5: More Than Casting a Vote: True Civic Responsibility in a Democracy

In exploring America’s maturing democratic concepts and ideals, the authors begin with an examination of the country’s mores revealed in its documents. In doing so, Epps and Harper identify three individual and community civic responsibilities in the American democracy—voting, participation, and discourse—which help forge an indivisible relationship with their countrymen and within the country. While navigating from the early democracy elements of conceptualization and identification to the modern democratic quality of guardianship, the authors provide suggestions for educators and learners to foster democracy in their communities and the country. More Than Casting a Vote: True Civic Responsibility in a Democracy ends with collaborative engagements on the country’s founding documents, legislative actions, the role of children and young adults in America’s democracy, presidential impeachments, and 20th century and 21st century legislation, executive actions, and U.S. Supreme Court decisions.