2008 version
All 100 civics questions, answered
Every question USCIS can ask on the 2008 civics test, with the acceptable answers and a plain-English explanation. The officer asks up to 10 of them. Get 6 correct and you pass.
100 questions 10 asked at the interview 6 correct to pass
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American Government
Principles of American Democracy
- 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 question
- 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 question
- 12 What is the "rule of law"?
System of Government
- 13 Name one branch or part of the government. ★ 65/20 question
- 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 question
- 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 question
- 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 question
- 28 What is the name of the President of the United States now? ★ 65/20 question
- 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 question
- 45 What are the two major political parties in the United States? ★ 65/20 question
- 46 What is the political party of the President now?
- 47 What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?
Rights and Responsibilities
- 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 question
- 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 question
- 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 question
- 57 When must all men register for the Selective Service?
American History
Colonial Period and Independence
- 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 question
1800s
- 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 question
- 76 What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
- 77 What did Susan B. Anthony do?
Recent American History
- 78 Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s. ★ 65/20 question
- 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 question
- 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
Geography
- 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 question
- 95 Where is the Statue of Liberty? ★ 65/20 question
Symbols
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