of their participation in local politics. Include examples of ​what​ they do, but 
also include evidence about ​why​ they participate or don’t participate. What motivates 
each man? 
 
On the following chart,  
● describe the political participation of each character in O ​ NE​ word​.   
● Include examples, evidence, citations from the text that support your 
characterization. 
Fred Miller  Frank Hayes 
❖ Clout- Capitalist- conventional &  ❖ Dependent-  
unconventional   ➢ “Frank looks to Fred for 
 ➢ “Fred has been successful in  leadership” 
getting candidates elected  ➢ “Whenever he has a problem 
and in getting policies  involving the city government, 
adopted that he favors...”  e asks Fred to use his “clout” to 
  settle the problem.  

Joe Johnson  Larry Mason 

❖ Apathetic -unconventional  ❖ Leader - Activist - unconventional 
➢ “Effective action against the  ➢ “‘We must stand up and be 
landlords seemed  strong and refuses to 
impossible...”  cooperate with those who 
➢ “Joe’s parents lacked  could oppress us…’” 
knowledge and interest in   
politics, so they never   
participated, if they mentioned 
politics at all, their only 
comment was that it should 
be left to people who knew 
more than they did.” 
➢ “Resisted involvement in any 
activity which required much 
effort.” 
 
Apathetic: Not really involved in politics 
Questions: 
1. Grade each of the characters based on their level of participation in their 
community. Describe which of the 4 you believe is the best citizen, and justify your 
response using evidence from the reading. 
 
● Fred Miller​- 4 - “Fred became confident that goals could be achieved and changes 
could be made through political participation.” 
● Larry Mason​- 3 - “Lary Mason was busy trying to solve the problem through political 
action.” 
● Frank Hayes​- 2 - ”He pays attention to political news...he usually votes in public 
elections… He does not belong to any political organization.” 
● Joe Johnson​- 1 - “Joe knew little about politics and cared less…Never voted, Skipped 
news stories and never discussed public issues.” 
 
2. For each character, cite one example of a civic duty or civic responsibility that they 
engaged in within the story. 
a. Fred Miller- “He makes political bargains through direct contact with public 
officials and community leaders.” -civic responsibility  
b. Frank Hayes- “He pays attention to political news in the newspaper and on 
television, and usually votes in public election.” -civic responsibility  
c. Joe Johnson- “Everyone had to attend school until the age of sixteen.” -civic 
responsibility  
 d. Larry Mason-”Larry Mason, with several young men, has formed the 
Community Organization for Underprivileged People (COUP) to help poor 
people deal more effectively with public officials and businessmen in the 
community” - civic responsibility  
 
3. Complete the statement:  
a. I most identify with Frank Hayes (which character?), because... I am more 
involved in politics that may parents (Currently). I usually watch the news on 
youtube but that is a more national thing rather than local. I then talk about 
certain politics with my cousins who are also interested in them (to a degree). 
 
 
Citizenship in America:​ Refer to your textbook, C​ hapter 7, Sections 1 and 2​ to answer 
the following questions. 
 
Define-- 
● Citizenship-  
● Lawful permanent resident- 
● Undocumented immigrant- 
● Naturalization- 
 
1. How does the 14th Amendment define citizenship?  
Anyone born or nationalized in the u.s. And exception. 
2. Describe the process for becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen and include the 
following: 
○ Requirements for becoming a citizen  
○ Application for naturalization 
○ Interview with an immigration official 
○ Citizenship ceremony 
○ Rights that new citizens gain 
 
TEST OF YOUR POLITICAL BELIEFS:​ Use the following online tests to help you identify 
your political point-of-view based on several key issues. 
 
 
Complete​ both of the tests. Record your scores and their meaning or interpretation. 
 
https://secure.isidewith.com/political-quiz 
 
http://www.gotoquiz.com/politics/political-spectrum-quiz.html 
 
Record your results: 
 
● isidewith​ -- 
 My score is: 84 green 
 
What my score means: I am more like a democrat. 
 
● gotoquiz​ -- 
My score is: 
 
What my score means: 
 
 
Video Assignment:​ ​Crash Course Government #35--Political Ideology​. Watch the 
video, and use the information, definitions, key ideas, people, and other examples to fill in 
the table below. 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_k_k-bHigM 
 
 
LIBERAL  CONSERVATIVE 

Characteristics and Policies of Liberals:  Characteristics and Policies of 

  Conservatives: 
generally support limited government,   
individual rights (including civil rights and  favor small government, laissez-faire 
human rights), capitalism (free markets),  economy, low income and corporate 
democracy, secularism, gender equality,  taxes, limited regulation, and free 
racial equality, internationalism, freedom  enterprise. Social conservatives see 
of speech …   traditional social values as threatened by 
Support bigger gov.   secularism; they tend to support school 
  prayer and oppose abortion and same sex 
marriage. 
 
Question: 
Do you consider yourself more liberal or conservative? Why? Which issues do you base 
your opinion on?  
I rather consider myself a philosopher. A philosopher will take it’s time to decide what 
seems right. They would ask other philosophers and eventually come up with a 
conclusion that could be different than what the original idea was. They can solve a 
problem in more that one way. 
 
   
Ideology: a systemic way of thinking about the world, world view 
Classical liberalism” individualism, liberty or freedom, choice, 
Liberal: looking for a change: often referred to as left 
Conservatives: seeking to preserve a way of life. Often referred to as the right  
Liberals: FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, progressive, a new deal, public education. Fair shot for 
everyone. 
Conservatives: Hoover, Nixion, ​Reagan​, “the business of America is business.” Freedom. 
Individualism and self-reliant.  
Moderates: also referred to as middle-of-the-road, maybe slightly liberal or conservative. 
Important note; stereotype. It can be neither good or bad. Is inaccurate. People can have 
different ideologies for different subjects.  
Reactionary: build bomb shelter in backyards and arming in case a government 
crackdown or prepared for the worst possible event. 
Radicals: People living in the trees… extreme measures.  
 
Use your text, ​Chapter 7, Section 3​ to complete the following activity: 
● Create a simple illustration to represent each ideology. 
● Write a short definition or explanation of the ideology. 
● Rate each ideology from 1 (I identify most closely to this ideology) to 6 (I do not 
identify with this ideology at all). 
 
Liberalism- left   Conservatism- right   Socialism- radical 
     
favors an active role of the  Conservatives generally   
government in protecting  oppose using the  The main goal of socialism 
people’s freedoms.  government as a force for  is to reduce economic 
societal change  inequality by ensuring a 
fair distribution of wealth. 

Libertarianism- left or  Environmentalism -left  Centrism (Moderate) - 

right     between 
  deeply concerned about   
  conservation and  They consider themselves 
based on a strong belief in  protection of the  moderates, or middle- 
personal freedom  environment.  of-the-road. These are 
  people who sit at the 
  center of the political 
  spectrum, between the 
ideologies of left and 
right. 
 
 
Checking for Understanding Activity:​ L
​ IBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE​?
 
DIRECTIONS: Identify whether each statement would be more likely to be said by a 
liberal or a conservative. Then, copy the statement in the appropriate section of the 
“Liberal vs. Conservative” table you created for the “Political Ideology” video. 
 
1. Welfare makes people dependent upon the government.    
Concervative- because giving to much power to the government is a bad thing.  
2. We should promote bilingual education for non-English speakers to pick up 
English faster. 
Liberal, it gives a freedom of language in a way and gives people support. 
3. America has too much immigration, which strains resources and reduces job 
opportunities for “real” Americans. 
Conservative- Reactionary- they want the protection and security of their jobs and homes.  
4. People should be taxed less, so they have more control over their standard of living, 
rather than relying on public programs to improve their well being. 
Conservative - These people want more money for things rather than letting the 
government pay for everything and having more taxes. 
5. If people saved their money, there would be no need for public health care. 
Conservative - they would prefer that the government does not tax them so they can 
keep more money.  
6. Teachers’ unions only worsen public education. 
Conservative- having unions is a problem for them. The workers get what they want but it 
stops education.  
7. Giving undocumented immigrants amnesty for working hard in America is the 
right thing to do. 
Liberal - it gives freedom of rights to immigrants 
8. Because of their ability to pay, rich people should contribute more taxes to support 
public welfare programs. 
Liberal - they gain support from government-paid programs and prefer lower taxes for 
the poor to get a one-up on the rich.  
9. The military needs to cut back spending, so we can shift resources to public 
education. 
Liberal- they think about the future and would rather make peace instead of war and 
would want to educate students to create a somewhat better world. 
10. Guns are needed to protect ourselves from the government. 
Conservatives- they would want to keep their weapons in case of an attack by the 
government or something else. 
11. If you do not succeed, it is your fault. 
Conservative- you are given the money and the things to do instead of the government. 
12. Driving hybrids is a civic responsibility because it is good for the environment. 
Liberal- they would rather take care of the environment. 
13. A woman’s fetus does not belong to her, but to God. 
Conservative- they tend to stay with tradition instead of new ways of making things.  
14. Gun control and reducing weapons is necessary to improve public safety. 
Liberal- they would rather provide safety for all by taking away weapons.  
15. The government must provide subsidies to farmers to make sure that they are 
competitive in the global marketplace. 
Liberal- to have equal competition for everyone.  
16. Cancer patients need every possible aid to ease their pain, including medicinal 
marijuana.  
Liberal- more freedom for stuff such as drugs. 
17. Wal-Mart needs to pay higher, more fair wages to its employees. 
Liberal- more money for the workers. 
18. It is important that the Ten Commandments have an equal place with the 
Constitution and both should be displayed next to each other in classrooms. 
Conservative- they tend to stay with tradition like keeping religion taught in school. 
19. Government should not regulate business, the market will make sure prices are fair 
and businesses are honest. 
Conservatives- more freedom of self and less control of the government.  
20. People who want a higher minimum wage are lazy and just want a higher 
guaranteed income without having to earn it by working and becoming better 
educated.  
Conservative-  
SUMMARY:​ Using the results of your tests about political beliefs, the video assignment, 
textbook assignment, and the statements we used to check for understanding, complete 
and defend the following statement. Use ​at least 3 of the issues​ you listed in the 
warm-up activity​ at the beginning. 
 
I am a ______ (conservative, liberal, centrist, etc.) because… 
 
I am more liberal because although I want the government to help support people I don’t 
want it to have so much power. My thoughts between subjects are in between and it 
changes throughout the day.  
For Global warming, I believe that we can fix it, but I know that many people would not 
like to put the effort to change.  
I believe that immigration should be regulated but that it shouldn’t be taken to the 
extreme as it is now. Yes, we need protection but I believe that there is another way to fix 
things other than deporting people.  
I believe that we must help Hong Kong to get it’s independence of china so that the 
people there have the right to freedom.