★ = one of the 20 questions designated for applicants aged 65+ with 20+ years as a permanent resident. On the real test, up to 20 questions are asked and 12 correct answers pass.
Principles of American Government (15 questions)
1. What is the form of government of the United States?
Republic
Constitution-based federal republic
Representative democracy
2. What is the supreme law of the land? ★
the Constitution
Constitution
U.S. Constitution
3. Name one thing the U.S. Constitution does.
Forms the government
Defines powers of government
Defines the parts of government
Protects the rights of the people
4. The U.S. Constitution starts with the words "We the People." What does "We the People" mean?
Self-government
Self-governance
Popular sovereignty
Consent of the governed
People should govern themselves
Example of social contract
social contract
5. How are changes made to the U.S. Constitution?
Amendments
The amendment process
6. What does the Bill of Rights protect?
The basic rights of Americans
The basic rights of people living in the United States
basic rights of Americans
basic rights of people living in the United States
7. How many amendments does the U.S. Constitution have? ★
Twenty-seven
27
twenty seven
8. Why is the Declaration of Independence important?
It says America is free from British control
It says all people are created equal
It identifies inherent rights
It identifies individual freedoms
9. What founding document said the American colonies were free from Britain?
Declaration of Independence
the Declaration of Independence
10. Name two important ideas from the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
Equality
Liberty
Social contract
Natural rights
Limited government
Self-government
11. The words "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" are in what founding document?
Declaration of Independence
the Declaration of Independence
12. What is the economic system of the United States? ★
Capitalism
Free market economy
capitalist economy
market economy
13. 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
14. Many documents influenced the U.S. Constitution. Name one.
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
15. There are three branches of government. Why?
So one part does not become too powerful
Checks and balances
Separation of powers
System of Government (47 questions)
16. Name the three branches of government.
Legislative, executive, and judicial
Congress, president, and the courts
legislative executive and judicial
legislative executive judicial
17. The President of the United States is in charge of which branch of government?
Executive branch
executive
the executive branch
18. What part of the federal government writes laws?
Congress
U.S. Congress
the Congress
legislature
U.S. legislature
national legislature
Legislative branch
19. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
Senate and House of Representatives
the Senate and House
Senate and House
20. Name one power of the U.S. Congress. ★
Writes laws
Declares war
Makes the federal budget
21. How many U.S. senators are there?
One hundred
100
one hundred
22. How long is a term for a U.S. senator?
Six years
6 years
six years
23. Who is one of your state's U.S. senators now? (This answer varies by state. Visit uscis.gov to look up your state's U.S. senators.)
This answer varies by state. Look up your answer at
uscis.gov.
24. How many voting members are in the House of Representatives?
Four hundred thirty-five
435
four hundred thirty five
25. How long is a term for a member of the House of Representatives?
Two years
2 years
two years
26. Why do U.S. representatives serve shorter terms than U.S. senators?
To more closely follow public opinion
27. How many senators does each state have?
Two
2
two
28. Why does each state have two senators?
Equal representation for small states
The Great Compromise
Connecticut Compromise
29. Name your U.S. representative. (This answer varies by congressional district. Visit uscis.gov to look up your U.S. representative.)
This answer varies by state. Look up your answer at
uscis.gov.
30. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now? ★
Mike Johnson
Johnson
31. Who does a U.S. senator represent?
Citizens of their state
People of their state
all people of their state
32. Who elects U.S. senators?
Citizens from their state
voters from their state
33. Who does a member of the House of Representatives represent?
Citizens in their congressional district
Citizens in their district
People from their congressional district
People in their district
34. Who elects members of the House of Representatives?
Citizens from their congressional district
citizens from their district
35. Some states have more representatives than other states. Why?
Because of the state's population
Because they have more people
Because some states have more people
36. The President of the United States is elected for how many years? ★
Four years
4 years
four years
37. The President of the United States can serve only two terms. Why?
Because of the 22nd Amendment
To keep the president from becoming too powerful
38. What is the name of the President of the United States now? ★
Donald Trump
Trump
39. What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now? ★
JD Vance
Vance
J.D. Vance
40. If the president can no longer serve, who becomes president?
The Vice President
Vice President
the Vice President of the United States
41. Name one power of the president.
Signs bills into law
Vetoes bills
Enforces laws
Commander in Chief of the military
Chief diplomat
Appoints federal judges
42. Who is Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?
The President
President
the President of the United States
43. Who signs bills to become laws?
The President
President
the President of the United States
44. Who vetoes bills? ★
The President
President
the President of the United States
45. Who appoints federal judges?
The President
President
the President of the United States
46. The executive branch has many parts. Name one.
President of the United States
President
Cabinet
Federal departments and agencies
47. What does the President's Cabinet do?
Advises the President
advises the President of the United States
48. What are two Cabinet-level positions?
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 Defense
Vice President
49. Why is the Electoral College important?
It decides who is elected president
It provides a compromise between the popular election of the president and congressional selection
50. What is one part of the judicial branch?
Supreme Court
Federal Courts
51. What does the judicial branch do?
Reviews laws
Explains laws
Resolves disputes about the law
Decides if a law goes against the U.S. Constitution
52. What is the highest court in the United States? ★
Supreme Court
the Supreme Court
53. How many seats are on the Supreme Court?
Nine
9
nine
54. How many Supreme Court justices are usually needed to decide a case?
Five
5
five
55. How long do Supreme Court justices serve?
For life
Lifetime appointment
Until retirement
56. Supreme Court justices serve for life. Why?
To be independent of politics
To limit outside political influence
57. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?
John Roberts
Chief Justice Roberts
Roberts
58. Name one power that is only for the federal government.
Print paper money
Mint coins
Declare war
Create an army
Make treaties
Set foreign policy
59. Name one power that is only for the states.
Provide schooling and education
Provide protection
police
Provide safety
fire departments
Give a driver's license
Approve zoning and land use
60. What is the purpose of the 10th Amendment?
It states that the powers not given to the federal government belong to the states or to the people
61. Who is the governor of your state now? (This answer varies by state. Visit uscis.gov to look up your state's governor.) ★
This answer varies by state. Look up your answer at
uscis.gov.
62. What is the capital of your state? (This answer varies by state. Visit uscis.gov to look up your state's capital.)
This answer varies by state. Look up your answer at
uscis.gov.
Rights and Responsibilities (10 questions)
63. There are four amendments to the U.S. Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
Citizens eighteen 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
64. Who can vote in federal elections, run for federal office, and serve on a jury in the United States?
Citizens
Citizens of the United States
U.S. citizens
65. What are three 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
66. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance? ★
The United States
The flag
the flag
67. Name two promises that new citizens make in the Oath of Allegiance.
Give up loyalty to other countries
Defend the U.S. Constitution
Obey the laws of the United States
Serve in the military if needed
Serve the nation if needed
Be loyal to the United States
68. How can people become United States citizens?
Be born in the United States
Naturalize
Naturalization
Become naturalized
Become a naturalized citizen
Derive citizenship
69. What are two examples of civic participation in the United States?
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
70. What is one way Americans can serve their country?
Vote
Pay taxes
Obey the law
Serve in the military
Run for office
Work for local, state, or federal government
71. Why is it important to pay federal taxes?
Required by law
All people pay to fund the federal government
Required by the U.S. Constitution
16th Amendment
Civic duty
72. It is important for all men age 18 through 25 to register for the Selective Service. Name one reason why.
Required by law
Civic duty
Makes the draft fair, if needed
Colonial Period and Independence (17 questions)
73. The colonists came to America for many reasons. Name one.
Freedom
Political liberty
Religious freedom
Economic opportunity
Escape persecution
74. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived? ★
American Indians
Native Americans
75. What group of people was taken and sold as slaves?
Africans
People from Africa
76. What war did the Americans fight to win independence from Britain?
American Revolution
The American Revolutionary War
War for American Independence
Revolutionary War
77. Name one reason why the Americans declared independence from Britain.
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 Acts
Coercive Acts
78. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? ★
Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson
79. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
July 4, 1776
1776
80. The American Revolution had many important events. Name one.
Battle of Bunker Hill
Declaration of Independence
Washington Crossing the Delaware
Battle of Trenton
Battle of Saratoga
Valley Forge
Battle of Yorktown
British surrender at Yorktown
81. There were 13 original states. Name five.
New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Connecticut
New York
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Delaware
Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
82. What founding document was written in 1787?
U.S. Constitution
the Constitution
Constitution
83. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
James Madison
Madison
Alexander Hamilton
Hamilton
John Jay
Jay
Publius
84. Why were the Federalist Papers important?
They helped people understand the U.S. Constitution
They supported passing the U.S. Constitution
85. Benjamin Franklin is famous for many things. Name one.
Founded the first free public libraries
First Postmaster General of the United States
Helped write the Declaration of Independence
Inventor
U.S. diplomat
86. George Washington is famous for many things. Name one. ★
Father of Our Country
First president of the United States
General of the Continental Army
President of the Constitutional Convention
87. Thomas Jefferson is famous for many things. Name one.
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
88. James Madison is famous for many things. Name one.
Father of the Constitution
Fourth president of the United States
President during the War of 1812
One of the writers of the Federalist Papers
89. Alexander Hamilton is famous for many things. Name one.
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 (10 questions)
90. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
Louisiana Territory
Louisiana
91. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
War of 1812
Mexican-American War
Civil War
Spanish-American War
92. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
The Civil War
Civil War
93. The Civil War had many important events. Name one.
Battle of Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter
Emancipation Proclamation
Battle of Vicksburg
Battle of Gettysburg
Sherman's March
Surrender at Appomattox
Battle of Antietam
Lincoln was assassinated
94. Abraham Lincoln is famous for many things. Name one. ★
Freed the slaves
Emancipation Proclamation
Saved the Union
Preserved the Union
Led the United States during the Civil War
16th president of the United States
Delivered the Gettysburg Address
95. 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
96. What U.S. war ended slavery?
The Civil War
Civil War
97. What amendment says all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are U.S. citizens?
14th Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment
98. When did all men get the right to vote?
After the Civil War
During Reconstruction
With the 15th Amendment
1870
99. Name one leader of the women's rights movement in the 1800s.
Susan B. Anthony
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Sojourner Truth
Harriet Tubman
Lucretia Mott
Lucy Stone
Recent American History (19 questions)
100. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
World War I
World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
Persian Gulf War
Gulf War
101. Why did the United States enter World War I?
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
102. When did all women get the right to vote?
1920
After World War I
With the 19th Amendment
103. What was the Great Depression?
Longest economic recession in modern history
104. When did the Great Depression start?
The Great Crash
1929
Stock market crash of 1929
105. Who was president during the Great Depression and World War II?
Franklin Roosevelt
Roosevelt
FDR
106. Why did the United States enter World War II?
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
107. Dwight Eisenhower is famous for many things. Name one.
General during World War II
President at the end of the Korean War
President during the Korean War
34th president of the United States
Signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956
Created the Interstate System
108. Who was the United States' main rival during the Cold War?
Soviet Union
USSR
Russia
109. During the Cold War, what was one main concern of the United States?
Communism
Nuclear war
110. Why did the United States enter the Korean War?
To stop the spread of communism
111. Why did the United States enter the Vietnam War?
To stop the spread of communism
112. What did the civil rights movement do?
Fought to end racial discrimination
113. Martin Luther King, Jr. is famous for many things. Name one. ★
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
114. Why did the United States enter the Persian Gulf War?
To force the Iraqi military from Kuwait
115. What major event happened on September 11, 2001 in the United States? ★
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
116. Name one U.S. military conflict after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Global War on Terror
War on Terror
War in Afghanistan
War in Iraq
117. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
Apache
Blackfeet
Cayuga
Cherokee
Cheyenne
Chippewa
Choctaw
Creek
Crow
Hopi
Huron
Inupiat
Lakota
Mohawk
Mohegan
Navajo
Oneida
Onondaga
Pueblo
Seminole
Seneca
Shawnee
Sioux
Teton
Tuscarora
118. Name one example of an American innovation.
Light bulb
Automobile
cars
internal combustion engine
Skyscrapers
Airplane
Assembly line
Landing on the moon
Integrated circuit
Symbols (6 questions)
119. What is the capital of the United States?
Washington, D.C.
Washington D.C.
D.C.
120. Where is the Statue of Liberty?
New York
New York Harbor
Liberty Island
New Jersey
near New York City
on the Hudson River
121. Why does the flag have 13 stripes? ★
Because there were 13 original colonies
Because the stripes represent the original colonies
13 original colonies
122. Why does the flag have 50 stars?
Because there is one star for each state
Because each star represents a state
Because there are 50 states
50 states
123. What is the name of the national anthem?
The Star-Spangled Banner
Star-Spangled Banner
124. The Nation's first motto was "E Pluribus Unum." What does that mean?
Out of many, one
We all become one
Holidays (4 questions)
125. What is Independence Day?
A holiday to celebrate U.S. independence from Britain
The country's birthday
126. Name three national U.S. holidays. ★
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
127. What is Memorial Day?
A holiday to honor soldiers who died in military service
128. What is Veterans Day?
A holiday to honor people in the U.S. military
A holiday to honor people who have served in the U.S. military