Citizenship in the Nation
Merit Badge Workbook
This workbook can help you but you still need to read the merit badge pamphlet.
This Workbook can help you organize your thoughts as you prepare to meet with your merit badge counselor.
You still must satisfy your counselor that you can demonstrate each skill and have learned the information.
You should use the work space provided for each requirement to keep track of which requirements have been completed,
and to make notes for discussing the item with your counselor, not for providing full and complete answers.
If a requirement says that you must take an action using words such as "discuss", "show",
"tell", "explain", "demonstrate", "identify", etc, that is what you must do.
Merit Badge Counselors may not require the use of this or any similar workbooks.
No one may add or subtract from the official requirements found in Scouts BSA Requirements (Pub. 33216 – SKU 653801).
The requirements were last issued or revised in 2005 • This workbook was updated in June 2020.
Scout’s Name:__________________________________________
Unit: __________________________________________
Counselor’s Name: ____________________ Phone No.: _______________________ Email: _________________________
http://www.USScouts.Org
•
http://www.MeritBadge.Org
Please submit errors, omissions, comments or suggestions about this workbook to: Workbooks@USScouts.Org
Comments or suggestions for changes to the requirements for the merit badge should be sent to: Merit.Badge@Scouting.Org
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. Explain what citizenship in the nation means and what it takes to be a good citizen of this country.
What citizenship in the nation means:
Citizens of the whole nation not just your communist
What it takes to be a good citizen:
Discuss the rights, duties, and obligations of a responsible and active American citizen.
Rights:
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement;
that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed
of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social
convention, or ethical theory.
Workbook © Copyright 2020 - U.S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. - All Rights Reserved
Requirements © Copyright, Boy Scouts of America (Used with permission.)
This workbook may be reproduced and used locally by Scouts and Scouters for purposes consistent with the programs of the Boy
Scouts of America (BSA), the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) or other Scouting and Guiding Organizations.
However it may NOT be used or reproduced for electronic redistribution or for commercial or other non-Scouting purposes without
the express permission of the U. S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. (USSSP).
Citizenship in the Nation
Scout's Name: ________________________
Duties,
Obligations:.
2. Do TWO of the following:
a. Visit a place that is listed as a National Historic Landmark or that is on the National Register of Historic Places. Tell
your counselor what you learned about the landmark or site and what you found interesting about it.
b. Tour your state capitol building or the U.S. Capitol. Tell your counselor what you learned about the capitol, its
function, and the history.
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Citizenship in the Nation
Scout's Name: ________________________
c. Tour a federal facility. Explain to your counselor what you saw there and what you learned about its function in the
local community and how it serves this nation.
d. Choose a national monument that interests you. ____________________________________________________
Using books, brochures, the Internet (with your parent’s permission), and other resources, find out more about the
monument. Tell your counselor what you learned, and explain why the monument is important to this country’s
citizens.
3. Watch the national evening news five days in a row OR read the front page of a major daily newspaper five days in a row.
Discuss the national issues you learned about with your counselor.
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Citizenship in the Nation
Scout's Name: ________________________
Choose one of the issues and explain how it affects you and your family.
4. Discuss each of the following documents with your counselor. Tell your counselor how you feel life in the United States might
be different without each one.
a. Declaration of Independence
b. Preamble to the Constitution
c. The Constitution
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Citizenship in the Nation
Scout's Name: ________________________
d. Bill of Rights
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
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9
10
e. Amendments to the Constitution
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
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Scout's Name: ________________________
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
The Twelfth Amendment requires a person to receive a
majority of the electoral votes for vice president for that
person to be elected vice president by the Electoral
College.
23.
The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment
for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted
24.
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868,
granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United
States
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Citizenship in the Nation
25.
26.
Scout's Name: ________________________
Passed by Congress February 26, 1869, and ratified February 3, 1870, the
15th Amendment granted African American men the right to vote.
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on
incomes, from whatever source derived, without
apportionment among the several States
27.
Passed by Congress on May 13, 1912, and ratified on April 8, 1913, the 17th
Amendment modified Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution by allowing
voters to cast direct votes for U.S. senators.
5. List the six functions of government as noted in the preamble to the Constitution.
Function
Discuss with your counselor how these functions affect your family and local community.
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Scout's Name: ________________________
6. With your counselor’s approval, choose a speech of national historical importance.
Find out about the author, and tell your counselor about the person who gave the speech.
Explain the importance of the speech at the time it was given, and tell how it applies to American citizens today.
Importance at the time:
How it applies today:
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Scout's Name: ________________________
Choose a sentence or two from the speech that has significant meaning to you, and tell your counselor why.
I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be engulfed,
every hill shall be exalted and every mountain shall be made low, the rough places
will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the
Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. It just mean that everyone
get treated equally.
7. Name the three branches of our federal government and explain to your counselor their functions. Explain how citizens are
involved in each branch. For each branch of government, explain the importance of the system of checks and balances.
Branch:
Function:
The legislative branch of government is responsible for enacting
the laws of the state and appropriating the money necessary to
operate the government.
Citizen Involvement:
Importance of Checks
& Balances:
the legislative branch can override that veto with enough votes.
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Scout's Name: ________________________
Branch:
Function:
The executive branch consists of the President, his or
her advisors and various departments and agencies.
This branch is responsible for enforcing the laws of the
land.
Citizen Involvement:
The first, and most obvious, way in individual citizens are involved in
the executive branch is through voting.
Importance of Checks
& Balances:
The President in the executive branch can
veto a law, but the legislative branch can
override that veto with enough votes
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Scout's Name: ________________________
Branch:
Function:
Citizen Involvement:
Importance of Checks
& Balances:
The judicial branch decides the constitutionality of federal laws and resolves other disputes about federal laws.
While citizens cannot directly choose Supreme Court Justices or federal
judges, participation in democracy through voting and expressing opinions
to elected officials allows the American people to engage with one of the
most important institutions in the United States government.
The Supreme Court and other federal courts (judicial branch) can declare laws or presidential actions
unconstitutional, in a process known as judicial review. By passing amendments to the Constitution, Congress
can effectively check the decisions of the Supreme Court.
8. Name your two senators and the member of Congress from your congressional district.
Senator:
Senator:
Member of Congress:
Write a letter about a national issue and send it to one of these elected officials, sharing your view with him or her.
Show your letter and any response you receive to your counselor.
When working on merit badges, Scouts and Scouters should be aware of some vital information in the current edition of
the Guide to Advancement (BSA publication 33088).Important excerpts from that publication can be downloaded from
http://usscouts.org/advance/docs/GTA-Excerpts-meritbadges.pdf.
You can download a complete copy of the Guide to Advancement from http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf.
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