You have a chance to look at real petitions that other Americans have started. The petitions support certain causes they believe in.
What cause / petition would you start?
SEPTEMBER 11, 2015
By Brenda Iasevoli
“We the People.” So begins the U.S. Constitution. The four-page document outlines the rules of our government. Those three little words hold power.
One way to exercise that power is to petition the government. Americans have been doing this for years. In 1874, suffragist Susan B. Anthony asked Congress to cancel a fine she got for voting in the 1872 presidential election. (Women didn’t get voting rights until 1920.)
Take It Online
Early petitions were signed by hand. Today, there’s a simpler way to make your voice heard. Post your cause online at petitions.whitehouse.gov (see “Have Your Say”).
“You have to wait for an election to vote,” Jason Goldman told TFK. He is in charge of online petitions at the White House. “A petition can happen anytime and get the president’s attention at once,” he says.
President Barack Obama began allowing online petitions in 2011. Most of the requests are serious. They ask the government to help cure diseases, or to allow more people to become citizens.
So far, the White House has responded to 275 petitions that have collected millions of signatures. One petition led to a new law, signed by the president in 2014. It gives buyers more control over their cell-phone providers.
“America was made by people who took steps to help future generations,” Goldman says. “[The website] continues the tradition of serving the American people.”
Have Your Say
Anyone 13 or older can take action. These are the steps.
1.) Go to petitions.whitehouse.gov. Read the petitions. If you see one you support, sign it. If not, go to step 2.
2.) Start a petition. Finish this sentence: “We believe the Obama administration should . . .” Then collect signatures.
3.) Hear back from the White House. You will get an answer if you get 100,000 signatures in 30 days.
To access the digital edition of TIME For Kids, go to timeforkids.com/digital.