types of U.S. Citizens
Compared to Ancient Rome, America has little to no class distinctions. The only thing separating upper class from lower class is money and opportunity. An upper class American will have significantly more money and opportunity than a lower class American. There are no laws creating a hierarchical class system, and indeed many people have worked against this through much of America's history, creating a relatively class-free society.
While there are no real social classes, there are types of citizens based on how they became citizens. You can become a citizen of the United States through birth, blood, naturalization, and through honorary citizenship being bestowed upon you. The much more controversial practice of seeing corporations as citizens recently began in the United States, following the Supreme Court deciding in favor of doing so.
Citizenship is obtained in these ways:
Being a citizen of the United States entitles you to abide by its laws, even abroad. A citizen must serve on a jury and pay taxes, and at one time were required to serve in the nation's military, but that practice has lapsed. Citizens are given immutable rights to liberty, property, prosperity, freedoms of speech and religion, and many, many more. Citizens are also given the benefit of protection abroad and the ability to buy property within the United States with few restrictions.
There is no requirement to participate in civil matters in the United States, but citizens have the ability to do so. As of recent years, less and less people have actively participated in politics, only choosing to vote in presidential elections. This growing trend has worried many Americans, who see this lack of participation as the country drifting further and further away from democratic ideal of citizens being active civilly and politically, instead being apathetic of all political matters as many citizens have become.
While there are no real social classes, there are types of citizens based on how they became citizens. You can become a citizen of the United States through birth, blood, naturalization, and through honorary citizenship being bestowed upon you. The much more controversial practice of seeing corporations as citizens recently began in the United States, following the Supreme Court deciding in favor of doing so.
Citizenship is obtained in these ways:
- A child of a citizen is automatically a citizen, or citizenship by blood.
- A child born on the territory of the United States is automatically a citizen, regardless of parental nationality.
- A person who goes through the rigorous and demanding process of naturalization, or the process of ensuring a prospective citizen knows the dominant language of the USA, along with important information.
- Honorary citizenship has only been bestowed on a few people through history, given to very important foreign citizens who have aided the United States in some way or another. One of the few people to receive Honorary citizenship was the Marquis de Lafayette, who aided the Continental Army during the Revolution.
- Recently the Supreme Court decreed that corporations were considered people, thus US corporations were citizens. As citizens, they would have the same rights and benefits of a normal citizen. This is hugely controversial, but the ramifications of this decision have yet to be seen.
Being a citizen of the United States entitles you to abide by its laws, even abroad. A citizen must serve on a jury and pay taxes, and at one time were required to serve in the nation's military, but that practice has lapsed. Citizens are given immutable rights to liberty, property, prosperity, freedoms of speech and religion, and many, many more. Citizens are also given the benefit of protection abroad and the ability to buy property within the United States with few restrictions.
There is no requirement to participate in civil matters in the United States, but citizens have the ability to do so. As of recent years, less and less people have actively participated in politics, only choosing to vote in presidential elections. This growing trend has worried many Americans, who see this lack of participation as the country drifting further and further away from democratic ideal of citizens being active civilly and politically, instead being apathetic of all political matters as many citizens have become.