All 2008 Civics Test Questions
100 official questions and their accepted answers, straight from USCIS.
American Government
- 1. What is the supreme law of the land?
- 2. What does the Constitution do?
- 3. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
- 4. What is an amendment?
- 5. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
- 6. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?65/20 list
- 7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
- 8. What did the Declaration of Independence do?
- 9. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?
- 10. What is freedom of religion?
- 11. What is the economic system in the United States?65/20 list
- 12. What is the "rule of law"?
- 13. Name one branch or part of the government.65/20 list
- 14. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
- 15. Who is in charge of the executive branch?
- 16. Who makes federal laws?
- 17. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?65/20 list
- 18. How many U.S. Senators are there?
- 19. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
- 20. Who is one of your state's U.S. Senators now?65/20 list
- 21. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
- 22. We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?
- 23. Name your U.S. Representative.
- 24. Who does a U.S. Senator represent?
- 25. Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?
- 26. We elect a President for how many years?
- 27. In what month do we vote for President?65/20 list
- 28. What is the name of the President of the United States now?65/20 list
- 29. What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?
- 30. If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
- 31. If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
- 32. Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?
- 33. Who signs bills to become laws?
- 34. Who vetoes bills?
- 35. What does the President's Cabinet do?
- 36. What are two Cabinet-level positions?
- 37. What does the judicial branch do?
- 38. What is the highest court in the United States?
- 39. How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
- 40. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?
- 41. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?
- 42. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?
- 43. Who is the Governor of your state now?
- 44. What is the capital of your state?65/20 list
- 45. What are the two major political parties in the United States?65/20 list
- 46. What is the political party of the President now?
- 47. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?
- 48. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
- 49. What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?65/20 list
- 50. Name one right only for United States citizens.
- 51. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?
- 52. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?
- 53. What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
- 54. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?65/20 list
- 55. What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?
- 56. When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?65/20 list
- 57. When must all men register for the Selective Service?
American History
- 58. What is one reason colonists came to America?
- 59. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
- 60. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
- 61. Why did the colonists fight the British?
- 62. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
- 63. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
- 64. There were 13 original states. Name three.
- 65. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
- 66. When was the Constitution written?
- 67. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
- 68. What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?
- 69. Who is the "Father of Our Country"?
- 70. Who was the first President?65/20 list
- 71. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
- 72. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
- 73. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
- 74. Name one problem that led to the Civil War.
- 75. What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?65/20 list
- 76. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
- 77. What did Susan B. Anthony do?
- 78. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.65/20 list
- 79. Who was President during World War I?
- 80. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
- 81. Who did the United States fight in World War II?
- 82. Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?
- 83. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?
- 84. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
- 85. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?65/20 list
- 86. What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?
- 87. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
Integrated Civics
- 88. Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.
- 89. What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?
- 90. What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?
- 91. Name one U.S. territory.
- 92. Name one state that borders Canada.
- 93. Name one state that borders Mexico.
- 94. What is the capital of the United States?65/20 list
- 95. Where is the Statue of Liberty?65/20 list
- 96. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
- 97. Why does the flag have 50 stars?65/20 list
- 98. What is the name of the national anthem?
- 99. When do we celebrate Independence Day?65/20 list
- 100. Name two national U.S. holidays.