Civil Civics with Lincoln Library: 2026 Fall Film Series

This week, participants will watch and discuss Episode 3, "Forever Foreigners," and Episode 8, "When Women Lost Citizenship Through Marriage" of "Forgotten America: Rediscovering Events that Shaped the Nation."

Debates over "birthright citizenship" and exactly what that means are nothing new; they date back to the post-Civil War era when the amendments were originally ratified. Questions about "who gets to be an American" seem never seem to be definitively decided. Similarly, laws governing immigration always leave some people infuriated, and others ignored.

Can an immigrant ever be "a real American"? Are women citizens no matter what, as long as they are born here? What about Native Americans?