The Basics of American Civics

  1. What is the supreme law of the land?
  2. What exactly does our Constitution do?
  3. The idea of self-government is found in the first three words of the Constitution. What are those words?
  4. What is an amendment?
  5. What do we call the first ten amendments of our Constitution?
  6. List two rights specifically listed in our first amendment.
  7. How many amendments does our Constitution have?
  8. What did the Declaration of Independence do?
  9. What are the three rights mentioned in the Declaration of Independence?
  10. What is the freedom of religion?
  11. What type of economic system do we have in the United States?
  12. What is the “rule of law”?
  13. Name the three branches of our government.
  14. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
  15. Who is in charge of the Executive branch?
  16. Who has the authority to create our laws?
  17. What are the two parts of our U.S. Congress?
  18. How many U.S. Senators do we have?
  19. How many years may a U.S. Senator serve per term?
  20. Who are your current Senators?
  21. How many voting members are there in the House of Representatives?
  22. How many years may a House of Representative serve per term?
  23. Who is your current Representative?
  24. Who does a U.S. Senator represent?
  25. Why do some states have more Representatives than others?
  26. We elect a president for how many years?
  27. In which month do we hold presidential elections?
  28. Who is our current president?
  29. Who is our current Vice president?
  30. If the president can no longer serve for any reason who takes over for him?
  31. If both the president and vice president cannot serve then who takes over?
  32. Who is considered our commander and chief of the military?
  33. Who has to sign a bill into law?
  34. Who can veto bills?
  35. What does the president’s cabinet do?
  36. Name two positions in the president’s cabinet.
  37. What is the job of the judicial branch?
  38. What is the highest court in the U.S.?
  39. How many justices serve on that court?
  40. Who is the Chief justice of that court?
  41. What is an example of one power the Constitution gives the Federal government?
  42. What is an example of one power the Constitution gives the State governments?
  43. Who is our current Governor?
  44. What is our state capitol?
  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?
  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. Name one right only for United States citizens.
  1. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?
  2. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?
  3. What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
  4. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?
  5. What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?
  6. When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?
  7. When must all men register for the Selective Service?
  8. Name at least two reasons colonists came to America?
  9. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
  10. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
  11. Why did the colonists fight the British?
  12. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
  13. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
  14. There were 13 original states. Name them.
  15. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
  16. When was the Constitution written?
  17. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
  18. What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?
  19. Who is known as the “Father of Our Country”?
  20. Who was the first President?
  21. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
  22. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
  23. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
  24. Name one problem that led to the Civil War.
  25. What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?
  26. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
  27. What did Susan B. Anthony do?
  28. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
  29. Who was President during World War I?
  30. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
  31. Who did the United States fight in World War II?
  32. Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?
  33. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?
  34. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
  35. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?
  36. What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?
  37. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
  38. Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.
  39. What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?
  40. What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?
  41. Name two U.S. territories.
  42. Name two states that border Canada.
  43. Name one state that borders Mexico.
  44. What is the capital of the United States?
  45. Where is the Statue of Liberty?
  46. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
  47. Why does the flag have 50 stars?
  48. What is the name of the national anthem?
  49. When do we celebrate Independence Day?
  50. Name two national U.S. holidays.