Name _________________________________________________________________________________ Period _________ pg.

#
__________

Citizenship Guided Notes continued

SS.7.C.2.2

Obligations and Responsibilities of Citizens

A. What is the difference between an obligation and a responsibility?
Obligation: Also known as a duty. A requirement, something a person has to do
Responsibility: Something a person should do
Key Vocabulary
Common Good: Beliefs or actions that are seen as a benefit to the community
rather than individual interests, also known as the public good

Selective Service: A system by which men ages 18 through 25 register with the
U.S. government for military service

B. Provide some examples of Obligations and Responsibilities of US citizens.

Obligations (aka Duties)

Responsibilities

Obeying Laws

Voting

Paying Taxes

Attending Civic Meetings

Petitioning the Government

Defending the Nation

Registering for Selective Service

Running for Office

Serving on Juries

Performing community service

C. What are the citizens and the government responsible for doing?
1)
2)
Protecting the rights of individuals
Promoting the common good

D. Why is it important for citizens to meet their obligations?

It makes the United States a safer and better place to live.

E. Complete the chart on Obligations.

Citizens Obligations
How the obligation relates to the common good
Obeying the Laws

Obeying laws keeps order so that people are safe

Jury Duty

By participating in jury duty, citizens are protecting the

constitutional right of trial by jury

Defending the Nation

Defending the nation benefits the entire country and

protects the nation from those who might wish to harm us.

F. Active participation helps to promote the common good.

G. Complete the chart on Responsibilities.
Citizen
How the responsibility relates to the common good.
Responsibilities
Voting

Attending Civic
Meetings

Petitioning The
Government

Community Service

Voting relates to the common good because it is one way for

citizens to be heard by the leaders who represent them.
By attending civic meetings, a citizen can be heard by public
officials (for example, attending a city council meeting or
neighborhood watch group).

Petitioning the government allows citizens to share their

opinions with the government and ask for help with solving
problems

Community service helps the common good. It benefits

everyone when a citizen sees a need in his or her community
and takes that extra step to find the solution.

Name _________________________________________________________________________________ Period _________ pg.#

__________

H. Provide examples of active participation that is also an obligation:

1) Obeying the laws
2) Registering for selective service
3) Defending our nation
4) Serving on juries
5) Paying taxes
I.

Provide examples of active participation that is also a responsibility:

1) Registering to vote
2) Attending civic meetings
3) Joining interest groups
4) Joining a political party
5) Running for office
6) Petitioning the government

If citizens did not fulfill their responsibilities, the United States would be a very different place.
J. What are the consequences we would have if people to not fulfill their responsibilities?
Responsibility of a What are the consequences if people do not fulfill these
Citizen
responsibilities?
Voting

If people do not vote, the government will only represent

those people who do vote.

Attending Civic
Meetings

If people do not attend civic meetings, it is more difficult to

get involved and know what is happening in the community
and government.

Petitioning The
Government

Community Service

If people choose not to use this right, the government will

assume that the people are happy with the governments
decisions or that they dont care.

If people choose not to volunteer in their community,

problems may be ignored and people who need help will not
get their needs met.

K. Explain how each of the obligations impact society, government, or the political process.
Obligations of a
How does this obligation impact society, government, or the
Citizen
political process?
Obeying the Laws

It is important to obey laws in order to have a safe

community.

Paying Taxes

Taxes make a difference in whether the government will be

able to provide services to citizens.

Jury Duty

Jury duty has a major impact on a citizens right to a fair trial

and on how the trial will turn out.

Defending the
Nation

People who defend the nation keep the country safe.

L. Explain how each of the obligations impact society, government, or the political process.
Responsibility of a How does this responsibility impact society, government, or
Citizen
the political process?
Voting

Attending Civic
Meetings

Petitioning The
Government

Community Service

Voting impacts elected leaders who make political decisions.

Decisions that impact the government and society are made

at civic meetings (for example, at a city council or school
board meeting).

Petitions can impact decisions made by the government and

can bring about change in communities because citizens use
petitions to communicate with government.
Communities and neighborhoods are improved when people
volunteer their time and skills.