US Citizenship Test flashcards

The Constitution sets up the government and protects basic rights. Every other law must follow it.

The Constitution sets up the government, defines it and protects the basic rights of Americans.

The Constitution has been amended 27 times. The first ten amendments are the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791 and protects freedoms such as speech, religion and the press.

The First Amendment protects speech, religion, assembly, the press and the right to petition the government.

Separating powers between three branches stops any one branch from becoming too powerful.

Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, writes and passes federal laws.

Each of the 50 states elects two senators.

Senators serve six-year terms. About one third of Senate seats are up for election every two years.

House seats are divided among the states by population.

Every House seat is up for election every two years.

A President is elected for four years and can serve at most two elected terms.

The Constitution makes the President the Commander in Chief.

The number is set by Congress and has been nine since 1869.

The Supreme Court has the final say on what the Constitution means.

No one, including leaders and the government, is above the law.

Printing money, declaring war, creating an army and making treaties are federal powers. Licences and schools are state matters.

The United States is a constitution-based federal republic and a representative democracy: citizens elect representatives who govern on their behalf under the Constitution.

"We the People" expresses popular sovereignty, or self-government: the power of the government comes from the consent of the governed.

The Constitution is changed through the amendment process. An amendment must be proposed by Congress or a convention and then ratified by three-fourths of the states.

The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments, protects the basic rights of Americans and of people living in the United States, such as freedom of speech and religion.

The Declaration of Independence announced that America was free from British control, declared that all people are created equal, and identified inherent rights and individual freedoms.

The Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, 1776, declared that the thirteen American colonies were free and independent from Great Britain.

Key ideas shared by the two founding documents include equality, liberty, the social contract, natural rights, limited government, and self-government.

The Declaration of Independence states that all people have unalienable rights, among them "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

The United States has a capitalist, free market economy in which businesses and individuals, rather than the government, own most property and make most economic decisions.

Documents that influenced the Constitution include the Mayflower Compact, the Articles of Confederation, the Federalist Papers, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and the Iroquois Great Law of Peace.

The Constitution divides power among three branches to create checks and balances and separation of powers, so that no single part of government becomes too powerful.

The President heads the executive branch, which enforces federal laws. Congress is the legislative branch and the courts make up the judicial branch.

Congress is bicameral: it is made up of the Senate, with 100 members, and the House of Representatives, with 435 voting members.

Congress writes laws, declares war, and makes the federal budget. Appointing judges, vetoing bills, and commanding the military are powers of the President.

Representatives serve two-year terms so that they face voters often and more closely follow public opinion. Senators serve six-year terms for greater stability.

Every state has two U.S. senators regardless of its population, which is why there are 100 senators for the 50 states.

The Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise) of 1787 gave every state two senators so that small states would have equal representation in the Senate.

A U.S. senator represents all the citizens of their state, while a member of the House of Representatives represents the people of one congressional district.

Since the 17th Amendment (1913), U.S. senators are elected directly by the citizens of their state rather than chosen by state legislatures.

Each member of the House of Representatives represents the citizens living in one congressional district within their state.

Members of the House are elected every two years directly by the citizens of the congressional district they represent.

Seats in the House of Representatives are divided among the states according to population, so states with more people have more representatives.

The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, limits the President to two terms to keep the president from becoming too powerful.

If the President dies, resigns, or cannot serve, the Vice President becomes President. The Speaker of the House is next in the line of succession.

The President signs bills into law, vetoes bills, enforces laws, appoints federal judges, serves as chief diplomat, and is Commander in Chief of the military.

After a bill passes both the House and the Senate, it goes to the President, who signs it into law or vetoes it.

The President can veto a bill passed by Congress. Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate.

The President appoints federal judges, including Supreme Court justices. The Senate must then confirm the appointments.

The executive branch includes the President, the Cabinet, and the federal departments and agencies. Congress and the courts belong to the other two branches.

The Cabinet is made up of the heads of the executive departments and other top officials. Its job is to advise the President.

Cabinet-level positions include the Vice President, the Attorney General, and the Secretaries of State, the Treasury, War (Defense), Labor, Education, and other executive departments.

The Electoral College formally elects the President. It is a compromise between a popular vote for president and selection by Congress.

The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts. The Department of Justice is part of the executive branch.

The judicial branch reviews and explains laws, resolves disputes about the law, and decides whether a law goes against the Constitution.

The Supreme Court has nine seats, and a simple majority of five justices is usually needed to decide a case.

Supreme Court justices receive a lifetime appointment and serve until they retire, resign, or die, unless they are removed through impeachment.

Lifetime appointments let justices be independent of politics and limit outside political influence on their decisions.

States provide schooling, police and fire protection, driver's licenses, and zoning. Printing money, declaring war, and making treaties are federal powers.

The 10th Amendment states that powers not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the states or to the people.

The 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th Amendments say that male citizens of any race, women, and citizens 18 and older can vote, and that no poll tax is required to vote.

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

Everyone living in the United States has freedom of expression, speech, assembly, religion, and petition, and the right to bear arms. Voting and jury service are for citizens.

The Pledge of Allegiance expresses loyalty to the flag of the United States and to the republic for which it stands.

In the Oath of Allegiance, new citizens promise to give up loyalty to other countries, defend the Constitution, obey U.S. laws, serve the nation if needed, and be loyal to the United States.

People become U.S. citizens by being born in the United States under the 14th Amendment, by naturalizing, or by deriving citizenship under conditions set by Congress.

Civic participation includes voting, running for office, joining a political party or civic group, helping with a campaign, contacting elected officials, and writing to a newspaper.

Americans can serve their country by voting, paying taxes, obeying the law, serving in the military, running for office, or working for local, state, or federal government.

Paying federal taxes is required by law and by the 16th Amendment. It is a civic duty, and all people pay to fund the federal government.

Registering for the Selective Service is required by law and is a civic duty. It makes the draft fair if a draft is ever needed.

Washington served from 1789 to 1797 and is called the Father of Our Country.

Americans celebrate this date as Independence Day.

Jefferson was the main author. Franklin and John Adams helped edit it.

The Declaration names life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Lincoln led the Union from 1861 until he was assassinated in 1865.

Lincoln issued it in 1863. Slavery was abolished everywhere by the 13th Amendment in 1865.

The Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865.

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

American Indians, also called Native Americans, lived throughout North America for thousands of years before Europeans arrived.

Millions of people from Africa were taken from their homes and sold as slaves in the Americas, including in the American colonies and later the United States.

The American Revolution, also called the Revolutionary War or War for Independence, was fought from 1775 to 1783 and won independence from Britain.

Colonists objected to high taxes, taxation without representation, the quartering of British soldiers, and acts such as the Stamp Act and Intolerable Acts, and they lacked self-government.

Key Revolution events include Bunker Hill, the Declaration of Independence, Washington crossing the Delaware, Saratoga, Valley Forge, and the British surrender at Yorktown.

The 13 original states were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

The U.S. Constitution was written at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. The Declaration dates from 1776 and the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.

The Federalist Papers were written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay under the shared pen name Publius.

The Federalist Papers were essays that helped people understand the proposed Constitution and argued for its ratification by the states.

Benjamin Franklin was the first Postmaster General, a U.S. diplomat, an inventor, a founder of the first free public libraries, and helped write the Declaration of Independence.

George Washington was general of the Continental Army, president of the Constitutional Convention, and the first President of the United States, earning the title "Father of Our Country."

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, was the first Secretary of State and third President, made the Louisiana Purchase, and founded the University of Virginia.

James Madison is called the "Father of the Constitution." He co-wrote the Federalist Papers, was the fourth President, and led the country during the War of 1812.

Alexander Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury, a writer of the Federalist Papers, an aide to General Washington, and helped establish the First Bank of the United States.

In 1803 the United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France, doubling the size of the country. Florida came from Spain and Alaska from Russia.

In the 1800s the United States fought the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War (1898).

Important Civil War events include Fort Sumter, Antietam, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Sherman's March, the surrender at Appomattox, and Lincoln's assassination.

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, led the United States during the Civil War, saved the Union, freed the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation, and delivered the Gettysburg Address.

The Civil War (1861-1865) ended slavery in the United States. The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery throughout the country.

The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, defines citizenship and guarantees equal protection of the laws to all persons.

The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870 during Reconstruction after the Civil War, said the right to vote could not be denied because of race.

Leaders of the 1800s women's rights movement include Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Lucretia Mott, and Lucy Stone.

In the 1900s the United States fought World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War.

The United States entered World War I in 1917 after Germany attacked U.S. civilian ships, joining the Allied Powers against Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920 shortly after World War I, guaranteed women the right to vote.

The Great Depression was the longest economic recession in modern history. It began with the stock market crash of 1929 and lasted through the 1930s.

The Great Depression began with the Great Crash, the stock market crash of October 1929, and lasted through most of the 1930s.

Franklin D. Roosevelt served as President from 1933 to 1945, leading the country through the Great Depression and most of World War II.

The United States entered World War II after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, joining the Allied Powers against the Axis Powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Dwight Eisenhower was a general in World War II, the 34th President, president at the end of the Korean War, and signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 that created the Interstate System.

During the Cold War, from the late 1940s to 1991, the United States' main rival was the Soviet Union (USSR).

During the Cold War, the United States was mainly concerned with stopping the spread of communism and preventing nuclear war.

The United States entered the Korean War in 1950 to stop the spread of communism after communist North Korea invaded South Korea.

The United States entered the Vietnam War to stop the spread of communism, supporting South Vietnam against communist North Vietnam.

The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s fought to end racial discrimination and win equal rights for all Americans.

Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for civil rights and worked for equality for all Americans, so that people would be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.

The United States entered the Persian Gulf War in 1991 to force the Iraqi military out of Kuwait after Iraq invaded that country in 1990.

On September 11, 2001, terrorists crashed planes into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon, and a fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States fought the War in Afghanistan and the War in Iraq as part of the Global War on Terror.

American Indian tribes in the United States include the Navajo, Cherokee, Sioux, Apache, Hopi, Seminole, Mohawk, Choctaw, and many others.

American innovations include the light bulb, the automobile, skyscrapers, the airplane, the assembly line, the integrated circuit, and landing on the moon.

The 13 stripes stand for the original colonies.

A star is added when a new state joins. The 50th star was added in 1960 for Hawaii.

Francis Scott Key wrote the words in 1814.

July 4 marks the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Washington, D.C. has been the capital of the United States since 1800. New York City and Philadelphia served as earlier capitals.

The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, near New York City and New Jersey. It was a gift from France in 1886.

"E Pluribus Unum" is Latin for "Out of many, one." It appears on the Great Seal of the United States and on U.S. coins.

Independence Day, July 4, celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and is often called the country's birthday.

National U.S. 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, and Christmas.

Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday in May, honors soldiers who died in military service. Veterans Day honors all who have served.

Veterans Day, November 11, honors all people who have served in the U.S. military. Memorial Day honors those who died in service.