Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge

What this page is

The Citizenship in the Nation merit badge, laid out so you can see what needs arranging and what can simply be read. It is not a copy of the requirements: each step is a short label with a link to the official requirements, which are what actually governs and which change from year to year.

How a merit badge is earned at all is a separate page, How to Earn a Merit Badge.

Start requirement 5 today

Five days of national news in a row. Not five days over a fortnight, in a row. It is the only requirement here with a clock attached, it costs nothing to begin, and a Scout who leaves it until last adds a week to the badge for no reason.

Where you choose

Requirement 7 asks for two of four, and three of the four mean going somewhere: a National Historic Landmark or a site on the National Register, a capitol building, or a federal facility. The fourth is researched from home. Answer the question above the plan and the two you are not doing come off your list; answer nothing and you see all four, marked as possibly not applying.

The two that need somebody else

Requirement 8 needs a letter to your member of Congress and whatever reply comes back, shown to your counselor. Offices reply on their own schedule, so write early. Requirement 6 needs your counselor to approve the speech before you analyse it: approval first, work second.