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US government and civics
Course: US government and civics > Unit 1
Lesson 1: Welcome to US government and civics!US Government and Civics Introduction
Learn about U.S. Government and Civics! Understand your role in democracy, explore the foundations of American democracy, and discover the interactions between government branches. Dive into civil liberties, civil rights, and citizenship duties. Uncover political ideologies, beliefs, and participation. Become a better participant in our democracy.
Want to join the conversation?
- How can I participate in government when I'm only 14 years old? And why would I want to?(4 votes)
- Currently, what participating in government would look like for you is doing independent research on which people would better the country more than others and choosing one or more to promote by making signs that have interesting facts, handing out campaign flyers etc. The reason a young person might want to be involved in government is because it can help you get an understanding of government now so that when you yourself can vote, you know what to look for in different candidates. Promoting candidates can also sway people's votes to what you think is best.(6 votes)
- What an incredible voice. We stan Sal here. :)(5 votes)
- my allegiance is to the Republic!1! to deMOCRACY!!1!!1(4 votes)
- Did the democracy date back to the ancient greeks?(3 votes)
- Yes. They had a true democracy. We have a representative democracy.(0 votes)
- What is citizenship(2 votes)
- A citizenship is the state of being a citizen in a country.(4 votes)
- Why would I want to know this?(1 vote)
- What is the democracy?(1 vote)
- You could argue that their wasn’t true democracy until women and black people had the vote.(1 vote)
- how am i a member?(1 vote)
- What civil librities(1 vote)
Video transcript
- Hi, everyone, Sal Khan here. And I just wanted to invite you, or tell you a little bit about our course on US Government and Civics. The first question you
might be wondering is why do I need to learn
about government and civics? And what I would tell you is because you are a member of our democracy. A democracy does not work unless the people who
make up the democracy are willing to be informed, willing to understand
what rights they have, and potentially what rights they give up in order to have a
better-functioning society. So if we wanna function as a society, you should pay attention to this course. And just so you know what this covers, we start with the foundations
of American democracy. How did we get to where we are? You might not appreciate it. You might say, "Oh, democracy goes all the way
back to the ancient Greeks." But the reality is, the modern form of democracy really started with American democracy and then it has been replicated
throughout the world. So understand the tensions
that the founders faced and how they got to a pretty nice balance that's at least worked
for several hundred years. Then we're gonna talk about interactions amongst the branches of government. Some of y'all have heard
about checks and balances, the executive branch, the judicial branch, the legislative branch. How does all of that work together? Then, civil liberties and civil rights. What are your rights? What are other people's rights? How do we make sure that they are guarded by things like the Bill of Rights? And also more modern versions of what civil liberties and
civil rights actually mean. Then, we talk about citizenship. You might just think about citizenship as a bunch of privileges
you get as a citizen, but there's also some obligations. So think about that a little bit. And then we're gonna talk about ideologies and beliefs, politics, things like political parties, which you're probably familiar with, maybe even tired of hearing about. But it never hurts to be
armed with more information. And then, how do you
become a better participant in our democracy? The topic of political participation. And then we have a bunch of
other topics that you'll see that connect to even
more modern world topics, things that are relevant
in your everyday life. So take a journey with us
in US Government and Civics and I...One, you'll learn
a lot about the world. You'll be even more
popular at dinner parties. But even most importantly, you will know how to participate in our democracy and make
us a more perfect union.