 The Citizen’s Almanac is a publication presented by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for new citizens. |
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Washington -- On the cover of The
Citizen’s Almanac, an immigrant couple and their
son stand on the deck of an ocean liner looking out at New
York Harbor. The boy is pointing to Ellis Island and the Statue
of Liberty in the distance.
The almanac is a new publication that will
be presented to the roughly 700,000 people each year who
take the Oath of Allegiance to become U.S. citizens. It
includes the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution,
President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation
freeing the slaves in 1863 and other fundamental documents
of American democracy.
It is the place to look if you want to know
the words to the national anthem, Lincoln’s Gettysburg
Address or Walt Whitman’s poem I Hear America
Singing. There are also summaries of landmark U.S.
Supreme Court decisions, historically significant speeches
and a discussion of the rights and responsibilities of a
U.S. citizen.
“The Citizen’s Almanac
is a collection of America’s most cherished symbols
of freedom and liberty,” according to U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS), which released the handbook
April 17 and will provide it to every new citizen.
Mila and Alfred Tecson found the 112-page
almanac on their chairs when they entered the Benjamin Franklin
Room at the Department of State April 23 to be sworn in
as citizens at a special ceremony hosted by Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice. (See related
article.)
The Tecsons emigrated from the Philippines
with their two children, Hannah and Justin, in 1998. They
have a thriving real estate business in Virginia, and Alfred
Tecson also is an immigration lawyer.
Alfred Tecson said it is a “good idea
to give [the almanac] to every new citizen. This should
start their involvement in the affairs of the country, so
they can be an active participant and not just a bystander.”
He had only had time to skim it, he told
USINFO two days after the naturalization ceremony,
“but I really want to find time to read it and discuss
it with my children.” He said he brought Hannah and
Justin to the April 23 ceremony to make sure they understood
its significance, “even though they had to skip school."
"I hope they learned something they
wouldn’t learn in school,” he said.
Alfred Tecson also mentioned that he has
a framed copy of the Declaration of Independence in his
home office. “That’s the lawyer in me,”
he said.
The first group of new citizens to receive
the almanac got a copy autographed by Lynne Cheney, wife
of the vice president, at a special naturalization ceremony
April 17 at the National Archives, the repository of the
Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
The almanac “is a treasure, full of
information on basic American documents, as well as classic
speeches, songs, and poetry marking important events in
our national life,” Cheney said.
“It takes work to create a country
and work to keep a country, and part of that work lies in
appreciating our history -- and it is our history, whether
our ancestors were here or not in the early days,”
she said.
Alfred Tecson said he appreciates The
Citizen’s Almanac because “it talks about
the U.S. government and history, and helps you learn about
the new country that we call home. It helps us become aware
of our responsibilities as well.”
The full
text (PDF, 6.5MB) of The Citizen’s Almanac
is available on the USCIS Web site. A transcript
of Cheney’s remarks at the April 17 naturalization
ceremony is available on the White House Web site.
For more stories about U.S. society, see
Population
and Diversity.
Louise Fenner
USINFO Staff Writer
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