100 civics questions and answers for the 2008 citizenship test

• the Constitution

• sets up the government
• defines the government
• protects basic rights of Americans

• We the People

• a change (to the Constitution)
• an addition (to the Constitution)

• the Bill of Rights

• speech
• religion
• assembly
• press
• petition the government

• twenty-seven (27)

• announced our independence (from Great Britain)
• declared our independence (from Great Britain)
• said that the United States is free (from Great Britain)

• life
• liberty
• pursuit of happiness

You must give 2 answers.

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

• capitalist economy
• market economy

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

• Congress
• legislative
• President
• executive
• the courts
• judicial

• checks and balances
• separation of powers

• the President

• Congress
• Senate and House (of Representatives)
• (U.S. or national) legislature

• the Senate and House (of Representatives)

• one hundred (100)

• six (6)

• 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.]

Look up your answer: your U.S. representative, your U.S. senators, your governor and state capital.

• four hundred thirty-five (435)

• two (2)

• 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.]

Look up your answer: your U.S. representative, your U.S. senators, your governor and state capital.

• all people of the state

• (because of) the state’s population
• (because) they have more people
• (because) some states have more people

• four (4)

• November

• Donald J. Trump
• Donald Trump
• Trump

Current as of October 5, 2026. This answer can change after an election or appointment — check USCIS test updates before your interview.

• JD Vance
• Vance

Current as of October 5, 2026. This answer can change after an election or appointment — check USCIS test updates before your interview.

• the Vice President

• the Speaker of the House

• the President

• the President

• the President

• advises the President

• Secretary of Agriculture
• Secretary of Commerce
• Secretary of Defense
• 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
• Attorney General
• Vice President

You must give 2 answers.

• reviews laws
• explains laws
• resolves disputes (disagreements)
• decides if a law goes against the Constitution

• the Supreme Court

• nine (9)

Current as of October 5, 2026. This answer can change after an election or appointment — check USCIS test updates before your interview.

• John Roberts
• John G. Roberts, Jr.

Current as of October 5, 2026. This answer can change after an election or appointment — check USCIS test updates before your interview.

• to print money
• to declare war
• to create an army
• to make treaties

• provide schooling and education
• provide protection (police)
• provide safety (fire departments)
• give a driver’s license
• approve zoning and land use

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

Look up your answer: your U.S. representative, your U.S. senators, your governor and state capital.

• 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.]

Look up your answer: your U.S. representative, your U.S. senators, your governor and state capital.

• Democratic and Republican

• Republican (Party)

Current as of October 5, 2026. This answer can change after an election or appointment — check USCIS test updates before your interview.

• Mike Johnson
• Johnson
• James Michael Johnson (birth name)

Current as of October 5, 2026. This answer can change after an election or appointment — check USCIS test updates before your interview.

• 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).

• serve on a jury
• vote in a federal election

• vote in a federal election
• run for federal office

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

You must give 2 answers.

• the United States
• the flag

• 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

• eighteen (18) and older

• vote
• 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
• call Senators and Representatives
• publicly support or oppose an issue or policy
• run for office
• write to a newspaper

You must give 2 answers.

• April 15

• at age eighteen (18)
• between eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26)

• freedom
• political liberty
• religious freedom
• economic opportunity
• practice their religion
• escape persecution

• American Indians
• Native Americans

• Africans
• people from Africa

• because of high taxes (taxation without representation)
• because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering)
• because they didn’t have self-government

• (Thomas) Jefferson

• July 4, 1776

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

You must give 3 answers.

• The Constitution was written.
• The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution.

• 1787

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

• U.S. diplomat
• oldest member of the Constitutional Convention
• first Postmaster General of the United States
• writer of “Poor Richard’s Almanac”
• started the first free libraries

• (George) Washington

• (George) Washington

• the Louisiana Territory
• Louisiana

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

• the Civil War
• the War between the States

• slavery
• economic reasons
• states’ rights

• freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
• saved (or preserved) the Union
• led the United States during the Civil War

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

• fought for women’s rights
• fought for civil rights

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

• (Woodrow) Wilson

• (Franklin) Roosevelt

• Japan, Germany, and Italy

• World War II

• Communism

• civil rights (movement)

• fought for civil rights
• worked for equality for all Americans

• Terrorists attacked the United States.

• Cherokee
• Navajo
• Sioux
• Chippewa
• Choctaw
• Pueblo
• Apache
• Iroquois
• Creek
• Blackfeet
• Seminole
• Cheyenne
• Arawak
• Shawnee
• Mohegan
• Huron
• Oneida
• Lakota
• Crow
• Teton
• Hopi
• Inuit

USCIS Officers will be supplied with a list of federally recognized American Indian tribes.

• Missouri (River)
• Mississippi (River)

• Pacific (Ocean)

• Atlantic (Ocean)

• Puerto Rico
• U.S. Virgin Islands
• American Samoa
• Northern Mariana Islands
• Guam

• Maine
• New Hampshire
• Vermont
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Ohio
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• North Dakota
• Montana
• Idaho
• Washington
• Alaska

• California
• Arizona
• New Mexico
• Texas

• Washington, D.C.

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

• because there were 13 original colonies
• because the stripes represent the original colonies

• because there is one star for each state
• because each star represents a state
• because there are 50 states

• The Star-Spangled Banner

• July 4

• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Presidents’ Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas

You must give 2 answers.