Could you pass the US' naturalization test?

[Hoi Polloi]

I would venture a guess that those here would do better than average. How do you think those you know would do? How do you do? I challenge you to actually vocalize an answer for each question and not to assume you "know it" with a general and vague sense of "oh yeah" when you read the answers. I kicked myself in the backside for missing a couple easy ones out of complacency which I could have answered correctly had I thought about my answer.

* If you are 65 years old or older and have been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may answer just the questions that have been marked with an asterisk.

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

A. 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?*
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?*
12. What is the "rule of law"?

B. System of Government
13. Name one branch or part of the government.*
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?*
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?*
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?*
28. What is the name of the President of the United States now?*
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. 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?
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?
44. What is the capital of your state?*
45. What are the two major political parties in the United States?*
46. What is the political party of the President now?
47. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?

C: 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?*
50. What are two rights 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?*
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?*
57. When must all men register for the Selective Service?


AMERICAN HISTORY

A: 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?*

B: 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?*
76. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
77. What did Susan B. Anthony do?

C: Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information
78. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.*
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?*
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

A: 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?*
95. Where is the Statue of Liberty?*

B. Symbols
96. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
97. Why does the flag have 50 stars?*
98. What is the name of the national anthem?

C: Holidays
99. When do we celebrate Independence Day?*
100. Name two national U.S. holidays.

Ready to see how you did? Answers are here.

[Commander Cody]

I think a lot of these questions could have more than one correct answer.

[Hoi Polloi]

Yes, you are correct. Any correct answer is appropriate and some have numerous correct answers.

[WildBill]

Yes, you are correct. Any correct answer is appropriate and some have numerous correct answers.

It's easier to pass when more than one answer is correct. If they gave more tests like this in school, I would have gotten more "A"s.

It looks like question 56 is the most important for "senior citizens".

[Commander Cody]

I think there are more correct answers than those that are listed as correct. According to our politicians.

[boba]

Yes, you are correct. Any correct answer is appropriate and some have numerous correct answers.

It's easier to pass when more than one answer is correct. If they gave more tests like this in school, I would have gotten more "A"s.

It looks like question 56 is the most important for "senior citizens".

That's because the correct answer is "The day you die." After that, someone else has to send it.

[Oldgringo]

It would be most interesting to see how Texas high school seniors (class of 2011) and their teachers would do on this test if it showed up as a "Pop Quiz" a month before graduation. {?are Pop Quizs still allowed?}

[boba]

It would be most interesting to see how Texas high school seniors (class of 2011) and their teachers would do on this test if it showed up as a "Pop Quiz" a month before graduation. {?are Pop Quizs still allowed?}

I wonder if it would be higher or lower than the % of lawyers who could pass the bar exam as a "Pop Quiz" on one try.

[karl]

I legitimately missed a few, felt silly. Some I only knew because I just started reading through the Declaration and Constitution last week.

And Oldgringo, you get out of it what you put into it. If a student puts time and effort into high school they will be able to pass this test with ease. I graduated in 2007. To be fair though, most US History I learned was at University classes.

[CainA]

Me? Probably not, but I don't mind.

-Cain

[Carry Big Stick]

Did anybody else notice that a lot of the answers can be found in some of the questions that follow it?

[WildBill]

Did anybody else notice that a lot of the answers can be found in some of the questions that follow it?

It's easier to pass the test if the test questions give the answers. Dumbing down of America?

[chartreuse]

I'll let y'all know, in a year or so.

[Hoi Polloi]

FYI: a passing score is 60%. After passing the English speaking, reading, and writing portions, unless exempt from those because of age or illness, the person is asked up to 10 questions from the above civics test and must get 6 correct.

[jimlongley]

I missed five, but they didn't include MY indian tribe. In 1621 a sachem of the Pemaquid Abnaqi walked into Plymouth Colony and greeted the inhabitants, in perfect English, "Hello Englishmen."