Under early U.S. laws, African Americans were not eligible for citizenship. In 1857, these laws were passed in Dred Scott v. Sandford, who ruled that “a free negro of African race, whose ancestors were brought to this country and sold as slaves, is not a `citizen` within the meaning of the United States Constitution” and that “the special rights and immunities guaranteed to citizens do not apply to them.” [28] How citizenship is understood depends on who makes the decision. The relationship of citizenship has never been fixed or static, but it is constantly changing in all societies. Although citizenship has varied considerably throughout history and within societies over time, there are some common elements, but they also vary widely. As a bond, citizenship goes beyond basic kinship ties to unite people from different genetic backgrounds. This usually means membership in a political body. It is often based on or was the result of some form of military service or the expectation of future service. This usually involves some form of political participation, but it can range from symbolic actions to active government service. A citizen is a participatory member of a political community. Citizenship is acquired by meeting the legal requirements of a national, state or local government. A nation grants its citizens certain rights and privileges.

In return, citizens are required to obey the laws of their country and defend it against its enemies. At that time, members of the nobility had a number of privileges over citizens (see aristocracy), although political upheavals and reforms, which began mainly with the French Revolution, abolished privileges and created an egalitarian concept of citizenship. Citizenship is a status in society. It is also an ideal condition. It usually describes a person with legal rights within a particular political order. It almost always has an element of exclusion, which means that some people are not citizens and that this distinction can sometimes be very important or not, depending on a particular society. Citizenship as a concept is generally difficult to isolate intellectually and compare to related political notions, as it refers to many other aspects of society such as family, military service, individual, freedom, religion, ideas of good and evil, ethnicity, and patterns of how a person should behave in society. [21] While there are many different groups within a nation, citizenship may be the only real bond that unites everyone on an equal footing without discrimination – it is a “broad bond” that connects “a person to the state” and gives people a universal identity as a legal member of a particular nation. [42] National Socialism, a German variant of twentieth-century fascism, classified the country`s inhabitants into three broad hierarchical categories, each with different rights in relation to the state: citizens, subjects, and foreigners.

The first category, citizens, should have all civil rights and obligations. Citizenship was granted only to men of German (or so-called “Aryan”) origin who had performed their military service and could be revoked by the state at any time. The Reich Citizenship Act of 1935 established racial criteria for citizenship in the German Reich, and because of this law, Jews and others who could not “prove” German racial heritage were stripped of their citizenship. [38] The Constitution of Revolutionary Russia of 1918 granted citizenship to all foreigners living in Russia as long as they were “engaged in work and belonged to the working class.” [34] It recognized “the equal rights of all citizens, regardless of their racial or national affiliations,” stating that the oppression of a minority or race “violates the fundamental laws of the Republic.” The 1918 Constitution also established the right to vote and vote in the Soviets for men and women “regardless of religion, nationality, place of residence, etc… who will have reached the age of eighteen on election day. [35] Subsequent constitutions of the USSR would grant universal Soviet citizenship to citizens of all member republics[36][37] in accordance with the principles of non-discrimination enshrined in the original Constitution of Russia of 1918. 5 Step 1 Come legally to the United States and live there for 5 years. (Only 3 years if you are married to a U.S. citizen) In general, the fundamental rights that usually result from citizenship are the right to a passport, the right to leave and return to the country or countries that have citizenship, the right to live and work in that country. In 1921, Canada departed from the principle of nationality, which was defined in terms of loyalty. In 1935, the Irish Free State was the first to introduce its own citizenship. However, Irish citizens were still treated as subjects of the Crown, and they are still not considered foreigners, even though Ireland is not a member of the Commonwealth.

[52] The Canadian Citizenship Act of 1947 provided for independent Canadian citizenship, which was automatically granted to most Canadian-born persons, with a few exceptions, and defined the conditions under which a person could be naturalized. The concept of Commonwealth citizenship was introduced in 1948 into the British Nationality Act 1948. Other dominions have adopted this principle, such as New Zealand, through the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948. Citizenship generally refers to belonging to the nation-state, but the term can also be applied at the subnational level. Subnational entities may impose residency or other requirements that allow citizens to participate in the political life of that institution or to benefit from the benefits granted by the government of that institution. But in such cases, the beneficiaries are sometimes also considered “citizens” of the respective state, province or region. For example, the fundamental basis of Swiss citizenship is the citizenship of a single municipality, from which results the citizenship of a canton and the Confederation. Another example is Åland, where the inhabitants enjoy a special provincial citizenship in Finland, hembygdsrätt. Living in a country does not mean that a person is necessarily a citizen of that country. Citizens of a country who live in a foreign country are called foreigners. Their rights and obligations are governed by political treaties and by the laws of the country in which they reside.

In the United States, foreigners must obey the laws and pay taxes, just like American citizens. You must register with the U.S. government to obtain legal permission to stay for an extended period of time. Legal aliens have the right to legal protection and the use of the courts. You can also own property, do business, and attend public schools. But foreigners cannot vote or hold government positions.