Congratulations! You are about to become a citizen of the United States of
America but first you've got to pass a test. I'm Tom Richey. I've been teaching
US history and government for about 15 years now and I'm gonna help you and if
you pay attention I bet you're going to pass. Now, in this first part we're gonna
focus on principles of American democracy.
Out of a hundred questions, twelve questions are going to be specifically
focused on this topic which is going to have to do with the Constitution and the
Bill of Rights and a few things about the American way of doing things.
So with no further ado as my friend Reno says, let's have a look. First of all, we need
to start with the idea of the rule of law. In the United States,
everyone is expected to obey the law - even our leaders. No one is above the law.
Now, where do our laws come from? What is the supreme law of the land? The supreme
law of the land is the Constitution. The United States Constitution was written
by the Founding Fathers at the Constitutional Convention, so remember
when you're hearing about the Constitutional Convention that is where
the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution. And they did so in the year
1787, so remember that 1787 is the year that the Constitution was written. It's
one of a few years that you're going to have to know for this test. What does the
Constitution do? The Constitution does a few things. The Constitution, first of all,
sets up the government - the form of our government. It defines our government's
powers, and most importantly, the Constitution protects the basic rights
of Americans. The first three words of the Constitution are, "We the People," and
these words express the idea of American self-government. The power of our
government in the United States comes from the people - specifically, We the People.
The Constitution has been amended a few times now what we mean when we say
an amendment to the Constitution that is when there is a
change to the Constitution. When the Constitution has changed, it's amended or
added to. Okay? You can think of an amendment as an addition but let's just
think about this as a change to the Constitution. Our Constitution has been
amended 27 times so you want to make sure you understand that there are 27
amendments to the United States Constitution and of those 27 amendments,
10 of those amendments were added almost immediately. The first 10 amendments of
the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights protects a lot
of our essential freedoms as Americans. Five of those freedoms are included in
the First Amendment to the Constitution: freedom of speech, press, religion,
assembly, and petition. These are all First Amendment rights of which you may
be called upon to name only one. I think the easiest one here is freedom of
speech just going into your test knowing that freedom of speech is
protected by the First Amendment. Now, you can also be asked a specific question
about freedom of religion in the United States. Now, freedom of religion includes
two things: first of all, the freedom to practice any religion you want.
Secondly, it also includes the freedom not to practice any religion, at all.
The Declaration of Independence declared our independence from Great Britain.
Thomas Jefferson - my boy - he wrote the Declaration of Independence, so remember
that Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of
Independence. My boy, Thomas Jefferson. And on July 4th 1776, that was the date that
the Declaration of Independence was adopted, so remember you had 1787 for the
year of the Constitution but you need to also note 1776 and specifically July 4th
because that is when Americans celebrate Independence Day. You'll have to identify
a few American holidays and this is a good one
to remember. July 4th is the American Independence Day. And there are three
rights that are listed in the Declaration of Independence. These rights
are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Now, on your test, you'll be
asked to name two I think it's going to be easy thinking in terms of just naming
life and liberty, so just go in there Declaration of Independence, July 4th,
1776, Thomas Jefferson, Independence Day, life and liberty and there you go.
The United States economy is referred to either as a capitalist economy or as a
market economy. These are two words that mean the same thing so you can use
either of those terms to describe the United States economy. And that sums up
the basic principles of American democracy.
In the next segment, I'm going to go into the American system of government, so I
hope that you'll continue with me and if you do I bet you're gonna pass this exam.
Again, I'm Tom Richey, and it is an honor to help you to prepare to become a
citizen of my country. Welcome to the United States of America!
[Star Spangled Banner Plays]