About 11,000 people are becoming new U.S. citizens in the days surrounding the Fourth of July holiday, celebrating the 248th anniversary of the United States declaring its independence from Britain.
New citizens must be able to read, write and speak basic English and answer at least six questions correctly on a 10-question quiz about American civics, history and geography chosen randomly from 100 citizenship topics.
Here are 25 of the possible questions, along with several possible correct answers.
How many can you get right about your understanding of the United States?
Find the full test and answers here.
1. What is the supreme law of the land?
Answer: The U.S. Constitution
2. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
Answer: “We the People”
3. What is an amendment?
Answer: A change or amendment to the Constitution
4. What does the United States call the first 10 amendments to the Constitution?
Answer: The Bill of Rights
5. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?
Possible answers: Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
6. Name one branch or part of the government.
Possible answers: Congress (legislative), the president (executive), the courts (judicial)
7. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
Possible answers: checks and balances, separation of powers
8. Who is in charge of the executive branch?
Answer: The president
9. How many U.S. senators are there?
Answer: 100
10. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
Answer: 435
11. Who is the commander-in-chief of the military?
Answer: The president
12. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?
Possible answers: Print money, declare war, create an army, make treaties
13. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?
Possible answers: Provide education, provide protection (police), provide safety (fire departments), give a driver’s license, approve zoning and land use
14. What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?
Possible answers: Serve on a jury, vote in a federal election
15. Name one right that is only for United States citizens.
Possible answers: Vote in a federal election, run for federal office
16. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?
Possible answers: Freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom to petition the government, freedom of religion, the right to bear arms
17. What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
Possible answers: 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), do important work for the nation if needed, be loyal to the United States.
18. What is one reason colonists came to America?
Possible answers: Freedom, political liberty, religious freedom, economic opportunity, to practice their religion, to escape persecution
19: Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
Possible answers: American Indians or Native Americans
20. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson
21. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
Answer: The Louisiana Territory
22. What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?
Possible answers: Freed slaves (Emancipation Proclamation), saved or preserved the Union, led the United States during the Civil War
23. Name one state that borders Canada.
Possible answers: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Alaska
24. Name one state that borders Mexico.
Possible answers: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas
25. Why does the flag have 50 stars?
Answers: because there is one star for each state, or because there are 50 states.
