Civics Questions

128 Civics Questions

* If you are 65 years old or older and have been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may study just the questions that have been marked with an asterisk.

During the naturalization interview, they will ask up to 20 questions from this list.

You must answer at least 12 of them correctly to pass the civics test.

Principles of American Government

Republic
Constitution-based federal republic
Representative democracy

The Constitution

Forms the government
Defines powers of government
Defines the parts of government
Protects the rights of the people

Self-government
Popular sovereignty
Consent of the governed
People should govern themselves
(Example of) social contract

Amendments
The amendment process

(The basic) rights of Americans
(The basic) rights of people living in the United States

Twenty-seven (27)

It says America is free from British control.
It says all people are created equal.
It identifies inherent rights.
It identifies individual freedoms.

Declaration of Independence

Equality
Liberty
Social contract
Natural rights
Limited government
Self-government

Declaration of Independence

Capitalism
Free market economy

Everyone must follow the law.
Leaders must obey the law.
Government must obey the law.
No one is above the law.

Declaration of Independence
Articles of Confederation
Federalist Papers
Anti-Federalist Papers
Virginia Declaration of Rights
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
Mayflower Compact
Iroquois Great Law of Peace

So one part does not become too powerful
Checks and balances
Separation of powers

System of Government

Legislative, executive, and judicial
Congress, president, and the courts

Executive branch

(U.S.) Congress
(U.S. or national) legislature
Legislative branch

The Senate and House (of Representatives)

Writes laws
Declares war
Makes the federal budget

One hundred (100)

Six (6) years

Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents and residents of U.S. territories should answer that D.C. (or the territory where the applicant lives) has no U.S. Senators.]

Four hundred thirty-five (435)

Two (2)

To more closely follow public opinion

Two (2)

Equal representation (for small states)
The Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)

Answers will vary. [Residents of territories with nonvoting Delegates or Resident Commissioners may provide the name of that Delegate or Commissioner. Also acceptable is any statement that the territory has no (voting) Representatives in Congress.]

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Citizens of their state
People of their state

Citizens from their state

Citizens in their (congressional) district
Citizens in their district
People from their (congressional) district
People in their district

Citizens from their (congressional) district

(Because of) the state’s population
(Because) they have more people
(Because) some states have more people

Four (4) years

(Because of) the 22nd Amendment
To keep the president from becoming too powerful

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The Vice President (of the United States)

Signs bills into law
Vetoes bills
Enforces laws
Commander in Chief (of the military)
Chief diplomat
Appoints federal judges

The President (of the United States)

The President (of the United States)

The President (of the United States)

The President (of the United States)

President (of the United States)
Cabinet
Federal departments and agencies

Advises the President (of the United States)

Attorney General
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Secretary of Homeland Security
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Labor
Secretary of State
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Secretary of War (Defense)
Vice-President
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator of the Small Business Administration
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Director of the Office of Management and Budget
Director of National Intelligence
United States Trade Representative

It decides who is elected president.
It provides a compromise between the popular election of the president and congressional selection.

Supreme Court
Federal Courts

Reviews laws
Explains laws
Resolves disputes (disagreements) about the law
Decides if a law goes against the (U.S.) Constitution

The Supreme Court

Nine (9)

Five (5)

(For) life
Lifetime appointment
(Until) retirement

To be independent (of politics)
To limit outside (political) influence

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Print paper money
Mint coins
Declare war
Create an army
Make treaties
Set foreign policy

Provide schooling and education
Provide protection (police)
Provide safety (fire departments)
Give a driver’s license
Approve zoning and land use

(It states that the) powers not given to the federal government belong to the states or to the people.

Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents should answer that D.C. does not have a Governor.]

Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents should answer that D.C. is not a state and does not have a capital. Residents of U.S. territories should name the capital of the territory.]

Rights and Responsibilities

Citizens eighteen (18) and older (can vote).
You don’t have to pay (a poll tax) to vote.
Any citizen can vote. (Women and men can vote.)
A male citizen of any race (can vote).

Citizens
Citizens of the United States
U.S. citizens

Freedom of expression
Freedom of speech
Freedom of assembly
Freedom to petition the government
Freedom of religion
The right to bear arms

The United States
The flag

Give up loyalty to other countries
Defend the Constitution and laws of the United States
Obey the laws of the United States
Serve in the U.S. military (if needed)
Serve (do important work for) the nation (if needed)
Be loyal to the United States

Be born in the United States, under the conditions set by the 14th Amendment
Naturalize
Derive citizenship (under conditions set by Congress)

Vote
Run for office
Join a political party
Help with a campaign
Join a civic group
Join a community group
Give an elected official your opinion (on an issue)
Contact elected officials
Support or oppose an issue or policy
Write to a newspaper

Vote
Pay taxes
Obey the law
Serve in the military
Run for office
Work for local, state, or federal government

Required by law
All people pay to fund the federal government
Required by the (U.S.) Constitution (16th Amendment)
Civic duty

Required by law
Civic duty
Makes the draft fair, if needed

Colonial Period and Inedpendence

Freedom
Political liberty
Religious freedom
Economic opportunity
Escape persecution

American Indians
Native Americans

Africans
People from Africa

American Revolution
The (American) Revolutionary War
War for (American) Independence

High taxes
Taxation without representation
British soldiers stayed in Americans’ houses (boarding, quartering)
They did not have self-government
Boston Massacre
Boston Tea Party (Tea Act)
Stamp Act
Sugar Act
Townshend Acts
Intolerable (Coercive) Acts

(Thomas) Jefferson

July 4, 1776

(Battle of) Bunker Hill
Declaration of Independence
Washington Crossing the Delaware (Battle of Trenton)
(Battle of) Saratoga
Valley Forge (Encampment)
(Battle of) Yorktown (British surrender at Yorktown)

New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Connecticut
New York
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Delaware
Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia

(U.S.) Constitution

(James) Madison
(Alexander) Hamilton
(John) Jay
Publius

They helped people understand the (U.S.) Constitution.
They supported passing the (U.S.) Constitution.

Founded the first free public libraries
First Postmaster General of the United States
Helped write the Declaration of Independence
Inventor
U.S. diplomat

“Father of Our Country”
First president of the United States
General of the Continental Army
President of the Constitutional Convention

Writer of the Declaration of Independence
Third president of the United States
Doubled the size of the United States (Louisiana Purchase)
First Secretary of State
Founded the University of Virginia
Writer of the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom

“Father of the Constitution”
Fourth president of the United States
President during the War of 1812
One of the writers of the Federalist Papers

First Secretary of the Treasury
One of the writers of the Federalist Papers
Helped establish the First Bank of the United States
Aide to General George Washington
Member of the Continental Congress

1800s

The Louisiana Territory
Louisiana

War of 1812
Mexican-American War
Civil War
Spanish-American War

The Civil War
The War between the States

(Battle of) Fort Sumter
Emancipation Proclamation
(Battle of) Vicksburg
(Battle of) Gettysburg
Sherman’s March
(Surrender at) Appomattox
(Battle of) Antietam/Sharpsburg
Lincoln was assassinated.

Freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
Saved (or preserved) the Union
Led the United States during the Civil War
16th president of the United States
Delivered the Gettysburg Address

Freed the slaves
Freed slaves in the Confederacy
Freed slaves in the Confederate states
Freed slaves in most Southern states

The Civil War

14th Amendment

After the Civil War
During Reconstruction
(With the) 15th Amendment
1870

Susan B. Anthony
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Sojourner Truth
Harriet Tubman
Lucretia Mott
Lucy Stone

Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information

World War I
World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
(Persian) Gulf War

Because Germany attacked U.S. (civilian) ships
To support the Allied Powers (England, France, Italy, and Russia)
To oppose the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria)

1920
After World War I
(With the) 19th Amendment

Longest economic recession in modern history

The Great Crash (1929)
Stock market crash of 1929

(Franklin) Roosevelt

(Bombing of) Pearl Harbor
Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
To support the Allied Powers (England, France, and Russia)
To oppose the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan)

General during World War II
President at the end of (during) the Korean War
34th president of the United States
Signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 (Created the Interstate System)

Soviet Union
USSR
Russia

Communism
Nuclear war

To stop the spread of communism

To stop the spread of communism

Fought to end racial discrimination

Fought for civil rights
Worked for equality for all Americans
Worked to ensure that people would “not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”

To force the Iraqi military from Kuwait

Terrorists attacked the United States
Terrorists took over two planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City
Terrorists took over a plane and crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia
Terrorists took over a plane originally aimed at Washington, D.C., and crashed in a field in Pennsylvania

(Global) War on Terror
War in Afghanistan
War in Iraq

Check here for a complete list of tribes

Light bulb
Automobile (cars, internal combustion engine)
Skyscrapers
Airplane
Assembly line
Landing on the moon
Integrated circuit (IC)

Symbols

Washington, D.C.

New York (Harbor)
Liberty Island [Also acceptable are New Jersey, near New York City, and on the Hudson (River).]

Because there were 13 original colonies
Because the stripes represent the original colonies

Because there is one star for each state
Because each star represents a state
Because there are 50 states

The Star-Spangled Banner

Out of many, one
We all become one

Holidays

A holiday to celebrate U.S. independence (from Britain)
The country’s birthday

New Year’s Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Presidents Day (Washington’s Birthday)
Memorial Day
Juneteenth
Independence Day
Labor Day
Columbus Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day

A holiday to honor soldiers who died in military service

A holiday to honor people in the (U.S.) military
A holiday to honor people who have served (in the U.S. military)

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Civics Questions

128 Civics Questions

1. What is the form of government of the United States?

2. What is the Supreme law of the land? *

3. Name ONE thing the U.S. Constitution does

4. The U.S. Constitution starts with the words “We the People.” What does “We the People” mean?

5. How are changes made to the U.S. Constitution?

6. What does the Bill of Rights protect?

7. How many amendments does the Constitution have? *

8. Why is the Declaration of Independence important?

9. What founding document said the American colonies were free from Britain?

10. Name TWO important ideas from the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution

11. The words “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” are in what founding document?

12. What is the economic system of the United States? *

13. What is the rule of law?

14. Many documents influenced the U.S. Constitution. Name ONE

15. There are three branches of government. Why?

16. Name the three branches of government.

17. The President of the United States is in charge of which branch of government?

18. What part of the federal government writes laws?

19. What are the TWO parts of the U.S. Congress?

20. Name one power of the U.S. Congress. *

21. How many U.S. senators are there?

22. How long is a term for a U.S. senator?

23. Who is ONE of your state's U.S. Senators now?

24. How many voting members are in the House of Representatives?

25. How long is a term for a member of the House of Representatives?

26. Why do U.S. representatives serve shorter terms than U.S. senators?

27. How many senators does each state have?

28. Why does each state have two senators?

29. Name your U.S. representative.

30. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now? *

31. Who does a U.S. Senator represent?

32. Who elects U.S. senators?

33. Who does a member of the House of Representatives represent?

34. Who elects members of the House of Representatives?

35. Some states have more representatives than other states. Why?

36. The President of the United States is elected for how many years? *

37. The President of the United States can serve only two terms. Why?

38. What is the name of the President of the United States now? *

39. What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now? *

40. If the president can no longer serve, who becomes president?

41. Name one power of the president.

42. Who is Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?

43. Who signs bills to become laws?

44. Who vetoes bills? *

45. Who appoints federal judges?

46. The executive branch has many parts. Name ONE

47. What does the President’s Cabinet do?

48. What are TWO Cabinet-level positions?

49. Why is the Electoral College important?

50. What is ONE part of the judicial branch?

51. What does the judicial branch do?

52. What is the highest court in the United States? *

53. How many seats are on the Supreme Court?

54. How many Supreme Court justices are usually needed to decide a case?

55. How long do Supreme Court justices serve?

56. Supreme Court justices serve for life. Why?

57. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?

58. Name ONE power that is only for the federal government

59. Name ONE power that is only for the states

60. What is the purpose of the 10th Amendment?

61. Who is the governor of your state now? *

62. What is the capital of your state?

63. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe ONE of them.

64. Who can vote in federal elections, run for federal office, and serve on a jury in the United States?

65. What are THREE rights of everyone living in the United States?

66. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance? *

67. Name TWO promises that new citizens make in the Oath of Allegiance.

68. How can people become United States citizens?

69. What are two examples of civic participation in the United States?

70. What is one way Americans can serve their country?

71. Why is it important to pay federal taxes?

72. It is important for all men age 18 through 25 to register for the Selective Service. Name ONE reason why.

73. The colonists came to America for many reasons. Name ONE.

74. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived? *

75. What group of people was taken and sold as slaves?

76. What war did the Americans fight to win independence from Britain?

77. Name ONE reason why the Americans declared independence from Britain.

78. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? *