During your citizenship interview, the USCIS will ask you up to 10 of the 100 civics questions to test your knowledge of U.S. history, government, geography, symbols and holidays. You must answer 6 out of 10 questions correctly to pass the civics portion of the U.S. citizenship test.

Here you will find the 100 civics questions and answers that you must learn. There are 9 topics in the civics test. When you click/tap on each question, its answer will appear. You can use these quick study cards as a lighter-weight version of our Interactive Flip Flashcards, which provide a flip effect and contextual images, just our like our real-life flashcards.

Civics Topics

Expandable Question Cards

Click/Tap the questions below to show the answer.

• chevron_right 1. What is the supreme law of the land?

  check  the Constitution

• chevron_right 2. What does the Constitution do?

  check  sets up the government

  check  defines the government

  check  protects basic rights of Americans

• chevron_right 3. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?

  check  We the People

• chevron_right 4. What is an amendment?

  check  a change (to the Constitution)

  check  an addition (to the Constitution)

• chevron_right 5. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?

  check  the Bill of Rights

• chevron_right 6. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?*

  check  speech

  check  religion

  check  assembly

  check  press

  check  petition the government

• chevron_right 7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?

  check  twenty-seven (27)

• chevron_right 8. What did the Declaration of Independence do?

  check  announced our independence (from Great Britain)

  check  declared our independence (from Great Britain)

  check  said that the United States is free (from Great Britain)

• chevron_right 9. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?

  check  life

  check  liberty

  check  pursuit of happiness

• chevron_right 10. What is freedom of religion?

  check  You can practice any religion, or not practice a religion.

• chevron_right 11. What is the economic system in the United States?*

  check  capitalist economy

  check  market economy

• chevron_right 12. What is the "rule of law"?

  check  Everyone must follow the law.

  check  Leaders must obey the law.

  check  Government must obey the law.

  check  No one is above the law.

• chevron_right 13. Name one branch or part of the government.*

  check  Congress

  check  legislative

  check  President

  check  executive

  check  the courts

  check  judicial

• chevron_right 14. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?

  check  checks and balances

  check  separation of powers

• chevron_right 15. Who is in charge of the executive branch?

  check  the President

• chevron_right 16. Who makes federal laws?

  check  Congress

  check  Senate and House (of Representatives)

  check  (U.S. or national) legislature

• chevron_right 17. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?*

  check  the Senate and House (of Representatives)

• chevron_right 18. How many U.S. Senators are there?

  check  one hundred (100)

• chevron_right 19. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?

  check  six (6)

• chevron_right 20. Who is one of your state's U.S. Senators now?*

  check  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.]

• chevron_right 21. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?

  check  four hundred thirty-five (435)

• chevron_right 22. We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?

  check  two (2)

• chevron_right 23. Name your U.S. Representative.

  check  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.]

• chevron_right 24. Who does a U.S. Senator represent?

  check  all people of the state

• chevron_right 25. Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?

  check  (because of) the state's population

  check  (because) they have more people

  check  (because) some states have more people

• chevron_right 26. We elect a President for how many years?

  check  four (4)

• chevron_right 27. In what month do we vote for President?*

  check  November

• chevron_right 28. What is the name of the President of the United States now?*

  check  Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

  check  Joseph Biden

  check  Biden

• chevron_right 29. What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?

  check  Kamala D. Harris

  check  Kamala Harris

  check  Harris

• chevron_right 30. If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?

  check  the Vice President

• chevron_right 31. If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?

  check  the Speaker of the House

• chevron_right 32. Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?

  check  the President

• chevron_right 33. Who signs bills to become laws?

  check  the President

• chevron_right 34. Who vetoes bills?

  check  the President

• chevron_right 35. What does the President's Cabinet do?

  check  advises the President

• chevron_right 36. What are two Cabinet-level positions?

  check  Secretary of Agriculture

  check  Secretary of Commerce

  check  Secretary of Defense

  check  Secretary of Education

  check  Secretary of Energy

  check  Secretary of Health and Human Services

  check  Secretary of Homeland Security

  check  Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

  check  Secretary of the Interior

  check  Secretary of Labor

  check  Secretary of State

  check  Secretary of Transportation

  check  Secretary of the Treasury

  check  Secretary of Veterans Affairs

  check  Attorney General

  check  Vice President

• chevron_right 37. What does the judicial branch do?

  check  reviews laws

  check  explains laws

  check  resolves disputes (disagreements)

  check  decides if a law goes against the Constitution

• chevron_right 38. What is the highest court in the United States?

  check  the Supreme Court

• chevron_right 39. How many justices are on the Supreme Court?

  check  nine (9)

• chevron_right 40. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?

  check  John Roberts (John G. Roberts, Jr.)

• chevron_right 41. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?

  check  to print money

  check  to declare war

  check  to create an army

  check  to make treaties

• chevron_right 42. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?

  check  provide schooling and education

  check  provide protection (police)

  check  provide safety (fire departments)

  check  give a driver's license

  check  approve zoning and land use

• chevron_right 43. Who is the Governor of your state now?

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

• chevron_right 44. What is the capital of your state?*

  check   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.]

• chevron_right 45. What are the two major political parties in the United States?*

  check  Democratic and Republican

• chevron_right 46. What is the political party of the President now?

  check  Republican (Party)

• chevron_right 47. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?

  check  Nancy Pelosi

  check  Pelosi

• chevron_right 48. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.

  check  Citizens eighteen (18) and older (can vote).

  check  You don't have to pay (a poll tax) to vote.

  check  Any citizen can vote. (Women and men can vote.)

  check  A male citizen of any race (can vote).

• chevron_right 49. What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?*

  check  serve on a jury

  check  vote in a federal election

• chevron_right 50. Name one right only for United States citizens.

  check  vote in a federal election

  check  run for federal office

• chevron_right 51. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?

  check  freedom of expression

  check  freedom of speech

  check  freedom of assembly

  check  freedom to petition the government

  check  freedom of religion

  check  the right to bear arms

• chevron_right 52. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?

  check  the United States

  check  the flag

• chevron_right 53. What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?

  check  give up loyalty to other countries

  check  defend the Constitution and laws of the United States

  check  obey the laws of the United States

  check  serve in the U.S. military (if needed)

  check  serve (do important work for) the nation (if needed)

  check  be loyal to the United States

• chevron_right 54. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?*

  check  eighteen (18) and older

• chevron_right 55. What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?

  check  vote

  check  join a political party

  check  help with a campaign

  check  join a civic group

  check  join a community group

  check  give an elected official your opinion on an issue

  check  call Senators and Representatives

  check  publicly support or oppose an issue or policy

  check  run for office

  check  write to a newspaper

• chevron_right 56. When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?*

  check  April 15

• chevron_right 57. When must all men register for the Selective Service?

  check  at age eighteen (18)

  check  between eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26)

• chevron_right 58. What is one reason colonists came to America?

  check  freedom

  check  political liberty

  check  religious freedom

  check  economic opportunity

  check  practice their religion

  check  escape persecution

• chevron_right 59. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?

  check  American Indians

  check  Native Americans

• chevron_right 60. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?

  check  Africans

  check  people from Africa

• chevron_right 61. Why did the colonists fight the British?

  check  because of high taxes (taxation without representation)

  check  because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering)

  check  because they didn't have self-government

• chevron_right 62. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

  check  (Thomas) Jefferson

• chevron_right 63. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

  check  July 4, 1776

• chevron_right 64. There were 13 original states. Name three.

  check  New Hampshire

  check  Massachusetts

  check  Rhode Island

  check  Connecticut

  check  New York

  check  New Jersey

  check  Pennsylvania

  check  Delaware

  check  Maryland

  check  Virginia

  check  North Carolina

  check  South Carolina

  check  Georgia

• chevron_right 65. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?

  check  The Constitution was written.

  check  The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution.

• chevron_right 66. When was the Constitution written?

  check  1787

• chevron_right 67. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.

  check  (James) Madison

  check  (Alexander) Hamilton

  check  (John) Jay

  check  Publius

• chevron_right 68. What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?

  check  U.S. diplomat

  check  oldest member of the Constitutional Convention

  check  first Postmaster General of the United States

  check  writer of Poor Richard's Almanac

  check  started the first free libraries

• chevron_right 69. Who is the "Father of Our Country"

  check  (George) Washington

• chevron_right 70. Who was the first President?*

  check  (George) Washington

• chevron_right 71. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?

  check  the Louisiana Territory

  check  Louisiana

• chevron_right 72. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.

  check  War of 1812

  check  Mexican-American War

  check  Civil War

  check  Spanish-American War

• chevron_right 73. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.

  check  the Civil War

  check  the War between the States

• chevron_right 74. Name one problem that led to the Civil War.

  check  slavery

  check  economic reasons

  check  states' rights

• chevron_right 75. What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?*

  check  freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)

  check  saved (or preserved) the Union

  check  led the United States during the Civil War

• chevron_right 76. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

  check  freed the slaves

  check  freed slaves in the Confederacy

  check  freed slaves in the Confederate states

  check  freed slaves in most Southern states

• chevron_right 77. What did Susan B. Anthony do?

  check  fought for women's rights

  check  fought for civil rights

• chevron_right 78. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.*

  check  World War I

  check  World War II

  check  Korean War

  check  Vietnam War

  check  (Persian) Gulf War

• chevron_right 79. Who was President during World War I?

  check  (Woodrow) Wilson

• chevron_right 80. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?

  check  (Franklin) Roosevelt

• chevron_right 81. Who did the United States fight in World War II?

  check  Japan, Germany, and Italy

• chevron_right 82. Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?

  check  World War II

• chevron_right 83. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?

  check  Communism

• chevron_right 84. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?

  check  civil rights (movement)

• chevron_right 85. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?*

  check  fought for civil rights

  check  worked for equality for all Americans

• chevron_right 86. What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?

  check  Terrorists attacked the United States.

• chevron_right 87. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.

  check  Cherokee

  check  Navajo

  check  Sioux

  check  Chippewa

  check  Choctaw

  check  Pueblo

  check  Apache

  check  Iroquois

  check  Creek

  check  Blackfeet

  check  Seminole

  check  Cheyenne

  check  Arawak

  check  Shawnee

  check  Mohegan

  check  Huron

  check  Oneida

  check  Lakota

  check  Crow

  check  Teton

  check  Hopi

  check  Inuit

• chevron_right 88. Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.

  check  Missouri (River)

  check  Mississippi (River)

• chevron_right 89. What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?

  check  Pacific (Ocean)

• chevron_right 90. What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?

  check  Atlantic (Ocean)

• chevron_right 91. Name one U.S. territory.

  check  Puerto Rico

  check  U.S. Virgin Islands

  check  American Samoa

  check  Northern Mariana Islands

  check  Guam

• chevron_right 92. Name one state that borders Canada.

  check  Maine

  check  New Hampshire

  check  Vermont

  check  New York

  check  Pennsylvania

  check  Ohio

  check  Michigan

  check  Minnesota

  check  North Dakota

  check  Montana

  check  Idaho

  check  Washington

  check  Alaska

• chevron_right 93. Name one state that borders Mexico.

  check  California

  check  Arizona

  check  New Mexico

  check  Texas

• chevron_right 94. What is the capital of the United States?*

  check  Washington, D.C.

• chevron_right 95. Where is the Statue of Liberty?*

  check  New York (Harbor)

  check  Liberty Island

• chevron_right 96. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?

  check  because there were 13 original colonies

  check  because the stripes represent the original colonies

• chevron_right 97. Why does the flag have 50 stars?*

  check  because there is one star for each state

  check  because each star represents a state

  check  because there are 50 states

• chevron_right 98. What is the name of the national anthem?

  check  The Star-Spangled Banner

• chevron_right 99. When do we celebrate Independence Day?*

  check  July 4

• chevron_right 100. Name two national U.S. holidays.

  check  New Year's Day

  check  Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

  check  Presidents' Day

  check  Memorial Day

  check  Independence Day

  check  Labor Day

  check  Columbus Day

  check  Veterans Day

  check  Thanksgiving

  check  Christmas