Questions

FAQ

What is the supreme law of the land?
The Constitution
What does the Constitution do?
  • sets up the government
  • defines the government
  • protects basic rights of Americans
The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
We the People
What is an amendment?
  1.  A change (to the Constitution)
  2. An addition (to the Constitution)
What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
The Bill of Rights
What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?
  1. speech
  2. religion
  3. assembly
  4. press
  5. petition the government
How many amendments does the Constitution have?

27

What did the Declaration of Independence do?
  1. announced our independence (from Great Britain)
  2. declared our independence (from Great Britain)
  3. said that the United States is free (from Great Britain)
What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?
  1. life
  2. liberty
  3. pursuit of happiness
What is freedom of religion?

You can practice any religion, or not practice a religion

What is the economic system in the United States?
  1. capitalist economy
  2. market economy
What is the “rule of law”?
  1. Everyone must follow the law.
  2. Leaders must obey the law.
  3. Government must obey the law.
  4. No one is above the law.
Name one branch or part of the government. (question 13 of 100)?
  • Congress
  • legislative
  • President
  • executive
  • the courts
  • judicial
What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
  1. checks and balances
  2. separation of powers
Who is in charge of the executive branch?

The President

Who makes federal laws?
  • Congress
  • Senate and House (of Representatives)
  • (U.S. or national) legislature
What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?

The Senate and House (of Representatives)

How many U.S. Senators are there?

100

We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?

6

The House of Representatives has how many voting members?

435

We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?

2

Who does a U.S. Senator represent?

All people of the state

Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?
The state’s population
We elect a President for how many years?

4

In what month do we vote for President?
November
If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?

The Vice President

If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
The Speaker of the House
Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?

The President

Who signs bills to become laws?

The President

Who vetoes bills?

The President

What does the President’s Cabinet do?

Advises the President

What does the judicial branch do?
  • reviews laws
  • explains laws
  • resolves disputes (disagreements)
  • decides if a law goes against the Constitution
What is the highest court in the United States?

The Supreme Court

Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?
  • to print money
  • to declare war
  • to create an army
  • to make treaties
Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?
  • provide schooling and education
  • provide protection (police)
  • provide safety (fire departments)
  • give a driver’s license
  • approve zoning and land use
What are the two major political parties in the United States?

Democratic and Republican

Amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. (question 48 of 100)?
  • 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).
What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?
  • serve on a jury
  • vote in a federal election
What are the rights for US citizens. (question 50 of 100)?
  • vote in a federal election
  • run for federal office
What are rights of everyone living in the United States?
  1. freedom of expression
  2. freedom of speech
  3. freedom of assembly
  4. freedom to petition the government
  5. freedom of religion
  6. the right to bear arms
What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?
The flag
What is promises you make when you become a United States citizen?
  • give up loyalty to other countries
  • defend the Constitution and laws of the United States
  • obey the laws of the United States
  • serve in the U.S. military (if needed)
  • serve (do important work for) the nation (if needed)
  • be loyal to the United States
How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?

 18 and older

What are ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?
  1. vote
  2. join a political party
  3. help with a campaign
  4. join a civic group
  5. join a community group
  6. give an elected official your opinion on an issue
  7. call Senators and Representatives
  8. publicly support or oppose an issue or policy
  9. run for office
  10. write to a newspaper
When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?

April 15

When must all men register for the Selective Service (question 57 of 100)?

between 18 and 26

What is reasons colonists came to America?
  • freedom
  • political liberty
  • religious freedom
  • economic opportunity
  • practice their religion
  • escape persecution
Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
  1. American Indians
  2. Native Americans
What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?

Africans

Why did the colonists fight the British?
  • because of high taxes (taxation without representation)
  • because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering)
  • because they didn’t have self-government
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

(Thomas) Jefferson

When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
July 4, 1776
Name original states. (question 64 of 100)?
  • New Hampshire
  • Massachusetts
  • Rhode Island
  • Connecticut
  • New York
  • New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania
  • Delaware
  • Maryland
  • Virginia
  • North Carolina
  • South Carolina
  • Georgia
What happened at the Constitutional Convention?

The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution

When was the Constitution written?

1787

The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name the writers?
  1. (James) Madison
  2. (Alexander) Hamilton
  3. (John) Jay
  4. Publius
What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?
  1. U.S. diplomat
  2. oldest member of the Constitutional Convention
  3. first Postmaster General of the United States
  4. writer of “Poor Richard’s Almanac”
  5. started the first free libraries
Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
(George) Washington
Who was the first President?
George Washington
What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?

The Louisiana Territory

Name war fought by the United States in the 1800s. (question 72 of 100)?
  1. War of 1812
  2. Mexican-American War
  3. Civil War
  4. Spanish-American War
Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.(question 73 of 100)?

the War between the States

Name problems that led to the Civil War (question 74 of 100)?
  • slavery
  • economic reasons
  • states’ rights
What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?
Freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

Freed slaves in most Southern states

What did Susan B. Anthony do?
  • fought for women’s rights
  • fought for civil rights
Names war fought by the United States in the 1900s (question 78 of 100)?
  • World War I
  • World War II
  • Korean War
  • Vietnam War
  • (Persian) Gulf War
Who was President during World War I?

Woodrow Wilson

Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
Franklin Roosevelt
Who did the United States fight in World War II?

Japan, Germany, and Italy

Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?

World War II

During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?

Communism

What movement tried to end racial discrimination?

Civil rights (movement)

What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?
  1. fought for civil rights
  2. worked for equality for all Americans
What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?

Terrorists attacked the United States.

Name two longest rivers in the United States. (question 88 of 100)?
  • Missouri (River)
  • Mississippi (River)
What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?

Pacific (Ocean)

What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?

Atlantic (Ocean)

Names U.S. territory. (question 91 of 100)?
  1. Puerto Rico
  2. U.S. Virgin Islands
  3. American Samoa
  4. Northern Mariana Islands
  5. Guam
States that borders Mexico. (question 93 of 100)?
  • California
  • Arizona
  • New Mexico
  • Texas
What is the capital of the United States?

Washington, D.C.

Where is the Statue of Liberty?
New York (Harbor) Liberty Island
Why does the flag have 13 stripes?

Because the stripes represent the original colonies

Why does the flag have 50 stars?

Because there are 50 states

What is the name of the national anthem?

The Star-Spangled Banner

When do we celebrate Independence Day?

July 4

Names national U.S. holidays. (question 100 of 100)?
  • New Year’s Day
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
  • Presidents’ Day
  • Memorial Day
  • Independence Day
  • Labor Day
  • Columbus Day
  • Veterans Day
  • Thanksgiving
  • Christmas