Civics: Say it Louder for the

People in the Back

Tracy Jungwirth, MA

Program Manager

NMAETC, University of New Mexico

Project ECHO

Schoolhouse Rock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0

Why did you come to this session?

What do you want to know about Civics?

What do you want to know about voting?

Civics 101

Branches of Government

House/Senate (congress), Executive, Judicial

Constitution

Federalist Papers –Being a Virtuous Citizen

Amendments

Powers of the Federal Govn’t

to print money, declare war, create an army, make treaties

Powers of State Govn’t – Almost everything else

provide schooling and education, protection (police), safety

(fire departments), give a driver’s license, approve zoning

and land use

The Virtues Required of Citizens In a

Free Society –The Federalist Papers While not comprehensive, at a minimum free societies

need citizens to possess courage and boldness, independence and self-reliance, prudence and self restraint, and reasonableness and civic knowledge.

...what citizens must possess is knowledge of their rights, why they have them, and how a properly functioning government should protect them.

If self-government is to work, citizens need to be able to hold their elected officials accountable which is impossible without a measure of thoughtful reflection on the merits of those seeking office.

DOCUMENTS of FREEDOM

History, Government & Economics through Primary Sources

The Founding Fathers Believed

Bill of Rights Enacted on December 15, 1791

1st AmendmentProtects the freedom of religion, speech, and the press, as well as the right to assemble and petition the government.

2nd AmendmentProtects the right to keep and bear arms.

3rd AmendmentProhibits the forced quartering of soldiers.

4th AmendmentProhibits unreasonable searches and seizures and sets out requirements for search warrants based on probable cause.

Bill of Rights Enacted on December 15, 1791

5th AmendmentSets out rules for indictment by a grand jury and eminent domain, protects the right to due process, and prohibits self-incrimination and double jeopardy.

6th AmendmentProtects the right to a fair and speedy public trial by jury, including the rights to be notified of the accusations, to confront the accuser, to obtain witnesses and to retain counsel.

7th AmendmentProvides for the right to a trial by jury in certain civil cases, according to common law.

8th AmendmentProhibits excessive fines and excessive bail, as well as cruel and unusual punishment.

9th AmendmentAsserts the existence of unremunerated rights retained by the people. (just because certain rights

are not spelled out, doesn’t mean they can be violated)

10th Amendment*Limits the powers of the federal government to those delegated to it by the Constitution. (State vs.

Federal powers)

Bill of Rights Enacted on December 15, 1791

Constitutional Amendments

11th AmendmentProvides immunity of states from suits from out-of-state citizens and foreigners not living within the state borders. Lays the foundation for sovereign immunity.Enacted on February 7, 1795

12th AmendmentRevises presidential election procedures.(the electoral college) Enacted on June 15, 1804

13th Amendment*Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.Enacted on December 6, 1865

14th AmendmentDefines citizenship and deals with post–Civil War issues.July 9, 1868

15th AmendmentProhibits the denial of suffrage based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.Enacted on February 3, 1870

16th AmendmentAllows the federal government to collect income tax.Enacted on February 3, 1913

17th Amendment*Requires United States senators to be directly elected.

Enacted on April 8, 1913

Constitutional Amendments

18th Amendment*Establishes the Prohibition of alcohol (eventually repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment).Enacted on January 16, 1919

19th AmendmentEstablishes women’s suffrage.Enacted on August 18, 1920

20th AmendmentFixes the dates of term commencements for Congress (January 3) and the President (January 20);known as the “lame duck amendment”.Enacted on January 23, 1933

21st AmendmentRepeals the Eighteenth Amendment.Enacted on December 5, 1933

Constitutional Amendments

22nd AmendmentLimits the United States President to two terms of service, or a maximum of 10 years (i.e., if a Vice President serves not more than one half of a President’s term, he/she can be elected to a further two terms).Enacted on February 27, 1951

23rd AmendmentProvides for the representation of Washington, D.C. in the Electoral College.Enacted on March 29, 1961

24th AmendmentProhibits the revocation of voting rights due to the non-payment of poll taxes.Enacted on January 23, 1964

Constitutional Amendments

25th Amendment

Codifies the Tyler Precedent; defines the process of

presidential succession.Enacted on February 10, 1967

26th Amendment

Established 18 as the national voting age.Enacted on July 1, 1971

27th Amendment

Prevents laws affecting Congressional salary from taking

effect until the beginning of the next session of Congress.Enacted on May 7, 1992

Constitutional Amendments

History of Voting Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar7r5aG_B0Y

Constitutional Amendments on Voting 14th Amendment

Defines citizenship and deals with post–Civil War issues.July 9, 1868

15th AmendmentProhibits the denial of suffrage based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.Enacted on February 3, 1870

19th AmendmentEstablishes women’s suffrage.Enacted on August 18, 1920

23rd AmendmentProvides for the representation of Washington, D.C. in the Electoral College.Enacted on March 29, 1961

24th AmendmentProhibits the revocation of voting rights due to the non-payment of poll taxes.Enacted on January 23, 1964

26th AmendmentEstablished 18 as the national voting age.Enacted on July 1, 1971

This did not include Native

Americans who were not

able to vote until 1948

Direct response to Jim Crow

era voter suppression for

Southern Black voters

Applied to white women in practice

Was a direct result of the Vietnam War

from 21 to 18 year olds

Gave people living in DC and

abroad in Military right to vote

Ways to participate in your democracy

vote

join a political party

help with a campaign

join a civic group

join a community group

give an elected official your opinion on an issue

call Senators and Representatives

publicly support or oppose an issue or policy

run for office

write to a newspaper

Why Don’t People Vote? "I knew I had to register to vote, but I didn't know where

to go or what number to call to find out. Then my

neighbor said I could register at the library. But when I

went, they said they only registered until a month before

the election. Now it's two weeks before the election so I'm

too late. The government sure doesn't make it easy for

me to vote!"

"It's too much trouble. Anyway, who ever heard of

somebody winning by one vote?"

"I don't know what their ideas are! The TV ads are so

short, and each candidate just talks about how bad the

other one is."

"I'd like to vote for Smith for mayor. He's an honest guy. He

wants to make the schools better and help small businesses.

But he doesn't have a chance. The other candidate, Taylor-he's

a millionaire. He's got signs on every street, and ads on T.V.

every night."

"When I went to vote for the governor last year, I knew which

candidate I wanted to vote for. But on the ballot there were

candidates for nineteen other offices, too! How can I find out

about all these candidates? It's too much."

"They're just going to do things for big businesses. They don't

care about us. Anybody can see we're just getting poorer."

"Both parties are the same."

Examine your ideologies

http://www.people-press.org/typology/quiz/

www.theadvocates.org/quiz

www.politicalcompass.org/test

Candidates in your local elections

https://www.lwv.org/elections/vote411

https://ballotpedia.org/Elections_calendar

https://ballotpedia.org/Sample_Ballot_Lookup#address=1

024+Stanford+Dr+NE+&election=2018-06-05

https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/candidates/guide/ind

ex.shtml

Questions?

Contact info:

Tracy Jungwirth

tjungwirth@salud.unm.edu