What is a responsible citizen?

A responsible citizen is someone who obeys the laws, votes in elections, pays taxes, serves on juries when called, and respects the rights and beliefs of others. The USCIS Citizen's Almanac and the official 128 civics question study materials describe responsible citizenship as a combination of legal duties and broader civic habits that sustain democracy.

The legal duties include obeying federal, state, and local laws; paying federal income taxes by April 15 each year; registering for Selective Service if a male between eighteen and twenty-five; serving on a jury when summoned by a court; and supporting and defending the Constitution. The broader habits include voting in federal, state, and local elections; staying informed about issues that affect the community; participating in the democratic process through campaigns, town halls, and public comment; respecting the rights of fellow citizens; and contributing to the common good through volunteer service or public service.

Responsible citizenship has deep roots in American political thought. Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1789 that whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government. James Madison in Federalist No. 51 observed that ambition must be made to counteract ambition, recognizing that government depended on engaged citizens to keep it in check. Theodore Roosevelt's 1910 Sorbonne address, often called The Man in the Arena, emphasized that credit belongs to the citizen who actually strives to do the deeds. John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural call to ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country distilled the same idea for a new generation.

Concrete examples of responsible citizenship include voting in every election, attending school board meetings, participating in jury service without seeking exemption, paying taxes accurately and on time, volunteering at a neighborhood food bank, mentoring young people, helping immigrants navigate the naturalization process, donating blood, organizing or joining community improvement efforts, and respecting cultural and religious diversity. Many Americans serve in the armed forces, as elected officials, in police and fire departments, in public schools, and in nonprofit organizations as forms of expanded civic engagement. Naturalization candidates take on the formal duties of citizenship at the Oath of Allegiance ceremony, when they swear to support and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States, and they often add to that the daily habits that make democracy work.