The Evolution of Citizenship essays

The Evolution of Citizenship essays As citizens living in the 21st century, we take for granted the rights and freedoms we have. We dont think about and cherish the freedoms and rights we have as citizens, which many people had to fight for. Citizenship today has changed from that almost 300 years ago. The concept of citizenship is a fairly recent invention. Being a citizen use to mean you had to do whatever the government ordered you to do, which for most people was pay outrageous taxes. This changed in the 1700s when John Locke when he had the idea that individuals should be put ahead of the government and that citizens have the right to life, liberty, and the protection of property. John Lockes ideas served as a reason for future revolutions. The next revolution that had a big impact on citizenship was the Industrial revolution (1750 1900). This led not only to the rise of organized labor, but the rights of employees. Employers were giving their employees shorter work hours, and benefits for their families. Both the Apartheid (1980s) and the Civil rights movement (1960s) helped improve the rights and freedoms for blacks all over the world. Also in 1982 we had the Constitution Act in Canada. The constitution outlined the rules of how the government (federal and provincial) should operate. The Constitution Act also included the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. For that last century we have had many rights and freedoms (the BNA Act) but for the first time in our history there are written down and protected by this constitution. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the ending point for the rights that we now have as a Canadian citizen. As you can see, citizenship is actually a fairly recent invention and we have many people in history to thank for the rights and freedoms we now have as Canadian citizens. ...