This ninth-grade civics class was the basis for all my knowledge of our government. That class was many, many years ago, but I remember so much of it. I feel that every school child should have this type of lesson. How else can we be knowledgeable citizens and elect the right people to represent us? We need to know our Rights, but we also need to learn how we should behave as citizens. What are our responsibilities? It’s a two-way street.
What is Civics
Civics, according to the dictionary, deals with the rights and duties of citizens, as opposed to history which only deals with events that have already happened. With history class, we are faced with tons of dates to memorize, but with civics, we learn how our government is built and why.
My Civics class dealt with the foundation of the United States by the Constitution, which was established in 1776. This year, 2026, is the semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary. To think I have been here more than one-third of that time is awesome. And to be able to remember so much of the growth, events, and changes is more than awesome.
The Constitution begins with the Preamble. “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.”
Please note that there are two typos – the word “insure” should be ensure, and the word “defence” should be spelled defense. Also, it provides for defense, not aggression.
The Constitution originally contains only seven Articles, which were set out in only two or three pages. This original document defined the foundational structure of the federal government. Since that time, 27 amendments have been added to the original Document. Amendments (changes) can be added through a legal process beginning in the House of Representatives. These Amendments must be ratified by two-thirds of the states in order to be added.
How and when were these additional Amendments added and why? Now, we are talking a bit about History.
The Amendments must be originated by Congress and then ratified by 2/3’s of the states. The first ten Amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. It is here that we find our right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Our trial by a jury with our presumption of innocence until proven guilty. In addition, here are some additional amendments.
- The Bill of Rights (Amendments 1-10 and 27)
- The 13th Amendment (Prohibiting Slavery)
- The 16th Amendment (Establish the Federal Income Tax)
- The 17th Amendment (Direct Election of Senators)
- The 18th Amendment (Prohibition of Alcohol)
- The 19th Amendment (Granting Women the Right to Vote) 19203
- The 21st Amendment (Repeal of the 18th)
- The 26th Amendment (gave 18-year-olds the right to vote) 1971
The 27th Amendment and final one to date, addressed compensation (salary) of members of Congress and this was ratified in 1992.
To add an Amendment to the Constitution, the proposed Amendment must be initiated in the House of Representatives and then passed to the Senate for approval. Once approved, it is sent to each of the Governors of the States for ratification. Approval can be done by the State’s legislature or by a convention. The result is sent to the Archivist, who then conveys it to the Director of the Federal Register, who retains it until the Amendment is either adopted or fails. To be adopted it must be approved by three-fourths of the states for it to pass. This must be done within the time frame set by Congress and this amounts to approval by 38 states total.
Notable Amendments That Failed Ratification
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a prominent example of an amendment that failed due to the expiration of its time limit, despite securing significant support. The ERA, which sought to guarantee equality of rights under the law regardless of sex, was proposed by Congress in 1972 with a seven-year deadline for ratification. By the initial deadline of March 22, 1979, the amendment had been ratified by 35 of the required 38 states, falling three states short. Congress subsequently voted to extend the deadline until June 30, 1982, but no additional states ratified the ERA during this extended period. Did your state approve it? Were they one of the states that didn’t respond?
The Child Labor Amendment, proposed in 1924, would have granted Congress the power to regulate the labor of persons under eighteen years of age. This measure was a response to Supreme Court rulings that had struck down federal child labor laws. Although the amendment faced strong opposition from business interests and did not contain a time limit, its ratification effort effectively ended in the 1930s, leaving it short of the required state approvals.
The Structure of the Federal Government
The United States Constitution establishes the framework of American government through its seven articles, creating three branches with distinct powers: legislative (Congress), executive (President), and judicial (Supreme Court).
President (Executive branch)
A candidate for the United States President must be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years of age, and a resident within the US for 14 years. The President is elected to a four-year term. Amendment 22 (ratified in 1951, passed by Congress in 1947 ) states that the President may only serve two terms. This requirement is set forth in the second Article of the Constitution.
Congress (Legislative branch) which consists of the Senate and House of Representatives
Senate
There are currently 50 members in the Senate – Two for each state. A member must be at least 30 years of age and must be a U S resident 9 years and a resident in the state where they are elected. They are elected for a six-year term and server the entire state. The election of the two senators is staggered so only one re-election occurs at a time. All citizens within the state may vote for any senatorial candidate.
House of Representatives
There are currently 435 members in the House of Representatives. A member must be at least 25 years of age and must be a resident of the state they represent for 7 years.
The representatives are elected for two year terms. That seems like a very short time for a person to learn “the ropes” to get anything done. The members work in committees and may be re-elected. There is no term limits. So there are many familiar names that have been re-elected for years and years.
Each state has an unique number of representatives based upon population. Smaller states have only one representative. Seven states have only one -Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.
Arizona, my state, has nine representatives – Five Republican and Four Democratic, at this time. The state is divided into Congressional Districts and, unlike the Senate, only members of a given District can vote for that candidate. California has the most with 52 seats.
Supreme Court (Judicial branch)
Members of the U S Supreme Court are nominated by the President and must be confirmed by the Senate. They serve for life. There are currently nine justices, one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices, however there has been talk of increasing that.
Each state has a Supreme Court that governs over matters within their own state. The U S Supreme Court serves above them and has final decision on matters.
Checks and Balances between the Branches of the Government
The Constitution outlines the checks and balances between the Branches to ensure no one has too much power. It is designed to maintain a Balance between all, with no one having overall power. The Founders wanted a system where the government could act—and yet would be limited. The Constitution divides power among the three branches.
Know Your Civics
Knowing the basics of the Constitution and how it defines our government is the responsibility of every citizen. And we, as citizens, must be sure that the government is operating according to the Constitution in order to keep the country strong and peaceful. We do this first by attempting to elect qualified and honest people to the various roles. Secondly, we should be vocal about abuses of power. Write to your Congressmen when something seems wrong. Make your voice heard.