American Citizen

[AFbombloader]

I am writing a paper for a history class and the teacher gave us the rather open subject of "What does it mean to be an American Citizen?".
I have my thoughts and am interested what the rest of the board thinks. I will be backing up my views with source documents quotes from 1932-present.

Comments?

AF :salute:

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

I am writing a paper for a history class and the teacher gave us the rather open subject of "What does it mean to be an American Citizen?".
I have my thoughts and am interested what the rest of the board thinks. I will be backing up my views with source documents quotes from 1932-present.

Comments?

AF :salute:

Start with the Constitution, freedom and liberty, sacrifice of our military over our history and dont forget the fact that as an American citizen we each owe about 134,000 in debt thanks to government waste, corruption and insane spending and obama's increase of 5.4 trillion deeper in debt in a mere 3+ years time...
Glad to help..;)--Tyr

[AFbombloader]

Start with the Constitution, freedom and liberty, sacrifice of our military over our history and dont forget the fact that as an American citizen we each owe about 134,000 in debt thanks to government waste, corruption and insane spending and obama's increase of 5.4 trillion deeper in debt in a mere 3+ years time...
Glad to help..;)--Tyr

I will use the Constitution and all those, but I can really only use it in the opening. The paper has to be backed with 1932 documents and beyond. I was thinking of using all Presidential speeches and such.

AF :salute:

[Kathianne]

I will use the Constitution and all those, but I can really only use it in the opening. The paper has to be backed with 1932 documents and beyond. I was thinking of using all Presidential speeches and such.

AF :salute:

That the meaning of citizen hasn't changed all that much since ancient times, though the requirements of who is and isn't a citizen have certainly evolved in this country, thus beyond, in a constantly progressive manner.

Here's one source:

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/

While definitions of citizen are few and far between, the examples in time are often found in documents as what follows:


http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/eisen1.asp


First Inaugural Address of Dwight D. Eisenhower

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1953 My friends, before I begin the expression of those thoughts that I deem appropriate to this moment, would you permit me the privilege of uttering a little private prayer of my own. And I ask that you bow your heads:


Almighty God, as we stand here at this moment my future associates in the executive branch of government join me in beseeching that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people in this throng, and their fellow citizens everywhere.


Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and by the laws of this land. Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people regardless of station, race, or calling.


May cooperation be permitted and be the mutual aim of those who, under the concepts of our Constitution, hold to differing political faiths; so that all may work for the good of our beloved country and Thy glory. Amen.


My fellow citizens:


The world and we have passed the midway point of a century of continuing challenge. We sense with all our faculties that forces of good and evil are massed and armed and opposed as rarely before in history.


This fact defines the meaning of this day. We are summoned by this honored and historic ceremony to witness more than the act of one citizen swearing his oath of service, in the presence of God. We are called as a people to give testimony in the sight of the world to our faith that the future shall belong to the free.


Since this century's beginning, a time of tempest has seemed to come upon the continents of the earth. Masses of Asia have awakened to strike off shackles of the past. Great nations of Europe have fought their bloodiest wars. Thrones have toppled and their vast empires have disappeared. New nations have been born.


For our own country, it has been a time of recurring trial. We have grown in power and in responsibility. We have passed through the anxieties of depression and of war to a summit unmatched in man's history. Seeking to secure peace in the world, we have had to fight through the forests of the Argonne, to the shores of Iwo Jima, and to the cold mountains of Korea.


In the swift rush of great events, we find ourselves groping to know the full sense and meaning of these times in which we live. In our quest of understanding, we beseech God's guidance. We summon all our knowledge of the past and we scan all signs of the future. We bring all our wit and all our will to meet the question:


How far have we come in man's long pilgrimage from darkness toward light? Are we nearing the light--a day of freedom and of peace for all mankind? Or are the shadows of another night closing in upon us?


Great as are the preoccupations absorbing us at home, concerned as we are with matters that deeply affect our livelihood today and our vision of the future, each of these domestic problems is dwarfed by, and often even created by, this question that involves all humankind. ...

[PostmodernProphet]

it means everyone can have a different idea of what it means to be an American citizen......

[AFbombloader]

it means everyone can have a different idea of what it means to be an American citizen......

That was my first thoughts as well, there can be no true definition because everybody sees it in their own way. But that will make for a short paper!

AF :salute:

[revelarts]

depends,

there are a couple of legal definitions,
some people even reject the idea of U. S. citizenship in favor of state or sovereign citizenship.

there are general patriotic, civic and militaristic definitions.
some of what tyr mention

then there are personal and emotional definitions.
A Burmese immigrant may have a different take than Plymouth rock decedent. A homeless vet different than a rich atheist professor.

[CSM]

I find it interesting that there is a constraint based on 1932. FDR was elected president in 1932; his New Deal and his administration was (arguably) the birth of modern liberalism, expanding federal government and wealth redistribution. As I said, interesting.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

I find it interesting that there is a constraint based on 1932. FDR was elected president in 1932; his New Deal and his administration was (arguably) the birth of modern liberalism, expanding federal government and wealth redistribution. As I said, interesting.

To CSM so very right! --I caught that too but didnt want to sidetrack the OP. In 1932 FDR ran for election on the promise that if elected ,government would create jobs(sound familiar?=obama) while Hoover took the approach that government should not be that involved. FDR later used to great effect the misery caused by the Great Depression to institute massive changes (sound familiar?=obama and Rahm's never let a crisis go to waste) and the New Deal swung the nation left towards socialism. That is why the current socialist/leftists/liberals and most dems herald FDR as a great hero and some even worship him like a God(sound familiar?=obama). Limiting to the 1932 date apparently was to steer the discussion to FDR and his supposed greatness(New Deal) if I had to guess a reason for that date being chosen. Many think the New Deal brought us out of the Depression, when it only prolonged it, WW2 was what brought us out!

To the OP---American citizens have the freedoms and liberties insured by our Constitution that are always being attacked by the power grabbing from the Federal government, states to a vastly lesser degree. All power given or taken by the Federal government infringes on our rights/liberties, which was why the founders south to so limit the Federal government.The founders placed as many safeguards as they could against an all powerful Central government becoming so powerful as to be able to enslave the citizens. One reason it was later argued against our even having a Central Bank,(Hamilton was all for) because Jefferson knew we could not only easily be robbed that way but could and would eventually be turned into little more than serfs by the power a Central banking system . He was right and currently obama uses the government's financial control and muscle to institute radical change(GM, ETC).
Every American citizen should always look back to our founding and the framers intents for inspiration. For they birhed the greatset nation on earth! Such men and their ideals are not to be tossed out in favor of any socalled enlightened (liberal) policies. A foundation must not be broken or eventually the break spreads and the building falls! Our foundation is our Constitution and it is attacked now more than ever!
My guess is the 1932 date forward was given to force you to limit your presentation on our nation's founders /ideals and instead concentrate more on FDR/New Deal.
American citizen= the freedom to pursue happiness, enjoy that Liberty while having the security to pursue ones ambitions and provide securely for family = short version, IMHO.-Tyr

[Little-Acorn]

I find it interesting that there is a constraint based on 1932. FDR was elected president in 1932; his New Deal and his administration was (arguably) the birth of modern liberalism, expanding federal government and wealth redistribution. As I said, interesting.

I did a doubletake, also, when I saw the limit of 1932 for documents and speeches defining an American citizen. What the hell?? Why impose any limiting date? And if you're going to impose one, why pick THAT date?

That's when the government really got ramped up on the task of REdefining what it was to be an American citizen.

Basically, before 1932 an American was a citizen. From the mid-1930s on, he was a subject.

There had long been various groups trying to give the government MUCH more power and authority over Americans. They were mostly defeated and held in check, by conservatives in government and in the Supreme Court. But with the Great Depression that took root in this country in 1929 and got progressively worse for the next decade and a half, the efforts of the big-government advocates increased, and the receptiveness of the people also increased as they looked for ANY way out of the misery of that period.

In a seminal Supreme Court case, the Justices invented a new definition of "liberty". It was universally accepted that the government's job was to defend and protect liberty, of course. But up to that point, "liberty" was the freedom from compulsion by government and other tyrannical people... and no more. With the new 1930s definition, though, "liberty" also became the freedom from the ordinary problems of life - hunger, cold, poverty etc.

Basically, in the 1930s, government was given a new power it had never had before: The power to interfere with virtually every part of people's formerly-private lives, for the purpose of supposedly "protecting" them from things people have been dealing with themselves, since time immemorial. Government began exploding from that point, and has never looked back.

This imposition of 1932 as the earliest date you are allowed to look for definitions of what an American citizen is, strikes me as a blatant attempt to make sure you can only find definitions that make an American citizen, a ward of government. The idea that an American citizen is a sovereign being, making his own decisions and sinking or swimming with the consequences. Because in the 1930s is when this changed - at least from the viewpoint of government.

[Little-Acorn]

You might also want to look at a post I wrote some days ago in another thread on this forum.

http://www.debatepolicy.com/showthread.php?36153-A-deeper-reason-why-sovereign-citizens-should-have-the-right-to-keep-and-bear-arms&p=567221#post567221

Its subject was the reasons why Americans should have the right to own guns... but the explanation had a lot to do with what it means to be an American citizen.

[AFbombloader]

I find it interesting that there is a constraint based on 1932. FDR was elected president in 1932; his New Deal and his administration was (arguably) the birth of modern liberalism, expanding federal government and wealth redistribution. As I said, interesting.

While there may be a more sinister reason for this requirement, my professor has stated he is left of the current administration, I believe it has more to do with the period we are studying. The first paper we wrote and the first exam covered 1870-1932, so this covers the later dates. But it does severely limit where I could go to support everything you all are saying.

AF :salute:

[Abbey Marie]

My first thought is that currently, it means that we are the financial helpers and military defenders of the world, while we are hated and envied for those very things.

[fj1200]

While there may be a more sinister reason for this requirement, my professor has stated he is left of the current administration, I believe it has more to do with the period we are studying. The first paper we wrote and the first exam covered 1870-1932, so this covers the later dates. But it does severely limit where I could go to support everything you all are saying.

AF :salute:

Given the constraints I am confident that you can get your point across. ;)

[Abbey Marie]

While there may be a more sinister reason for this requirement, my professor has stated he is left of the current administration, I believe it has more to do with the period we are studying. The first paper we wrote and the first exam covered 1870-1932, so this covers the later dates. But it does severely limit where I could go to support everything you all are saying.

AF :salute:


I would want to know if the prof made the historical divide, or if it was already set that way.

[Little-Acorn]

I believe it has more to do with the period we are studying.
Then I suggest you ask this "professor" why he did NOT ask for a definition of "citizen" back when you were studying the earlier period.


But it does severely limit where I could go to support everything you all are saying.
Though I have not met your "professor", I believe this is his far more important reason for imposing the 1932 restriction.

[red state]

TYR Wrote:
My guess is the 1932 date forward was given to force you to limit your presentation on our nation's founders /ideals and instead concentrate more on FDR/New Deal.
American citizen= the freedom to pursue happiness, enjoy that Liberty while having the security to pursue ones ambitions and provide securely for family = short version"

I still suspect that this professor is extremely biased (whether this specific project is for a particular point of time within our history) because I didn't see where the class STARTED at the FOUNDING....just from a starting point of 1870 (after this Nation's State rights were gobbled up by Lincoln). Still, I'd be careful and very tactful in expressing yourself. I'm not for 'MO Tip Toeing' but one must be careful to NOT get a failing grade just to make a point. What should have been done (if you college is extremely left leaning) is find an institution that is fair and balanced. You will probably find that within universities such as the one found at OXFORD, MS. Still, they all have little NAZIS running around to enforce their liberal agenda but it would certainly help to have been in the great institutions of education that actually allow freedom of speech and difference of perspective. As one in the mob may be called "TINY" when he is actually HUGE, the liberals have changed the true meaning of what is "liberal"...or "gay" or "fair". THEY are Confused, Corrupt, Contemptuous or a combination of all three C's. A good description of today's liberal could be summed up as: disdainful, sneering, insolent, arrogant, supercilious, haughty. I'm suspect that your professor has characteristics of all these descriptions.

Many colleges start in two or three weeks so it may be in your best interest to transfer (if possible).

[revelarts]

While there may be a more sinister reason for this requirement, my professor has stated he is left of the current administration, I believe it has more to do with the period we are studying. The first paper we wrote and the first exam covered 1870-1932, so this covers the later dates. But it does severely limit where I could go to support everything you all are saying.

AF :salute:

Get some Quotes of Smeadly Butler, MLK, but end up with like Barry Goldwater. :thumb:


here's some quotes that might jar your search.

In a free society the state does not administer the affairs of men. It administers justice among men who conduct their own affairs. – Walter Lippmann (1889- 1974), An Inquiry into the Principles of the Good Society, 1937

Can any of you seriously say the Bill of Rights could get through Congress today? It wouldn't even get out of committee. – F. Lee Bailey

If the personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution inhibit the government's ability to govern the people, we should look to limit those guarantees. – Bill Clinton, 42nd US President

Ask not what you can do for your country; ask what your government is doing to you. – Joseph Sobran (1990)

The Constitution is a written instrument. As such, its meaning does not alter. That which it meant when it was adopted, it means now. – South Carolina v. United States, 199 U.S. 437, 448 (1905)

Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women. When it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it. – Justice Learned Hand

The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities. – Ayn Rand

There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him. – Robert Heinlein

In 1950, the average family of four paid 2% of its earnings to federal taxes. Today it pays 24%– William R. Mattox, Jr. (sometime before 1996)


Politics ought to be the part-time profession of every citizen who would protect the rights and privileges of free people and who would preserve what is good and fruitful in our national heritage. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

Liberals believe government should take people's earnings to give to poor people. Conservatives disagree. They think government should confiscate people's earnings and give them to farmers and insolvent banks. The compelling issue to both conservatives and liberals is not whether it is legitimate for government to confiscate one's property to give to another, the debate is over the disposition of the pillage. – Walter Williams

Patriotism means loving our country, not the government. – Michael Cloud

It took about 150 years, starting with a Bill of Rights that reserved to the states and the people all powers not explicitly delegated to the federal government, to produce a Supreme Court willing to rule that growing corn to feed to your own hogs is interstate commerce and can therefore be regulated by Congress. – David Friedman, The Machinery of Freedom


The aim of public education is not to spread enlightenment at all, it is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. – H L. Mencken


The government's only proper job is to protect individual rights against violence by force or fraud … to protect men from foreign invaders … to settle disputes among men according to objective laws … The greatness of the Founding Fathers was how well they understood this issue and how close some of them came to understanding it perfectly. – Ayn Rand

[jimnyc]

There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him. – Robert Heinlein

Very interesting considering the recent events about healthcare!

[WiccanLiberal]

Just an odd thought, but have any of you suggesting nefarious motives for the professor thought of something very commonplace? American history intro classes are frequently taught on the college level as two semesters. The first covers the Revolution to the Civil War and the second covers Reconstruction to the present. A frequent dividing point mid semester of the second course is the New Deal policies of FDR. BTW, I took those classes in high school as an advanced placement option. I wrote at least three papers a week. This guys prof is a lazy git.

[AFbombloader]

I would want to know if the prof made the historical divide, or if it was already set that way.

The class is US History Post Reconstruction, so I think it just fell this way with the time-frame of the class.

[AFbombloader]

TYR Wrote:
My guess is the 1932 date forward was given to force you to limit your presentation on our nation's founders /ideals and instead concentrate more on FDR/New Deal.
American citizen= the freedom to pursue happiness, enjoy that Liberty while having the security to pursue ones ambitions and provide securely for family = short version"

I still suspect that this professor is extremely biased (whether this specific project is for a particular point of time within our history) because I didn't see where the class STARTED at the FOUNDING....just from a starting point of 1870 (after this Nation's State rights were gobbled up by Lincoln). Still, I'd be careful and very tactful in expressing yourself. I'm not for 'MO Tip Toeing' but one must be careful to NOT get a failing grade just to make a point. What should have been done (if you college is extremely left leaning) is find an institution that is fair and balanced. You will probably find that within universities such as the one found at OXFORD, MS. Still, they all have little NAZIS running around to enforce their liberal agenda but it would certainly help to have been in the great institutions of education that actually allow freedom of speech and difference of perspective. As one in the mob may be called "TINY" when he is actually HUGE, the liberals have changed the true meaning of what is "liberal"...or "gay" or "fair". THEY are Confused, Corrupt, Contemptuous or a combination of all three C's. A good description of today's liberal could be summed up as: disdainful, sneering, insolent, arrogant, supercilious, haughty. I'm suspect that your professor has characteristics of all these descriptions.

Many colleges start in two or three weeks so it may be in your best interest to transfer (if possible).

This is my last class before I student teach, transferring is not an option. Nor is the school very left leaning, I have never shied away from expressing my beliefs and I have great marks (3.83 GPA).

[AFbombloader]

Finished the paper. Used FDR, LBJ, Carter, and Reagan speeches to back my assertion that the freedoms we have in America along with out civil and human rights are key components to what it means to be an American citizen. And also how we have spread these values around the world.

AF:salute: