Citizen-Centric Advocacy: The Untapped Power of Constituent Engagement
Open government is better government.
If your government is open, it gives you access to 1) participate in improving the way it works, and 2) the information it creates and collects. Broadening access makes your government more accountable, efficient, and trusted, and even helps to improve the economy. – basics.open4m.org
Looking for Voter Registration information?
We’ve put together voting resources by state including links for voter registration, ballot information, and more.
Civics resources
The Constitution of the United States
“The Constitution acted like a colossal merger,uniting a group of states with different interests, laws, and cultures. Under America’s first national government, the Articles of Confederation, the states acted together only for specific purposes. The Constitution united its citizens as members of a whole, vesting the power of the union in the people. Without it, the American Experiment might have ended as quickly as it had begun.”
– The National Archives
The Constitution of the United States
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
– Preamble to the United States Constitution
Bill of Rights
The Constitution might never have been ratified if the framers hadn’t promised to add a Bill of Rights. The first ten amendments to the Constitution gave citizens more confidence in the new government and contain many of today’s Americans’ most valued freedoms.
FIND YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS
On Common Cause, there are tools to help you find your Elected Officials, how to contact them, bills they’ve introduced, committees they serve on, and political contributions they’ve received.
GET VOTING INFORMATION
At Vote411.org, Learn where candidates running for office in your community stand on the issues. You can print or email the information to use as a reference when you actually vote.
TRACK LEGISLATION
GovTrack.us is here to help you track legislation being debated in the United States Congress. Once on the site, all you need to do is enter your address to find your representatives and senators to get alerts. You can also find legislation that affects you.
iCivics.org
iCivics.org has resources for both teachers and students about how government works by having them experience it directly. Through our games, the player steps into any role – a judge, a member of Congress, a community activist fighting for local change, even the President of the United States – and does the job they do.
CENTER FOR CIVIC EDUCATION
At the Center for Civic Education, we believe that we are stronger as a nation when we are united in our common understanding of our fundamental principles. Together, united, we must remain vigilant defenders of our democratic republic.
KHAN ACADEMY: AMERICAN CIVICS
The Khan Academy has put together a video playlist about how the government works in the United States. Topics include the electoral college, primaries and caucuses, social security, SOPA and PIPA, histories political parties, and more.
US COURTS
The educational resources on the USCourts.gov site provide realistic simulations and memorable, interactive approaches to court basics that include comparing federal and state courts.
Know Your Rights
An infographic released by Online-Paralegal-Programs.com seeks to help Americans understand what rights they do and don’t have when interacting with an officer of the law.
Serve your community
Serve.gov is built upon the belief that ordinary people can come together and achieve extraordinary things when given the proper tools.
US Civics Quiz
How much do you know about civics? See how you do with this online civics practice test. Most questions are taken right from the U.S. Naturalization Exam. All have multiple choice answers.
VIEW STATE RESOURCES
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