Citizen Survival Guide
In order to become “an educated consumer” of your government, one must know
how to access the resources it affords you. Below is a guide for learning how to
access that information, including exercises that must be completed for full credit.
[1] Each person you contact should be asked a different question and must
respond to you (automated responses do not count). Those contacted must be
your reps. For clarification, please enter your address at www.vote-smart.org.
THIS IS AN ALMOST SEMESTER LONG PROJECT DUE MARCH 27TH FOR
TR CLASSES & MARCH 28TH FOR MWF CLASSES. PLEASE DON’T WAIT
UNTIL THE END TO ATTEMPT THIS. WORK ON IT A LITTLE EACH WEEK.
Article I – Congress
US SENATE
• My U.S. Senators are ___________________________ ( ____ party) and
___________________________ ( ____ party).
They can be contacted by ….
Senator _________
Senator _________
Phone
Fax
Email
Address
* include both DC and Georgia address and phone information.
Select one of these two Senators and complete the following information.
I picked the issue of
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________
and contacted Senator ______________ by ______________ and received the
following response (see attached transcript of communication).
Of the committees that my Senator sits on, the one that I find most interesting is
the________________because______________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
S/he was first elected in __________. They are up for re-election in ________.
They are currently serving their ______ term in office. Some of the biggest
contributors to their campaigns have included:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Their prior political experience included:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Before going into politics, s/he was
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Go to www.vote-smart.org and search for your US Senator’s positions on three
issues that are important to you. Does he/she agree with YOU? Does he/she
agree with their PARTY? *Look at their websites too for information!
Issue 1:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Position:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Evaluation:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Issue 2:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Position:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Evaluation:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Issue 3:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Position:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Evaluation:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Money!
Based on your selection of your US Senator, look on the www.fec.gov and
www.opensecrets.org websites to find three interest groups that gave him/her
money in their last campaign. Disclose the groups & amounts you find in your
assignment. Then identify a brief overview of the three interest groups (date
founded, founders, mission).
Interest Group 1:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Interest Group 2:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Interest Group 3:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
• My U.S. Representative is ___________________________ ( ____ party)
from the ______ district.
He/She can be contacted by …. *use both DC and GA contacts!
US Representative ______________
Phone
Fax
Email
Address
I picked the issue of
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
and contacted my Representative by ______________ and received the
following response (see attached transcript of communication).
Of the committees that my Representative sits on, the one that I find most
interesting is
________________because_________________________________________
___________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
S/he was first elected in __________. They are up for re-election in _______.
They are currently serving their ______ term in office. Some of the biggest
contributors to their campaigns have included:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Their prior political experience included:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Before going into politics, s/he was
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Go to www.vote-smart.org and search for your US Representative's positions on
three issues that are important to you. Does he/she agree with YOU? Does
he/she agree with their PARTY? *Look at their websites too for information!
Issue 1:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Position:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Evaluation:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Issue 2:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Position:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Evaluation:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Issue 3:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Position:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Evaluation:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Money!
Based on your selection of your Congressman, look on the www.fec.gov and
www.opensecrets.org websites to find three interest groups that gave him/her
money in their last campaign. Disclose the groups & amounts you find in your
assignment. Then identify a brief overview of the three interest groups (date
founded, founders, mission).
Interest Group 1:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Interest Group 2:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Interest Group 3:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Article II – President
The issues that concern me when it comes to the President and national politics
are:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
_________________________________.
Pick a policy of the current President and write a one page report on the agenda
of the policy and your opinion of it. Please clear your topic with Dr. Keiley before
beginning to ensure that it is a narrow enough topic. (please see attached
report).
Pick the top 3 candidates in both parties and identify what % of the GA primary
vote each candidate won. (go to www.sos.georgia.gov).
Democrats:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Republicans:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
The Presidential candidate that I find most interesting is ___________________
because
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Article III – Supreme Court
Pick a case on the Court’s 2007-2008 docket and follow it. Remember, session
started in October.
The case that I picked was ____________________________ because ______
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
The case is about
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
People who submitted briefs (and amicus curiae briefs too!) are
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
At the time, the status of the case I picked is ____________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
If decided by due date of the assignment, the outcome was ____ to ____. Justice
___________ wrote the Opinion of the Court and Justice ___________ wrote the
dissenting opinion. The decision was
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
The Justice that most closely reflects my judicial philosophy is ______________
because _________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Case decisions this Justice have made that I find interesting are ____________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
because_________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Policy
● Federalism
Complete the following assignment. Attach it in your guide as a 2-3 page report
with citations.
Identify the background* of the following men, and tell me about their contribution
to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and US government: William Paterson,
Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. Which one do you most identify with
ideologically? Why?
*A background does not necessitate a full biography but should be more than just
a sketch of the highlights! You should explore their personal and professional
lives.
● Civil Liberties
Complete the following assignment. Attach it in your guide as a 2-3 page report
with citations.
Review the Bill of Rights. Select three amendments and discuss what each one
(and each provision of each one) means to you. How do you enjoy these rights?
What are the limits to these rights?
• Social welfare policy
If I, or anyone I know, needed to determine eligibility for welfare services, I would
go to ___________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________(address & phone)
in ______________ county.
To qualify for most means-tested, income based programs, I would need to have
an income of ____________ or less, according to _________________(source).
• Foreign Policy
Pick a foreign policy issue from the list of topics below, and write a 1-2 page
TYPED paper answering the following questions: 1) why did you pick the issue;
2) how do you describe the policy debate; 3) what is the State Department’s
position on the issue? And 4) what is your position? (Attach to the Citizen Guide).
* Sustainable development
* Spread of HIV/AIDS
* Millennium Goals for literacy
* Millennium Goals for gender equality
* Human trafficking
* Nuclear non-proliferation
Local Georgia Government
• My governor is _________________________. They are a _________ (party)
and are up for re-election in _____________.
• My mayor is _______________________. This is a ___________(no. of years)
term and they are up for re-election in _________.
People often confuse the Georgia State Senator with their US Senator. Make
sure you are clear on the state level legislator.
• My State Senator is _________________________ from district __________.
They are a _________(party) and are on
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________(committees).
I contacted my State Senator by _______________________________(form of
communication) and told them my opinion on the __________________ issue.
Attached is a summary of this conversation.
People often confuse the Georgia State Representative with their US
Representative. Make sure you are clear on the state level legislator.
• My State Representative is _________________________ from district______.
They are a _________(party) and are on _______________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________(committees).
I contacted my State Representative by ____________________________(form
of communication) and told them my opinion on the __________________ issue.
Attached is a summary of this conversation.
[1] The Citizen Guide must be complete in order to receive full credit. If an exercise is omitted, points will be deducted.
Furthermore, not getting a definitive answer or reply is construed as incomplete – even if the source does not respond to
you. If this is the case, the student will have to access the information is an alternative approach. This is a part of the
exercise…learning how to access your elected officials is an invaluable skill that you can use throughout your life.
YOU MUST ATTACH TRANSCRIPTS OF CONVERSATIONS TO EVIDENCE THAT YOU COMMUNICATED WITH THE
OFFICES AND RECEIVED A GOOD RESPONSE. INCLUDE THE NAMES, DATES, AND NUMBERS THAT YOU
CALLED OR CONTACTED. CLEARLY LABEL EACH ONE. YOU SHOULD MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR INITIAL
EMAIL OR CONTACT DRAFT AS WELL.
PLEASE PRESENT TO DR. KEILEY IN A BOUND FOLDER IN CLASS ON THE DUE DATE.
LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.