Thursday, July 03, 2008

Could you pass the latest citizenship test?

I've been watching my DVD set: HBO Films "John Adams". I'm still in awe of the circumstances that gave birth to the United States of America and the basis of the rights that are guaranteed to all Americans in the United States Constitution. My favorite part of the miniseries continues to be the deliberations and arguments that took place during the First and Second Continental Congress... and I was surprised to learn that Georgia did not have representation during the First Continental Congress.

In October 2008 a new version of the U.S. citizenship test will be taken by all applicants. Could you pass it? The questions are usually selected from a list of 100 samples that prospective citizens can look at ahead of the interview. Some are easy, some are not. MS-NBC picked some of the more difficult ones.

Click here to take the MS-NBC version of the Citizenship Test.

1. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
A. George Washington
B. Thomas Jefferson
C. James Madison
D. John Hancock


2. When was the Constitution written?
A. 1774
B. 1776
C. 1787
D. 1865


3. What are the first words of the Constitution?
A. When, in the course of human events
B. In order to form a more perfect Union
C. To whom it may concern
D. We the People


4. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
A. The Preamble
B. The Bill of Rights
C. The Statute of Liberty
D. Declaration of Independence


5. Which of the following is NOT a right outlined in the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence?
A. Life
B. Liberty
C. Right to bear arms
D. Pursuit of Happiness


6. Which one of these is a right guaranteed by the First Amendment?
A. Freedom of the press
B. Right to trial by jury
C. Right to bear arms
D. Right to happiness


7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
A. 10
B. 17
C. 23
D. 27


8. Why does the United States flag have 13 stripes?
A. One for each state in the Union
B. The number of seats in the Cabinet
C. They represent the 13 original colonies
D. One for each article of the Constitution


9. Which of these was NOT among the original states?
A. New Hampshire
B. New York
C. Delaware
D. Maine


10. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
A. Louisiana
B. Vermont
C. Alaska
D. Maine


11. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. Which of the following is NOT a federal power?
A. To declare war
B. To print money
C. To declare treaties
D. To provide education


12. Which of the following is NOT one of the three branches of the government?
A. Federal
B. Judicial
C. Executive
D. Legislative


13. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
A. 100
B. 365
C. 435
D. 646


14. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
A. 2
B. 4
C. 6
D. 8


15. In what month do we vote for President?
A. January
B. February
C. September
D. November


16. If both the President and Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
A. Secretary of State
B. Secretary of Defense
C. The Speaker of the House
D. President Pro Tempore of the Senate


17. Who was president during World War I?
A. Theodore Roosevelt
B. Warren G. Harding
C. Franklin Roosevelt
D. Woodrow Wilson


18. How many justices are there on the U.S. Supreme Court?
A. 3
B. 5
C. 7
D. 9


19. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States?
A. John Paul Stevens
B. John G. Roberts, Jr.
C. Antonin Scalia
D. Samuel Alito


20. What did Susan B. Anthony do?
A. Hid John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln
B. Designed and made the original U.S. flag
C. Designed the original U.S. currency
D. Fought for women’s rights

NOTE: Candidates are not given multiple choices in the naturalization interview. The preceding questions were adapted from the immigration service’s sample questions.

plez sez: i took the test and scored a 95%. post your score in the comments section.

1 comment:

Hathor said...

90%

Missed 9 & 10. Didn't realize there were so many amendments.