CIVIC TEST

Term 1: What is the supreme law of the Land?
Definition 1: The Constitution
Term 2: What does the Constitution do?
Definition 2: Sets up the government, defines the government, and protects basic rights of Americans
Term 3: The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
Definition 3: We the People
Term 4: What is an amendment?
Definition 4: A change (to the Constitution), an addition (to the Constitution)
Term 5: What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
Definition 5: The Bill of Rights
Term 6: What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?
Definition 6: Speech, religion, assembly, press, petition the government
Term 7: How many amendments does the Constitution have?
Definition 7: Twenty-seven (27)
Term 8: What did the Declaration of Independence do?
Definition 8: Announced our independence (from Great Britain), declared our independence (from Great Britain), said that the United States is free (from Great Britain)
Term 9: What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?
Definition 9: Life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness
Term 10: What is freedom of religion?
Definition 10: You can practice any religion, or not practice a religion.
Term 11: What is the economic system in the United States?
Definition 11: Capitalism, free market economy
Term 12: What is the “rule of law”?
Definition 12: Everyone must follow the law, leaders must obey the law, government must obey the law, no one is above the law
Term 13: Name one branch or part of the government.
Definition 13: Congress, legislative, President, executive, the courts, judicial
Term 14: What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
Definition 14: Separation of powers, checks and balances
Term 15: Who is in charge of the executive branch?
Definition 15: The President
Term 16: Who makes federal laws?
Definition 16: Congress, Senate and House (of Representatives), U.S. or national legislature
Term 17: What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
Definition 17: The Senate and House (of Representatives)
Term 18: How many U.S. Senators are there?
Definition 18: One hundred (100)
Term 19: We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
Definition 19: Six (6)
Term 20: Who are the two Senators from your state now?
Definition 20: Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents and residents of U.S. territories should answer that D.C. (or the territory) has no senators.]
Term 21: The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
Definition 21: Four hundred thirty-five (435)
Term 22: We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?
Definition 22: Two (2)
Term 23: Name your U.S. Representative.
Definition 23: 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.]
Term 24: Who does a U.S. Senator represent?
Definition 24: All people of the state
Term 25: Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?
Definition 25: (because of) the state’s population, (because) they have more people, (because) some states have more people
Term 26: We elect a President for how many years?
Definition 26: Four (4)
Term 27: In what month do we vote for President?
Definition 27: November
Term 28: What is the name of the President of the United States now?
Definition 28: Joe Biden
Term 29: What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?
Definition 29: Kamala Harris
Term 30: If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
Definition 30: The Vice President
Term 31: If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
Definition 31: The Speaker of the House
Term 32: Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?
Definition 32: The President
Term 33: Who signs bills to become laws?
Definition 33: The President
Term 34: Who vetoes bills?
Definition 34: The President
Term 35: What does the President’s Cabinet do?
Definition 35: Advises the President
Term 36: What are two Cabinet-level positions?
Definition 36: Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Defense, 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, Attorney General, Vice President
Term 37: What does the judicial branch do?
Definition 37: Reviews laws, explains laws, resolves disputes (disagreements), decides if a law goes against the Constitution
Term 38: What is the highest court in the United States?
Definition 38: The Supreme Court
Term 39: How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
Definition 39: Nine (9)
Term 40: Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court now?
Definition 40: John Roberts
Term 41: Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?
Definition 41: To print money, to declare war, to create an army, to make treaties
Term 42: Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?
Definition 42: Provide schooling and education, provide protection (police), provide safety (fire departments), give a driver’s license, approve zoning and land use
Term 43: Who is the Governor of your state now?
Definition 43: Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents should answer that D.C. does not have a Governor.]
Term 44: What is the capital of your state?
Definition 44: 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.]
Term 45: What are the two major political parties in the United States?
Definition 45: Democratic and Republican
Term 46: What is the political party of the President now?
Definition 46: Democratic (Party)
Term 47: What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?
Definition 47: Mike Johnson
Term 48: There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
Definition 48: 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
Term 49: What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?
Definition 49: Serve on a jury, vote in a federal election
Term 50: Name one right only for United States citizens.
Definition 50: Vote in a federal election, run for federal office
Term 51: What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?
Definition 51: Freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom to petition the government, freedom of religion, the right to bear arms
Term 52: What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?
Definition 52: The United States, the flag
Term 53: What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
Definition 53: 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
Term 54: How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?
Definition 54: Eighteen (18) and older
Term 55: What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?
Definition 55: Vote, 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, call Senators and Representatives, publicly support or oppose an issue or policy, run for office, write to a newspaper
Term 56: When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?
Definition 56: April 15
Term 57: When must all men register for the Selective Service?
Definition 57: At age 18, between 18 and 26
Term 58: What is one reason colonists came to America?
Definition 58: Freedom, political liberty, religious freedom, economic opportunity, practice their religion, escape persecution
Term 59: Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
Definition 59: American Indians, Native Americans
Term 60: What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
Definition 60: Africans, people from Africa
Term 61: Why did the colonists fight the British?
Definition 61: Because of high taxes (taxation without representation), because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering), because they didn’t have self-government
Term 62: Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
Definition 62: Thomas Jefferson
Term 63: When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
Definition 63: July 4, 1776
Term 64: There were 13 original states. Name three.
Definition 64: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia
Term 65: What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
Definition 65: The Constitution was written, the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution
Term 66: When was the Constitution written?
Definition 66: 1787
Term 67: The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
Definition 67: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Publius
Term 68: What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?
Definition 68: U.S. diplomat, oldest member of the Constitutional Convention, first Postmaster General of the United States, writer of “Poor Richard’s Almanac”
Term 69: Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
Definition 69: George Washington
Term 70: Who was the first President?
Definition 70: George Washington
Term 71: What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
Definition 71: The Louisiana Territory, Louisiana
Term 72: Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
Definition 72: War of 1812, Mexican-American War, Civil War, Spanish-American War
Term 73: Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
Definition 73: The Civil War
Term 74: Name one problem that led to the Civil War.
Definition 74: Slavery, economic reasons, states’ rights
Term 75: What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?
Definition 75: Freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation), saved (or preserved) the Union, led the United States during the Civil War
Term 76: What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
Definition 76: Freed the slaves, freed slaves in the Confederacy, freed slaves in the Confederate states, freed slaves in most Southern states
Term 77: What did Susan B. Anthony do?
Definition 77: Fought for women’s rights, fought for civil rights
Term 78: Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
Definition 78: World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, (Persian) Gulf War
Term 79: Who was President during World War I?
Definition 79: Woodrow Wilson
Term 80: Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
Definition 80: Franklin Roosevelt
Term 81: Who did the United States fight in World War II?
Definition 81: Japan, Germany, and Italy
Term 82: Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?
Definition 82: World War II
Term 83: During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?
Definition 83: Communism
Term 84: What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
Definition 84: Civil rights (movement)
Term 85: What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?
Definition 85: Fought for civil rights, worked for equality for all Americans
Term 86: What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?
Definition 86: Terrorists attacked the United States
Term 87: Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
Definition 87: Cherokee, Navajo, Sioux, Chippewa, Choctaw, Pueblo, Apache, Iroquois, Creek, Blackfeet, Seminole, Cheyenne, Arawak, Shawnee, Mohegan, Huron, Oneida, Lakota, Crow, Teton, Hopi, Inuit
Term 88: Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.
Definition 88: Missouri (River), Mississippi (River)
Term 89: What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?
Definition 89: Pacific (Ocean)
Term 90: What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?
Definition 90: Atlantic (Ocean)
Term 91: Name one U.S. territory.
Definition 91: Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam
Term 92: Name one state that borders Canada.
Definition 92: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Alaska
Term 93: Name one state that borders Mexico.
Definition 93: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas
Term 94: What is the capital of the United States?
Definition 94: Washington, D.C.
Term 95: Where is the Statue of Liberty?
Definition 95: New York (Harbor), Liberty Island
Term 96: Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
Definition 96: Because there were 13 original colonies, because the stripes represent the original colonies
Term 97: Why does the flag have 50 stars?
Definition 97: Because there are 50 states, because each star represents a state, because each star represents a state
Term 98: What is the name of the national anthem?
Definition 98: The Star-Spangled Banner
Term 99: What is Independence Day
Definition 99: July 4th
Term 100: Name two national U.S. holidays.
Definition 100: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas