Becoming a Citizen
1On a June morning in a federal courthouse in the made-up city of Linden Falls, 48 people from 21 countries stand, raise their right hands and take the Oath of Allegiance. Each one has been a lawful permanent resident of the United States, usually for at least five years, and has passed a test of English and of U.S. history and government. When the oath ends, they are citizens. Citizens 18 and older, women and men, may vote in federal elections, serve on juries and run for most offices. They are expected to obey the laws, pay taxes and serve on a jury when called.
2Ancient Athens rarely welcomed newcomers this way. After a law of 451 BCE, a person was a citizen only if both parents came from Athenian citizen families. At 18, a young man was added to the citizen list of his deme, or local district, after its members checked his age and his parents. Making an outsider a citizen took a special vote of the Assembly, and such grants were rare. One famous exception was the people of Plataea, loyal allies whose city had been destroyed in war.
3Rome was more open. Slaves freed by Roman citizens usually became citizens, and Rome granted citizenship to whole towns and, after about 88 BCE, to most free people in Italy. A citizen could vote in Rome's assemblies, make contracts and marry under Roman law, and appeal against a harsh punishment by an official. By law he could not be flogged without a trial. Citizen men served in the army. After about 6 CE, citizens also paid a tax of 5 percent on large inheritances, a tax other free people did not pay.
4Even around 200 CE, citizens were only part of the free people in Rome's huge empire. Then, in 212 CE, Emperor Caracalla gave citizenship to nearly all free people living in it. Historians agree that this changed the lives of millions. They do not agree on why he did it, because the two main accounts disagree.