Citizenship Exam

100 questions

What is the supreme law of the land?  

the Constitution

What does the Constitution do?  

• sets up the government  

• defines the government  

• protects basic rights of Americans 

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

We the People 

What is an amendment?  

• a change (to the Constitution) 

 • an addition (to the Constitution) 

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

the Bill of Rights 

What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?

• speech  

• religion  

• assembly  

• press 

 • petition the government 

How many amendments does the Constitution have? 

twenty-seven (27) 

What did the Declaration of Independence do?  

 • announced our independence (from Great Britain)  

• declared our independence (from Great Britain) 

 • said that the United States is free (from Great Britain) 

What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?  

• life

• liberty

• pursuit of happiness 

 What is freedom of religion? 

you can practice any religion or not practice a religion. 

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. 

Name one branch or part of the government.

• Congress

• legislative

• President

• executive

• the courts

• judicial 

What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?  

• checks and balances

• separation of powers 

Who is in charge of the executive branch?  

the President 

Who makes federal laws? 

 • Congress

• Senate and House (of Representatives)

• (U.S. or national) legislature  

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

the Senate and House (of Representatives) 

How many U.S. Senators are there?  

one hundred (100) 

Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators now?

• Josh Hawley (Missouri) 

• Eric Schmitt 

The House of Representatives has how many voting members?

• four hundred thirty-five (435) 

Name your U.S. Representative 

• Eric Burlison

Who does a U.S. Senator represent?  

• all people of the state 

Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?

 • (because of) the state’s population 

 • (because) they have more people 

 • (because) some states have more people 

We elect a President for how many years?  

four (4) 

What is the name of the President of the United States now?

President Donald Trump 

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

JD Vance 

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

the Vice President

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

the Speaker of the House

Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?

the President 

Who signs bills to become laws?

The president 

Who vetoes bills?  

the President 

What does the President’s Cabinet do?

advises the President 

What does the judicial branch do?  

• reviews laws

• explains laws

• resolves disputes (disagreements)

• decides if a law goes against the Constitution 

What is the highest court in the United States? 

the Supreme Court 

How many justices are on the Supreme Court? 

9 

Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?

John G. Roberts 

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 

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 

Who is the Governor of your state now?

Mike Kehoe(Missouri) 

What is the capital of your state? 

Jefferson City 

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

Mike Johnson 

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. (Women and men can vote.)

• A male citizen of any race (can vote). 

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 

How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?

eighteen (18) and older

When must all men register for the Selective Service? 

at age eighteen (18)

• between eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26) 

What is one reason colonists came to America? 

 • freedom

• political liberty

• religious freedom

• economic opportunity

• practice their religion

• escape persecution 

Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived? 

• American Indians

• Native Americans 

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

• Africans

• people from Africa 

Why did the colonists fight the British? 

 • because of high taxes (taxation without representation)

• because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering)

• because they didn’t have self-government 

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? 

Thomas Jefferson 

What happened at the Constitutional Convention? 

 • The Constitution was written.

• The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution. 

When was the Constitution written? 

1787

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 library 

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

• (James) Madison

• (Alexander) Hamilton

• (John) Jay

• Publius 

Who is the “Father of Our Country”? 

(George) Washington 

Who was the first President?

(George) Washington

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

• the Louisiana Territory

• Louisiana 

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

• War of 1812

• Mexican-American War

• Civil War

• Spanish-American War 

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

• the Civil War

• the War between the States 

Name one problem that led to the Civil War. 

 • slavery

• economic reasons

• states’ rights 

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 

What did the Emancipation Proclamation do? 

• freed the slaves

• freed slaves in the Confederacy

• freed slaves in the Confederate states

• freed slaves in most Southern states 

What did Susan B. Anthony do?  

  • fought for women’s rights

• fought for civil rights 

Who was President during World War I? 

(Woodrow) Wilson

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

(Franklin) Roosevelt

Who did the United States fight in World War II? 

Japan, Germany, and Italy

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

World War II 

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

Communism

What movement tried to end racial discrimination?  

civil rights (movement) 

What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?

 • fought for civil rights

• worked for equality for all Americans 

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

Terrorists attacked the United States

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 

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

• Missouri (River)

• Mississippi (River) 

Name one U.S. territory.

 • Puerto Rico

• U.S. Virgin Islands

• American Samoa

• Northern Mariana Islands

• Guam 

Where is the Statue of Liberty?

• New York (Harbor)

• Liberty Island 

What is the name of the national anthem?  

The Star-Spangled Banner