Citizenship in the Nation | Merit Badge Courses

Important Notes:

Pre-work is required. Be prepared to discuss your completed work during the class.
If pre-work is not completed and discussed, you will not receive your Blue Card, as the requirements will not be met.

There are some prerequisites that you need to finish before coming to the online session.

Zoom Link: Scouts will attend the online zoom session using a zoom link sent to the email address you used to register. If you don't see that email check your spam and junk folder.

Step 2: To receive your blue card, Scouts must complete the Online Classroom located here: https://form.jotform.com/223374642541151

Step 3: Some Merit Badge Requirements must be completed beforehand. Please read below for the prerequisites

Merit Badge Prerequisites:

Requirement #4: PREREQUISITE

Discuss the importance of:

a) Declaration of Independence

b) The Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution) and the 14th Amendment

c) The traditional United States motto "E Pluribus Unum".

Preparation:
This requirement will be completed during the session. Please be prepared to share your thoughts on the following questions:

Declaration of Independence
- Why do you think the Declaration of Independence is important?
The Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution) and the 14th Amendment
- Why do you think the Bill of RIghts is important?
- Why do you think the 14th Amendment is important?
The traditional United States motto "E Pluribus Unum".
- Why do you think the traditional United States motto is important?

Reminder:
We expect responses from each of you during the discussion, so take some time to think about these questions in advance. Brief answers are fine but should reflect your understanding and perspective.

Requirement #5: PREREQUISITE

Watch the national evening news for five days in a row or read the main stories in a national media organization (e.g., a newspaper or news website) for five days in a row. Discuss the national issues that you learned about with your counselor. Choose one issue and explain how it affects you, your family, and your community.

Preparation:
This requirement will be discussed during the session. Examples of National Evening news ABC News, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, PBS NewsHour, CNN Newsroom, and Fox News Report. Please watch the new five days in a row before the online session. Please be prepared to share your thoughts on the following questions:

What national issues did you learn about?
What are some possible solutions or actions that national leaders could take to address this issue?

Requirement #6:

With your counselor's approval, choose a speech of national historical importance.

Explain: Choose a sentence or two from the speech that has significant meaning to you, and tell your counselor why.

a) Who the author was

b) What the historical context was

c) What difficulties the nation faced that the author wished to discuss

d) What the author said

e) Why the speech is important to the nation's history.

Submit by: You will complete this on your own in the online classroom.

Approved Speeches:

"Gettysburg Address" - Abraham Lincoln
"I Have a Dream" - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Inaugural Address - John F. Kennedy
First Inaugural Address - Franklin D. Roosevelt
War Message ("A Date which Will Live in Infamy") - Franklin D. Roosevelt
Keynote Speech to the Democratic National Convention - Barbara Jordan
"My Side of the Story" ("Checkers") - Richard M. Nixon
"The Ballot or the Bullet" - Malcolm X
Address to the Nation on the Challenger Disaster - Ronald Reagan
Speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association - John F. Kennedy
Address to Congress on the Voting Rights Act ("We Shall Overcome") - Lyndon B. Johnson
Keynote Speech to the Democratic National Convention ("A Tale of Two Cities") - Mario Cuomo
Speech at the Democratic National Convention ("The Rainbow Coalition") - Jesse Jackson
Statement on the Articles of Impeachment - Barbara Jordan
Farewell Address to Congress ("Old Soldiers Never Die") - Douglas MacArthur
"I've Been to the Mountaintop" - Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The Man with the Muckrake" - Theodore Roosevelt
Statement on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Robert F. Kennedy
Gettysburg Address - Abraham Lincoln
Inaugural Address - George Washington
Moon Landing- John F. Kennedy

Requirement #7:

Do TWO of the following:

a) Visit a place that is listed as a National Historic Landmark or that is on the National Register of Historic Places. Tell your counselor what you learned about the landmark or site and what you found interesting about it.

National Historic Landmarks Program: https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1582/index.htm

b) Tour your state capitol building or the U.S. Capitol. Tell your counselor what you learned about the capitol, its function, and the history.

c) Tour a federal facility. Explain to your counselor what you saw there and what you learned about its function in the local community and how it serves this nation.

d) Choose a national monument that interests you. Using books, brochures, the internet (with your parent's permission), and other resources, find out more about the monument. Tell your counselor what you learned, and explain why the monument is important to this country's citizens.

Submit by: You will complete this on your own in the online classroom.

Requirement #8:

Name your representatives in the United States Congress. Write a letter to your representative in Congress explaining your views on a national issue. Show your letter, along with any response you might receive, to your counselor.

Submit by: Fill out the answers and submit your letter in the online classroom. You will complete this on your own.

How to submit completed work:

Use the Online Classroom: https://form.jotform.com/223374642541151
The online classroom does not auto-save work.
You need to hit the save button to save a draft.
Saved Drafts are auto-deleted after 2 months so save your work in your own WORD doc or Google Doc and copy and paste into the online classroom.
Scouts have three months to complete this.

Blue Cards:

Upon submitting work in the online classroom and approval from our merit badge counselor, Scouts will be issued a digital blue card signed by our merit badge counselor. This can be done with a digital PDF or signed on Scoutbook.com

Camera Requirement

All participants MUST have their cameras on during online sessions.
If you are unable to turn your camera on, you will not be allowed to stay in the session and will need to rebook at your parent/guardian's expense.

Increased Prerequisites

Additional prerequisites will be introduced to enhance discussions during class requirements. Participants should come prepared to actively share their answers during the session.

Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge Requirements

1. What is the Constitution of the United States? What does the Constitution do? What principles does it reflect? Why is it important to have a Constitution?

2. List the six purposes for creating the United States Constitution set forth in the Preamble to the Constitution. How do these purposes affect your family and community?

3. List the three branches of the United States government. Explain:

(a) The function of each branch of government
(b) Why it is important to divide powers among different branches
(c) How each branch "checks" and "balances" the others
(d) How citizens can be involved in each branch of government.

4. Discuss the importance of:

(a) Declaration of Independence
(b) Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution) and the 14th Amendment
(c) "E Pluribus Unum," the traditional United States motto.

5. Watch the national evening news for five days in a row or read the main stories in a national media organization (e.g., a newspaper or news website) for five days in a row. Discuss the national issues that you learned about with your counselor. Choose one issue and explain how it affects you, your family, and community.

6. With your counselor's approval, choose a speech of national historical importance. Explain:

(a) Who the author was
(b) What the historical context was
(c) What difficulties the nation faced that the author wished to discuss
(d) What the author said
(e) Why the speech is important to the nation's history.
(f) Choose a sentence or two from the speech that has significant meaning to you, and tell your counselor why.

7. Do TWO of the following:

(a) Visit a place that is listed as a National Historic Landmark or that is on the National Register of Historic Places. Tell your counselor what you learned about the landmark or site and what you found interesting about it.
(b) Tour your state capitol building or the U.S. Capitol. Tell your counselor what you learned about the capitol, its function, and the history.
(c) Tour a federal facility. Explain to your counselor what you saw there and what you learned about its function in the local community and how it serves this nation.
(d) Choose a national monument that interests you. Using books, brochures, the Internet (with your parent or guardian's permission), and other resources, find out more about the monument. Tell your counselor what you learned, and explain why the monument is important to this country's citizens.

8. Name your representatives in the United States Congress. Write a letter to your representative in Congress explaining your views on a national issue. Show your letter, along with any response you receive, to your counselor.

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