2008 Civics Test – Flash Cards
CONTENT CONTINUES BELOW
All Questions: 100
Questions:
Questions: 
1. What is the supreme law of the land?
The Constitution
2. What does the Constitution do?
protects basic rights of Americans
3. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
We the People
4. What is an amendment?
A change (to the Constitution)
5. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
The Bill of Rights
6. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?
Speech
7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
27
8. What did the Declaration of Independence do?
Declared our independence from Great Britain
9. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?
Life and liberty
10. What is freedom of religion?
You can practice any religion, or not practice a religion
11. What is the economic system in the United States?
Capitalist economy
12. What is the “rule of law”?
Everyone must follow the law
13. Name one branch or part of the government.
Congress
14. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
Separation of powers
15. Who is in charge of the executive branch?
the President
16. Who makes federal laws?
Congress
17. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
The Senate and House of Representatives
18. How many U.S. Senators are there?
One hundred (100)
19. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
Six (6)
20. Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators now?
Please visit our Government Page to find out who is one of your state’s U.S. senators now.
21. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
Four hundred thirty-five (435)
22. We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?
Two (2)
23. Name your U.S. representative
Visit our Government Page to find out who is your U.S. Representative.
24. Who does a U.S. Senator represent?
All people of the state
25. Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?
Because they have more people
26. We elect a President for how many years?
Four (4)
27. In what month do we vote for President?
November
28. What is the name of the President of the United States now?
Please visit our Government Page to find out the name of the President of the United States now.
29. What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?
Please visit our Government Page to find out the name of the Vice President of the United States now.
30. If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
The Vice President
31. If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
The Speaker of the House
32. Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?
The President
33. Who signs bills to become laws?
The President
34. Who vetoes bills?
The President
35. What does the President’s Cabinet do?
Advises the President
36. What are two Cabinet-level positions?
Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Defense
37. What does the judicial branch do?
Reviews laws
38. What is the highest court in the United States?
The Supreme Court
39. How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
Please visit our Government Page to find out the number of justices on the Supreme Court.
40. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?
Please visit our Government Page to find 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?
To create an army
42. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?
Provide schooling and education
43. Who is the Governor of your state now?
Please visit our Government Page to find out who is the Governor of your state now.
44. What is the capital of your state?
Please visit our Government Page to find out what is the capital of your state.
45. What are the two major political parties in the United States?
Democratic and Republican
46. What is the political party of the President now?
Please visit our Government Page to find out the political party of the President now.
47. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?
Please visit our Government Page to find out the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now.
48. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
Any citizen can vote. (Women and men can vote.)
49. What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?
Vote in a federal election
50. Name one right only for United States citizens.
Run for federal office
51. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?
Freedom of expression and freedom of speech
52. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?
The United States
53. What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
Obey the laws of the United States
54. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?
Eighteen (18) and older
55. What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?
Vote and join a political party
56. When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms
April 15
57. When must all men register for the Selective Service?
Between eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26)
58. What is one reason colonists came to America?
Freedom
59. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
American Indians
60. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
Africans
61. Why did the colonists fight the British?
Because they didn’t have self-government
62. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson
63. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
July 4, 1776
64. There were 13 original states. Name three.
New York, New Jersey and Virginia
65. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
The Constitution was written.
66. When was the Constitution written?
1787
67. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
John Jay
68. What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?
U.S. diplomat
69. Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
George Washington
70. Who was the first President?
George Washington
71. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
Louisiana
72. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
Civil War
73. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
the Civil War
74. Name one problem that led to the Civil War.
Slavery
75. What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?
Freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
76. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
Freed the slaves
77. What did Susan B. Anthony do?
Fought for women’s rights
78. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
World War I
79. Who was President during World War I?
Woodrow Wilson
80. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
Franklin Roosevelt
81. Who did the United States fight in World War II?
Japan, Germany, and Italy
82. Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?
World War II
83. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?
Communism
84. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
Civil rights movement
85. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?
Fought for civil rights
86. What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?
Terrorists attacked the United States.
87. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
Cherokee
88. Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.
Mississippi River
89. What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?
Pacific Ocean
90. What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?
Atlantic Ocean
91. Name one U.S. territory.
Guam
92. Name one state that borders Canada.
New York
93. Name one state that borders Mexico.
California
94. What is the capital of the United States?
Washington, D.C.
95. Where is the Statue of Liberty?
New York Harbor
96. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
Because there were 13 original colonies
97. Why does the flag have 50 stars?
Because there are 50 states
98. What is the name of the national anthem?
The Star-Spangled Banner
99. When do we celebrate Independence Day?
July 4
100. Name two national U.S. holidays.
Presidents’ Day and Thanksgiving
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