100 Civics Questions and Answers for the 2008 Test with MP3 Audio (English version)

# 100 Civics Questions and Answers (2008 version) - USCIS

## A: Principles of American Democracy

1. What is the supreme law of the land?

- the Constitution

2. What does the Constitution do?

- sets up the government / defines the government / protects basic rights of Americans

3. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?

- We the People

4. What is an amendment?

- a change (to the Constitution) / an addition (to the Constitution)

5. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?

- the Bill of Rights

6. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?*

- speech / religion / assembly / press / petition the government

7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?

- twenty-seven (27)

8. What did the Declaration of Independence do?

- announced/declared our independence (from Great Britain) / said that the United States is free (from Great Britain)

9. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?

- life / liberty / pursuit of happiness

10. What is freedom of religion?

- You can practice any religion, or not practice a religion.

11. What is the economic system in the United States?*

- capitalist economy / market economy

12. What is the "rule of law"?

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

## B: System of Government

13. Name one branch or part of the government.*

- Congress / legislative — President / executive — the courts / judicial

14. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?

- checks and balances / separation of powers

15. Who is in charge of the executive branch?

- the President

16. Who makes federal laws?

- Congress / Senate and House (of Representatives) / (U.S. or national) legislature

17. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?*

- the Senate and House (of Representatives)

18. How many U.S. Senators are there?

- one hundred (100)

19. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?

- six (6)

20. Who is one of your state's U.S. Senators now?*

- Answers will vary. (D.C. và các lãnh thổ Mỹ: không có Thượng nghị sĩ)

21. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?

- four hundred thirty-five (435)

22. We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?

- two (2)

23. Name your U.S. Representative.

- Answers will vary.

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

- all people of the state

25. Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?

- (because of) the state's population / (because) they have more people

26. We elect a President for how many years?

- four (4)

27. In what month do we vote for President?*

- November

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

- (xem uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates để có đáp án hiện tại)

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

- (xem uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates để có đáp án hiện tại)

30. If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?

- the Vice President

31. If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?

- the Speaker of the House

32. Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?

- the President

33. Who signs bills to become laws?

- the President

34. Who vetoes bills?

- the President

35. What does the President's Cabinet do?

- advises the President

36. What are two Cabinet-level positions?

- Secretary of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, the Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, the Treasury, Veterans Affairs / Attorney General / Vice President

37. What does the judicial branch do?

- reviews/explains laws / resolves disputes / decides if a law goes against the Constitution

38. What is the highest court in the United States?

- the Supreme Court

39. How many justices are on the Supreme Court?

- (xem uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates)

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

- (xem uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates)

41. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?

- to print money / to declare war / to create an army / to make treaties

42. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?

- provide schooling and education / provide protection (police) / provide safety (fire departments) / give a driver's license / approve zoning and land use

43. Who is the Governor of your state now?

- Answers will vary.

44. What is the capital of your state?*

- Answers will vary.

45. What are the two major political parties in the United States?*

- Democratic and Republican

46. What is the political party of the President now?

- (xem uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates)

47. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?

- (xem uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates)

## C: Rights and Responsibilities

48. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.

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

49. What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?*

- serve on a jury / vote in a federal election

50. Name one right only for United States citizens.

- vote in a federal election / run for federal office

51. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?

- freedom of expression / freedom of speech / freedom of assembly / freedom to petition the government / freedom of religion / the right to bear arms

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

- the United States / the flag

53. What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?

- 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 the nation (if needed) / be loyal to the United States

54. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?*

- eighteen (18) and older

55. What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?

- vote / join a political party / help with a campaign / join a civic or community group / give an elected official your opinion / call Senators and Representatives / publicly support or oppose an issue / run for office / write to a newspaper

56. When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?*

- April 15

57. When must all men register for the Selective Service?

- at age eighteen (18) / between eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26)

## A: Colonial Period and Independence

58. What is one reason colonists came to America?

- freedom / political liberty / religious freedom / economic opportunity / practice their religion / escape persecution

59. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?

- American Indians / Native Americans

60. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?

- Africans / people from Africa

61. Why did the colonists fight the British?

- because of high taxes (taxation without representation) / because the British army stayed in their houses / because they didn't have self-government

62. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

- (Thomas) Jefferson

63. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

- July 4, 1776

64. There were 13 original states. Name three.

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

65. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?

- The Constitution was written. / The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution.

66. When was the Constitution written?

- 1787

67. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.

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

68. What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?

- U.S. diplomat / oldest member of the Constitutional Convention / first Postmaster General of the United States / writer of "Poor Richard's Almanac" / started the first free libraries

69. Who is the "Father of Our Country"?

- (George) Washington

70. Who was the first President?*

- (George) Washington

## B: 1800s

71. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?

- the Louisiana Territory / Louisiana

72. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.

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

73. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.

- the Civil War / the War between the States

74. Name one problem that led to the Civil War.

- slavery / economic reasons / states' rights

75. What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?*

- freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation) / saved (or preserved) the Union / led the United States during the Civil War

76. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

- freed the slaves / freed slaves in the Confederacy or Confederate states / freed slaves in most Southern states

77. What did Susan B. Anthony do?

- fought for women's rights / fought for civil rights

## C: Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information

78. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.*

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

79. Who was President during World War I?

- (Woodrow) Wilson

80. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?

- (Franklin) Roosevelt

81. Who did the United States fight in World War II?

- Japan, Germany, and Italy

82. Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?

- World War II

83. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?

- Communism

84. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?

- civil rights (movement)

85. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?*

- fought for civil rights / worked for equality for all Americans

86. What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?

- Terrorists attacked the United States.

87. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.

- Cherokee, Navajo, Sioux, Chippewa, Choctaw, Pueblo, Apache, Iroquois, Creek, Blackfeet, Seminole, Cheyenne, Arawak, Shawnee, Mohegan, Huron, Oneida, Lakota, Crow, Teton, Hopi, Inuit

## A: Geography

88. Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.

- Missouri (River) / Mississippi (River)

89. What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?

- Pacific (Ocean)

90. What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?

- Atlantic (Ocean)

91. Name one U.S. territory.

- Puerto Rico / U.S. Virgin Islands / American Samoa / Northern Mariana Islands / Guam

92. Name one state that borders Canada.

- Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Alaska

93. Name one state that borders Mexico.

- California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas

94. What is the capital of the United States?*

- Washington, D.C.

95. Where is the Statue of Liberty?*

- New York (Harbor) / Liberty Island

## B: Symbols

96. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?

- because there were 13 original colonies / because the stripes represent the original colonies

97. Why does the flag have 50 stars?*

- because there is one star for each state / because there are 50 states

98. What is the name of the national anthem?

- The Star-Spangled Banner

## C: Holidays

99. When do we celebrate Independence Day?*

- July 4

100. Name two national U.S. holidays.

- New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas