What is citizenship?
About this video
The video gives two definitions of citizenship: the legal status of being a member of a state, with rights, responsibilities and privileges, and the practice of active citizenship. It explains the two paths to US citizenship (birth and naturalization) and four qualities of a good citizen: empowered, community-minded, inclusive and informed.
You'll be able to
- explain the difference between citizenship as a legal status and active citizenship.
- describe the two paths to US citizenship.
- name and explain the four qualities of a good citizen.
Key words
- Citizenship
- Membership of a state that gives a person rights, responsibilities and privileges.
- Naturalization
- The legal process by which a foreign citizen or national becomes a US citizen.
- Active citizenship
- Being an informed and active member of a political community.
- Inclusive
- Wanting what is best for everyone in the community, including multiple viewpoints.
Transcript
- [Instructor] There are a few definitions of the term citizenship. In this video, we're going to talk about two of those definitions. One is the legal definition, the status of having citizenship. A person has citizenship as a member of a state, which gives them rights, responsibilities, and privileges.
A citizen of the United States is entitled to the protections granted in the Constitution and Bill of Rights like freedom of speech. There are two paths to citizenship. People are either born citizens because their parents were citizens or because they were born on US soil or they can become naturalized citizens.
We'll talk more in other videos about the process to become a citizen but for now just know that naturalization is the legal process by which a foreign citizen or national can become a US citizen. The other definition of citizenship I wanna talk about here is not just the legal status of having citizenship but the practice of active citizenship.
You practice good citizenship by being an informed and active member of a political community. So what does it mean to be a good citizen? There are a few aspects of good citizenship. First, a good citizen is empowered. That means that they exercise their rights and believe that they can make a difference by doing so.
They don't say, "Nah, I'm not gonna do anything. "It wouldn't make a difference anyway." A good citizen is also community-minded. They feel a sense of responsibility for their communities and they wanna help them be the best that they can be. They're also inclusive.
And by that I mean that they wanna do what's best for everyone in their community, not just what would be most beneficial to themselves. They include multiple viewpoints and stand up for the rights of others. And lastly, a good citizen is informed. They know how the government works, they're up to date on the problems that the government is facing and the decisions that it's making.
Good citizens are invaluable to democracy because democracy works best when citizens are knowledgeable and active in political debate.
Video © Khan Academy, used under CC BY-NC-SA. Watch on Khan Academy. Puzzicle is not affiliated with Khan Academy.