Civics Flashcards for the 2025 Test

Accepted answers

• Republic
• Constitution-based federal republic
• Representative democracy

The Constitution sets up a republic: the people elect representatives, and the government is limited by law rather than run by a monarch.

Answer

• (U.S.) Constitution

Article VI makes the Constitution the highest law, so every federal and state law, and every official, must follow it.

Accepted answers

• Forms the government
• Defines powers of government
• Defines the parts of government
• Protects the rights of the people

The Constitution forms the government, defines its powers and parts, and protects the rights of the people.

Accepted answers

• Self-government
• Popular sovereignty
• Consent of the governed
• People should govern themselves
• (Example of) social contract

"We the People" shows that the government's authority comes from the people themselves, which is self-government.

Accepted answers

• Amendments
• The amendment process

Article V lays out the amendment process, which requires approval by Congress and by three fourths of the states.

Accepted answers

• (The basic) rights of Americans
• (The basic) rights of people living in the United States

The first ten amendments list basic rights, such as speech, religion, and a fair trial, for everyone living in the United States.

Answer

• Twenty-seven (27)

The Constitution has been amended 27 times, most recently in 1992.

Accepted answers

• It says America is free from British control.
• It says all people are created equal.
• It identifies inherent rights.
• It identifies individual freedoms.

The Declaration states that all people are created equal and have rights the government cannot take away.

Answer

• Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence announced that the American colonies were free from British control.

Accepted answers

• Equality
• Liberty
• Social contract
• Natural rights
• Limited government
• Self-government

Equality, liberty, natural rights, and self-government are ideas shared by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Answer

• Declaration of Independence

Thomas Jefferson wrote those words in the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Accepted answers

• Capitalism
• Free market economy

The United States has a capitalist, free-market economy in which people and businesses own property and compete.

Accepted answers

• Everyone must follow the law.
• Leaders must obey the law.
• Government must obey the law.
• No one is above the law.

The rule of law means no one, including the President, is above the law, and everyone must follow it.

Accepted answers

• Declaration of Independence
• Articles of Confederation
• Federalist Papers
• Anti-Federalist Papers
• Virginia Declaration of Rights
• Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
• Mayflower Compact
• Iroquois Great Law of Peace

The Founders drew on the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Federalist Papers, and documents such as the Mayflower Compact.

Accepted answers

• So one part does not become too powerful
• Checks and balances
• Separation of powers

Separating power among three branches keeps any one part of government from becoming too powerful.

Accepted answers

• Legislative, executive, and judicial
• Congress, president, and the courts

The legislative, executive, and judicial branches make, enforce, and review the laws.

Answer

• Executive branch

The President is in charge of the executive branch, which carries out the laws.

Accepted answers

• (U.S.) Congress
• (U.S. or national) legislature
• Legislative branch

Congress, the legislative branch, writes federal laws.

Answer

• Senate and House (of Representatives)

Congress has two parts, the Senate and the House of Representatives, and both must pass a bill.

Accepted answers

• Writes laws
• Declares war
• Makes the federal budget

Congress writes laws, declares war, and makes the federal budget.

Answer

• One hundred (100)

The Senate has 100 members, two from each of the 50 states.

Answer

• Six (6) years

Senators serve six-year terms, with about one third of the Senate up for election every two years.

Answer

• 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.]

Answer

• Four hundred thirty-five (435)

The House of Representatives has 435 voting members, divided among the states by population.

Answer

• Two (2) years

Representatives serve two-year terms, so the whole House faces the voters at every federal election.

Answer

• To more closely follow public opinion

Shorter House terms keep representatives closely tied to public opinion.

Answer

• Two (2)

Every state has two senators, no matter how many people live there.

Accepted answers

• Equal representation (for small states)
• The Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)

The Great Compromise gave each state equal representation in the Senate while seats in the House are based on population.

Answer

• 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.]

Accepted answers

• Mike Johnson
• James Michael Johnson
• Johnson

updateCurrent as of November 8, 2026. This answer changes with elections and appointments, so confirm it at uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates before your interview.

The Speaker leads the House of Representatives. The name can change with each Congress, so check uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates.

Accepted answers

• Citizens of their state
• People of their state

A senator represents all the people of the state, not just one district.

Answer

• Citizens from their state

Since the 17th Amendment in 1913, voters have elected senators directly.

Accepted answers

• Citizens in their (congressional) district
• Citizens in their district
• People from their (congressional) district
• People in their district

A member of the House represents the people of one congressional district.

Answer

• Citizens from their (congressional) district

Voters in each congressional district elect their representative.

Accepted answers

• (Because of) the state's population
• (Because) they have more people
• (Because) some states have more people

House seats are based on population, so a state with more people has more representatives.

Answer

• Four (4) years

A presidential term is four years.

Accepted answers

• (Because of) the 22nd Amendment
• To keep the president from becoming too powerful

The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, limits a President to two elected terms.

Accepted answers

• Donald Trump
• Donald J. Trump
• Trump

updateCurrent as of November 8, 2026. This answer changes with elections and appointments, so confirm it at uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates before your interview.

The President's name changes with elections, so check uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates before your interview.

Accepted answers

• JD Vance
• J.D. Vance
• Vance

updateCurrent as of November 8, 2026. This answer changes with elections and appointments, so confirm it at uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates before your interview.

The Vice President's name changes with elections, so check uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates before your interview.

Answer

• The Vice President (of the United States)

If the President can no longer serve, the Vice President becomes President.

Accepted answers

• Signs bills into law
• Vetoes bills
• Enforces laws
• Commander in Chief (of the military)
• Chief diplomat
• Appoints federal judges

The President signs bills into law, vetoes bills, appoints judges, and commands the military.

Answer

• The President (of the United States)

The Constitution makes the President Commander in Chief of the armed forces.

Answer

• The President (of the United States)

After Congress passes a bill, the President signs it to make it law.

Answer

• The President (of the United States)

The President may veto a bill, though Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds vote.

Answer

• The President (of the United States)

The President nominates federal judges, and the Senate must confirm them.

Accepted answers

• President (of the United States)
• Cabinet
• Federal departments and agencies

The executive branch includes the President, the Vice President, the Cabinet, and federal departments and agencies.

Answer

• Advises the President (of the United States)

The Cabinet is a group of advisors, mostly the heads of executive departments, who advise the President.

Accepted answers

• Attorney General
• Secretary of Agriculture
• Secretary of Commerce
• Secretary of Education
• Secretary of Energy
• Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Secretary of Homeland Security
• Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
• Secretary of the Interior
• Secretary of Labor
• Secretary of State
• Secretary of Transportation
• Secretary of the Treasury
• Secretary of Veterans Affairs
• Secretary of War (Defense)
• Vice-President
• Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
• Administrator of the Small Business Administration
• Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
• Director of the Office of Management and Budget
• Director of National Intelligence
• United States Trade Representative

Cabinet-level positions include the Attorney General and the Secretaries of State, Defense, Education, and other departments.

Accepted answers

• It decides who is elected president.
• It provides a compromise between the popular election of the president and congressional selection.

The Electoral College chooses the President by combining each state's popular vote with its electoral votes.

Accepted answers

• Supreme Court
• Federal Courts

The judicial branch includes the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts.

Accepted answers

• Reviews laws
• Explains laws
• Resolves disputes (disagreements) about the law
• Decides if a law goes against the (U.S.) Constitution

Courts review and explain laws, resolve disputes, and can rule that a law violates the Constitution.

Answer

• Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the highest court, and no other court can overturn its decisions.

Answer

• Nine (9)

The Supreme Court has nine seats: one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices.

Answer

• Five (5)

At least five of the nine justices must agree to decide a case.

Accepted answers

• (For) life
• Lifetime appointment
• (Until) retirement

Justices serve for life, which protects them from election pressure.

Accepted answers

• To be independent (of politics)
• To limit outside (political) influence

Life tenure lets justices decide cases based on the law and the Constitution rather than politics.

Accepted answers

• John Roberts
• John G. Roberts, Jr.
• Roberts

updateCurrent as of November 8, 2026. This answer changes with elections and appointments, so confirm it at uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates before your interview.

The Chief Justice leads the Supreme Court. Confirm the current name at uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates.

Accepted answers

• Print paper money
• Mint coins
• Declare war
• Create an army
• Make treaties
• Set foreign policy

Only the federal government can print money, coin money, declare war, make treaties, and set foreign policy.

Accepted answers

• Provide schooling and education
• Provide protection (police)
• Provide safety (fire departments)
• Give a driver's license
• Approve zoning and land use

States provide schooling, police and fire protection, driver's licenses, and zoning.

Answer

• (It states that the) powers not given to the federal government belong to the states or to the people.

The 10th Amendment reserves powers not given to the federal government to the states or to the people.

Answer

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

Answer

• 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.]

Accepted answers

• 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).

Four amendments expanded voting: the 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th. Today U.S. citizens 18 and older can vote.

Accepted answers

• Citizens
• Citizens of the United States
• U.S. citizens

Voting in federal elections, running for federal office, and serving on a jury are rights of U.S. citizens.

Accepted answers

• Freedom of expression
• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of assembly
• Freedom to petition the government
• Freedom of religion
• The right to bear arms

Everyone living in the United States has the First Amendment freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, the press, and petition.

Accepted answers

• The United States
• The flag

The Pledge of Allegiance is a promise of loyalty to the United States and its flag.

Accepted answers

• Give up loyalty to other countries
• Defend the (U.S.) Constitution
• Obey the laws of the United States
• Serve in the military (if needed)
• Serve (help, do important work for) the nation (if needed)
• Be loyal to the United States

New citizens promise to give up loyalty to other countries, defend the Constitution, obey U.S. laws, serve if needed, and be loyal to the United States.

Accepted answers

• Be born in the United States, under the conditions set by the 14th Amendment
• Naturalize
• Derive citizenship (under conditions set by Congress)

People become citizens by being born in the United States, deriving citizenship from a parent, or naturalizing.

Accepted answers

• Vote
• Run for office
• Join a political party
• Help with a campaign
• Join a civic group
• Join a community group
• Give an elected official your opinion (on an issue)
• Contact elected officials
• Support or oppose an issue or policy
• Write to a newspaper

Civic participation includes voting, joining a civic group, contacting officials, and writing to a newspaper.

Accepted answers

• Vote
• Pay taxes
• Obey the law
• Serve in the military
• Run for office
• Work for local, state, or federal government

Americans serve their country by voting, paying taxes, obeying the law, serving in the military, or working in government.

Accepted answers

• Required by law
• All people pay to fund the federal government
• Required by the (U.S.) Constitution (16th Amendment)
• Civic duty

Federal taxes are required by law and fund the government, including the military and public services.

Accepted answers

• Required by law
• Civic duty
• Makes the draft fair, if needed

Men 18 through 25 must register with the Selective Service; the law requires it so that a draft would be fair.

Accepted answers

• Freedom
• Political liberty
• Religious freedom
• Economic opportunity
• Escape persecution

Colonists came for freedom, religious freedom, political liberty, economic opportunity, and to escape persecution.

Accepted answers

• American Indians
• Native Americans

American Indians, also called Native Americans, lived in the Americas long before Europeans arrived.

Accepted answers

• Africans
• People from Africa

Africans were taken from their homes and sold as enslaved people in the American colonies.

Accepted answers

• American Revolution
• The (American) Revolutionary War
• War for (American) Independence

The American Revolutionary War won independence from Britain.

Accepted answers

• High taxes
• Taxation without representation
• British soldiers stayed in Americans' houses (boarding, quartering)
• They did not have self-government
• Boston Massacre
• Boston Tea Party (Tea Act)
• Stamp Act
• Sugar Act
• Townshend Acts
• Intolerable (Coercive) Acts

Colonists objected to taxation without representation and to laws such as the Stamp Act and the Intolerable Acts.

Answer

• (Thomas) Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence.

Answer

• July 4, 1776

The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776.

Accepted answers

• (Battle of) Bunker Hill
• Declaration of Independence
• Washington Crossing the Delaware (Battle of Trenton)
• (Battle of) Saratoga
• Valley Forge (Encampment)
• (Battle of) Yorktown (British surrender at Yorktown)

Revolutionary War events include Bunker Hill, Washington crossing the Delaware, Saratoga, Valley Forge, and Yorktown.

Accepted answers

• New Hampshire
• Massachusetts
• Rhode Island
• Connecticut
• New York
• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania
• Delaware
• Maryland
• Virginia
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Georgia

The 13 original states stretched along the East Coast from New Hampshire to Georgia.

Answer

• (U.S.) Constitution

The Constitution was written in 1787 at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

Accepted answers

• (James) Madison
• (Alexander) Hamilton
• (John) Jay
• Publius

James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote the Federalist Papers under the name Publius.

Accepted answers

• They helped people understand the (U.S.) Constitution.
• They supported passing the (U.S.) Constitution.

The Federalist Papers explained and supported the new Constitution during the ratification debate.

Accepted answers

• Founded the first free public libraries
• First Postmaster General of the United States
• Helped write the Declaration of Independence
• Inventor
• U.S. diplomat

Benjamin Franklin was a diplomat, an inventor, a writer, and the first Postmaster General of the United States.

Accepted answers

• "Father of Our Country"
• First president of the United States
• General of the Continental Army
• President of the Constitutional Convention

George Washington was the first President and the commander of the Continental Army.

Accepted answers

• Writer of the Declaration of Independence
• Third president of the United States
• Doubled the size of the United States (Louisiana Purchase)
• First Secretary of State
• Founded the University of Virginia
• Writer of the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration and later, as third President, made the Louisiana Purchase.

Accepted answers

• "Father of the Constitution"
• Fourth president of the United States
• President during the War of 1812
• One of the writers of the Federalist Papers

James Madison is called the Father of the Constitution for his role at the Constitutional Convention.

Accepted answers

• First Secretary of the Treasury
• One of the writers of the Federalist Papers
• Helped establish the First Bank of the United States
• Aide to General George Washington
• Member of the Continental Congress

Alexander Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury and a writer of the Federalist Papers.

Accepted answers

• Louisiana Territory
• Louisiana

The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 bought a huge territory from France and doubled the size of the United States.

Accepted answers

• War of 1812
• Mexican-American War
• Civil War
• Spanish-American War

The United States fought the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War in the 1800s.

Answer

• The Civil War

The Civil War was fought between the North and the South from 1861 to 1865.

Accepted answers

• (Battle of) Fort Sumter
• Emancipation Proclamation
• (Battle of) Vicksburg
• (Battle of) Gettysburg
• Sherman's March
• (Surrender at) Appomattox
• (Battle of) Antietam/Sharpsburg
• Lincoln was assassinated.

Civil War events include Fort Sumter, the Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Appomattox.

Accepted answers

• Freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
• Saved (or preserved) the Union
• Led the United States during the Civil War
• 16th president of the United States
• Delivered the Gettysburg Address

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President, preserved the Union, and issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Accepted answers

• Freed the slaves
• Freed slaves in the Confederacy
• Freed slaves in the Confederate states
• Freed slaves in most Southern states

The Emancipation Proclamation declared that enslaved people in Confederate states were free.

Answer

• The Civil War

The Civil War ended slavery, and the 13th Amendment later made slavery illegal throughout the country.

Answer

• 14th Amendment

The 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to people born or naturalized in the United States.

Accepted answers

• After the Civil War
• During Reconstruction
• (With the) 15th Amendment
• 1870

The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, protected the right to vote for men of all races.

Accepted answers

• Susan B. Anthony
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton
• Sojourner Truth
• Harriet Tubman
• Lucretia Mott
• Lucy Stone

Leaders of the women's rights movement included Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Lucretia Mott, and Lucy Stone.

Accepted answers

• World War I
• World War II
• Korean War
• Vietnam War
• (Persian) Gulf War

The United States fought in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf War during the 1900s.

Accepted answers

• Because Germany attacked U.S. (civilian) ships
• To support the Allied Powers (England, France, Italy, and Russia)
• To oppose the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria)

Germany's attacks on U.S. ships helped bring the United States into World War I in 1917.

Accepted answers

• 1920
• After World War I
• (With the) 19th Amendment

The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, gave women the right to vote.

Answer

• Longest economic recession in modern history

The Great Depression was the longest economic downturn in modern history.

Accepted answers

• The Great Crash (1929)
• Stock market crash of 1929

The Great Depression began with the stock market crash of 1929.

Answer

• (Franklin) Roosevelt

Franklin Roosevelt led the country through the Great Depression and World War II.

Accepted answers

• (Bombing of) Pearl Harbor
• Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
• To support the Allied Powers (England, France, and Russia)
• To oppose the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan)

Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 brought the United States into World War II.

Accepted answers

• General during World War II
• President at the end of (during) the Korean War
• 34th president of the United States
• Signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 (Created the Interstate System)

Dwight Eisenhower commanded Allied forces in World War II and later became the 34th President.

Accepted answers

• Soviet Union
• USSR
• Russia

The Soviet Union was the main rival of the United States during the Cold War.

Accepted answers

• Communism
• Nuclear war

During the Cold War the United States was concerned about the spread of communism and the threat of nuclear war.

Answer

• To stop the spread of communism

The United States fought in Korea to stop the spread of communism.

Answer

• To stop the spread of communism

The United States entered the Vietnam War for the same reason: to stop the spread of communism.

Answer

• Fought to end racial discrimination

The civil rights movement fought to end racial discrimination and segregation.

Accepted answers

• Fought for civil rights
• Worked for equality for all Americans
• Worked to ensure that people would "not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character"

Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. led the movement for civil rights and equality for all Americans.

Answer

• To force the Iraqi military from Kuwait

The United States led a coalition that forced the Iraqi military out of Kuwait in 1991.

Accepted answers

• Terrorists attacked the United States
• Terrorists took over two planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City
• Terrorists took over a plane and crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia
• Terrorists took over a plane originally aimed at Washington, D.C., and crashed in a field in Pennsylvania

Terrorists hijacked planes and attacked New York City and Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001.

Accepted answers

• (Global) War on Terror
• War in Afghanistan
• War in Iraq

After the September 11 attacks the United States fought in Afghanistan and Iraq as part of the War on Terror.

Accepted answers

• Apache
• Blackfeet
• Cayuga
• Cherokee
• Cheyenne
• Chippewa
• Choctaw
• Creek
• Crow
• Hopi
• Huron
• Inupiat
• Lakota
• Mohawk
• Mohegan
• Navajo
• Oneida
• Onondaga
• Pueblo
• Seminole
• Seneca
• Shawnee
• Sioux
• Teton
• Tuscarora

The United States is home to hundreds of American Indian tribes, including the Cherokee, Navajo, and Lakota.

Accepted answers

• Light bulb
• Automobile (cars, internal combustion engine)
• Skyscrapers
• Airplane
• Assembly line
• Landing on the moon
• Integrated circuit (IC)

American innovations include the light bulb, the airplane, the assembly line, and landing on the moon.

Answer

• Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States and is not part of any state.

Accepted answers

• New York (Harbor)
• Liberty Island [Also acceptable are New Jersey, near New York City, and on the Hudson (River).]

The Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor on Liberty Island.

Accepted answers

• (Because there were) 13 original colonies
• (Because the stripes) represent the original colonies

The 13 stripes on the flag honor the 13 original colonies.

Accepted answers

• (Because there is) one star for each state
• (Because) each star represents a state
• (Because there are) 50 states

The 50 stars on the flag stand for the 50 states, one star for each state.

Answer

• The Star-Spangled Banner

The national anthem of the United States is The Star-Spangled Banner.

Accepted answers

• Out of many, one
• We all become one

E Pluribus Unum is Latin for Out of many, one.

Accepted answers

• A holiday to celebrate U.S. independence (from Britain)
• The country's birthday

Independence Day on July 4 celebrates U.S. independence from Britain.

Accepted answers

• New Year's Day
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Presidents Day (Washington's Birthday)
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

National holidays include New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

Answer

• A holiday to honor soldiers who died in military service

Memorial Day honors soldiers who died in military service.

Accepted answers

• A holiday to honor people in the (U.S.) military
• A holiday to honor people who have served (in the U.S. military)

Veterans Day honors people who have served in the U.S. military.