American Government

A: Principles of American Government

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? *

• (U.S.) Constitution

3. Name one thing the

U.S. Constitution does.
• Forms the 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
• Popular sovereignty
• Consent of the governed
• People should govern themselves
• (Example of) social contract

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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

7. How many amendments does

the U.S. Constitution have? *
• Twenty-seven (27)

8. Why is the Declaration of

Independence important?
• It says America is free from
British control.
• It says all people are created equal.

9. What founding document said the

American colonies were free from Britain?
• Declaration of Independence

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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

12. What is the economic system of

the United States? *
• Capitalism
• Free 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.

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 Constitution. Name one.
• Declaration of Independence
• Articles of Confederation
• Federalist Papers
• Anti-Federalist Papers
• Virginia Declaration of Rights
• Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

• 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

B: System of Government
16. Name the three branches of government.
• Legislative, executive, and judicial
• Congress, president, and the courts

17. The President of the United States is in

charge of which branch of government?
• Executive branch

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18. What part of the federal government
writes laws?
• (U.S.) Congress
• (U.S. or national) legislature
• Legislative branch

19. What are the two parts of the

U.S. Congress?
• Senate and House (of Representatives)

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)

22. How long is a term for a U.S. senator?

• Six (6) years

23. Who is one of your state’s

U.S. senators now?
• Answers will vary.
[District of Columbia residents and
residents of U.S. territories should
answer that D.C. (or the territory
where the applicant lives) has no U.S.
senators.]

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24. How many voting members are in the
House of Representatives?

25. How long is a term for a member of the

House of Representatives?
• Two (2) 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)

28. Why does each state have two senators?

• Equal representation (for small states)
• The Great Compromise
(Connecticut Compromise)

29. Name your U.S. representative.

• 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.]

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30. What is the name of the Speaker of the
House of Representatives now? *
• Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates
for the name of the Speaker of the
House of Representatives.

31. Who does a U.S. senator represent?

• Citizens of their state
• People of their state

32. Who elects U.S. senators?

• Citizens 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

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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 (4) 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? *
• Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates
for the name of the President of the
United States.

39. What is the name of the Vice President of

the United States now? *
• Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates
for the name of the Vice President of the
United States.

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40. If the president can no longer serve, who
becomes 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

42. Who is Commander in Chief of

the U.S. military?
• The President (of the United States)

43. Who signs bills to become laws?

• The President (of the United States)

44. Who vetoes bills? *

• The President (of the United States)

45. Who appoints federal judges?

• The President (of the United States)

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46. The executive branch has many parts.
Name one.
• President (of the United States)
• Cabinet
• Federal departments and agencies

47. What does the President’s Cabinet do?

• Advises the President
(of the United States)

48. What are two Cabinet-level positions?

• Attorney General
• 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

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 • Secretary of Labor
• Secretary of State
• Secretary of Transportation
• Secretary of the Treasury

• Vice President (of the United States)

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 (disagreements)
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

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53. How many seats are on the
Supreme Court?
• Nine (9)

54. How many Supreme Court justices are

usually needed to decide a case?
• Five (5)

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)

57. Who is the Chief Justice of the

United States now?
• Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates
for the name of the Chief Justice of the
United States.

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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)

• 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? *

• Answers will vary.
[District of Columbia residents
should answer that D.C. does not
have a governor.]

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62. What is the capital of your state?
• 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.]

C: Rights and Responsibilities

63. There are four amendments to the
U.S. 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).

64. Who can vote in federal elections, run

in the United States?

• Citizens
• Citizens of the United States
• U.S. citizens

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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

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 (help, do important work for)
the nation (if needed)
• Be loyal to the United States

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68. How can people become
United States citizens?
• Naturalize
• Derive citizenship
• Be born in the United States

69. What are two examples of civic

participation in the United States?
• Vote

• Join a political party

• Help with a campaign
• Join a civic group
• Join a community group

(on an issue)

• Support or oppose an issue or policy

• Write to a newspaper

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70. What is one way Americans can serve
their country?
• Vote
• Pay taxes
• Obey the law
• Serve in the military

• 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

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American History

A: Colonial Period and Independence

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

win independence from Britain?

• American Revolution
• The (American) Revolutionary War
• War for (American) Independence

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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 (Coercive) Acts

78. Who wrote the Declaration

of Independence? *

79. When was the Declaration of

Independence adopted?
• July 4, 1776

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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 (Encampment)
• (Battle of) Yorktown (British surrender
at Yorktown)

81. There were 13 original states. Name .

• New Hampshire
• Massachusetts
• Rhode Island
• Connecticut
• New York
• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania
• Delaware
• Maryland
• Virginia
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Georgia

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82. What founding document was
written in 1787?
• (U.S.) Constitution

83. The Federalist Papers supported the

passage of the U.S. Constitution.
Name one of the writers.
• (James) Madison
• (Alexander) Hamilton
• (John) 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.

• First Postmaster General of the

United States
• Helped write the Declaration of
Independence
• Inventor
• U.S. diplomat

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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

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

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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

B: 1800s
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

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93. The Civil War had many important
events. Name one.
• (Battle of) Fort Sumter
• Emancipation Proclamation
• (Battle of) Vicksburg
• (Battle of) Gettysburg
• Sherman’s March
• (Surrender at) Appomattox
• (Battle of) Antietam/Sharpsburg
• Lincoln was assassinated.

94. Abraham Lincoln is famous for many

things. Name one. *
• Freed the slaves
(Emancipation Proclamation)
• Saved (or 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

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96. What U.S. war ended slavery?
• The Civil War

97. What amendment gives citizenship to all

persons born in the United States?
• 14th Amendment

98. When did all men get the right to vote?

• 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

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C: Recent American History and Other
Important Historical Information
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

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

• (With the) 19th Amendment

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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

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 (during) the
Korean War
• 34th president of the United States
• Signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of
1956 (Created the Interstate System)
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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”
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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

116. Name one

September 11, 2001 attacks.
• (Global) War on Terror
• War in Afghanistan
• War in Iraq

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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

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 • Seminole
• Seneca
• Shawnee
• Sioux
• Teton
• Tuscarora
For a complete list of tribes, please
visit bia.gov.

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 (IC)

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Symbols and Holidays

A: Symbols
119. What is the capital of the United States?
• Washington, D.C.

120. Where is the Statue of Liberty?

• New York (Harbor)
• Liberty Island
[Also acceptable are
New Jersey, near New York City,
and on the Hudson (River).]

*
• (Because there were)
13 original colonies
• (Because the stripes) represent
the original colonies

• (Because there is) one star

for each state
• (Because) each star represents a state
• (Because there are) 50 states

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123. What is the name of the national
anthem?
• The Star-Spangled Banner

Unum.” What does that mean?

• Out of many, one
• We all become one

B: Holidays
125. What is Independence Day?
• A holiday to celebrate U.S.
independence (from Britain)
• The country’s birthday

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126. Name three national U.S. holidays. *
• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Presidents Day (Washington’s
Birthday)
• Memorial Day
• 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)

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