CIVICS Flashcards

1
Q

What is the supreme law of the land?

A

The Constitution

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2
Q

What does the Constitution do?

A

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

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3
Q

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

A

We the people

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4
Q

What is an amendment?

A
  • a change (to the Constitution)

* an addition (to the Constitution)

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5
Q

What do we call the first ten amendments to the

Constitution?

A

• the Bill of Rights

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6
Q

What is one right or freedom from the First

Amendment?*

A
  • speech
  • religion
  • assembly
  • press
  • petition the government
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7
Q

How many amendments does the Constitution

have?

A

• twenty-seven (27)

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8
Q

What did the Declaration of Independence do?

A
  • announced our independence (from Great Britain)
  • declared our independence (from Great Britain)
  • said that the United States is free (from Great Britain)
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9
Q

What are two rights in the Declaration of

Independence?

A
  • life
  • liberty
  • pursuit of happiness
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10
Q

What is freedom of religion?

A

• You can practice any religion, or not practice a

religion.

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11
Q

What is the economic system in the United

States?*

A
  • capitalist economy

* market economy

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12
Q

What is the “rule of law”?

A
  • Everyone must follow the law.
  • Leaders must obey the law.
  • Government must obey the law.
  • No one is above the law.
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13
Q

Name one branch or part of the government.*

A
Congress
• legislative
• President
• executive
• the courts
• judicial
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14
Q

What stops one branch of government from

becoming too powerful?

A
  • checks and balances

* separation of powers

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15
Q

Who is in charge of the executive branch?

A

• the President

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16
Q

Who makes federal laws?

A
  • Congress
  • Senate and House (of Representatives)
  • (U.S. or national) legislature
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17
Q

What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?

A

• the Senate and House (of Representatives)

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18
Q

How many U.S. Senators are there?

A

100

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19
Q

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

A

6

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20
Q

Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators now?*

A

Martha Mcsally
Kyrsten Sinema

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.]

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21
Q

The House of Representatives has how many

voting members?

A

435

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22
Q

We elect a U.S. Representative for how many

years?

A

2

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23
Q

Name your U.S. Representative.

A

Raul Grijalva

• 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.]

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24
Q

Who does a U.S. Senator represent?

A

• all people of the state

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25
Q

Why do some states have more Representatives

than other states?

A
  • (because of) the state’s population
  • (because) they have more people
  • (because) some states have more people
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26
Q

We elect a President for how many years?

A

4

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27
Q

In what month do we vote for President?*

A

november

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28
Q

What is the name of the President of the United

States now?*

A

uuuuuuggggghhhhhhh

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29
Q

What is the name of the Vice President of the

United States now?

A

Mike Pence

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30
Q

If the President can no longer serve, who

becomes President?

A

The vice president

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31
Q

If both the President and the Vice President can

no longer serve, who becomes President?

A

The speaker of the house

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32
Q

Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?

A

• the President

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33
Q

Who signs bills to become laws?

A

the President

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34
Q

Who vetoes bills?

A

the President

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35
Q

What does the President’s Cabinet do?

A

advised the president

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36
Q

What are two Cabinet-level positions?

A
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
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37
Q

What does the judicial branch do?

A
  • reviews laws
  • explains laws
  • resolves disputes (disagreements)
  • decides if a law goes against the Constitution
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38
Q

What is the highest court in the United States?

A

The supreme court

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39
Q

How many justices are on the Supreme Court?

A

9

Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates for the number
of justices on the Supreme Court

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40
Q

Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now

A

John Roberts

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41
Q

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

A
  • to print money
  • to declare war
  • to create an army
  • to make treaties
42
Q

Under our Constitution, some powers belong to

the states. What is one power of the states?

A
  • provide schooling and education
  • provide protection (police)
  • provide safety (fire departments)
  • give a driver’s license
  • approve zoning and land use
43
Q
  1. Who is the Governor of your state now?
A

Doug Ducey

44
Q

What is the capital of your state?*

A

Phoenix

• 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.]

45
Q

What are the two major political parties in the

United States?*

A

Democrat and republican

46
Q

What is the political party of the President now?

A

republican

47
Q

What is the name of the Speaker of the House of

Representatives now?

A

Nancy Pelosi

48
Q

There are four amendments to the Constitution

about who can vote. Describe one of them.

A
  • 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).
49
Q

What is one responsibility that is only for United

States citizens?*

A
  • serve on a jury

* vote in a federal election

50
Q

Name one right only for United States citizens.

A
  • vote in a federal election

* run for federal office

51
Q

What are two rights of everyone living in the

United States?

A
  • freedom of expression
  • freedom of speech
  • freedom of assembly
  • freedom to petition the government
  • freedom of religion
  • the right to bear arms
52
Q

What do we show loyalty to when we say the

Pledge of Allegiance?

A
  • the United States

* the flag

53
Q

What is one promise you make when you

become a United States citizen?

A
  • 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
54
Q

How old do citizens have to be to vote for

President?*

A

18 and older

55
Q

What are two ways that Americans can

participate in their democracy?

A
  • 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
56
Q

When is the last day you can send in federal

income tax forms?*

A

april 15th

57
Q

When must all men register for the Selective

Service?

A
  • at age eighteen (18)

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

58
Q

What is one reason colonists came to America?

A
  • freedom
  • political liberty
  • religious freedom
  • economic opportunity
  • practice their religion
  • escape persecution
59
Q

Who lived in America before the Europeans

arrived?

A

American Indians

• Native Americans

60
Q

What group of people was taken to America and

sold as slaves?

A
  • Africans

* people from Africa

61
Q

Why did the colonists fight the British?

A

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

62
Q

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

A

Thomas Jefferson

63
Q

When was the Declaration of Independence

adopted?

A

July 4, 1776

64
Q

There were 13 original states. Name three

A
  • New Hampshire • Delaware
  • Massachusetts • Maryland
  • Rhode Island • Virginia
  • Connecticut • North Carolina
  • New York • South Carolina
  • New Jersey • Georgia
  • Pennsylvania
65
Q

What happened at the Constitutional

Convention?

A
  • The Constitution was written.

* The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution

66
Q

When was the Constitution written?

A

1787

67
Q

The Federalist Papers supported the passage of

the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.

A
  • (James) Madison
  • (Alexander) Hamilton
  • (John) Jay
  • Publius
68
Q

What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous

for?

A
  • 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
69
Q

Who is the “Father of Our Country”?

A

George Washington

70
Q

. Who was the first President?*

A

George Washington

71
Q

What territory did the United States buy from

France in 1803?

A
  • the Louisiana Territory

* Louisiana

72
Q

Name one war fought by the United States in the

1800s.

A
  • War of 1812
  • Mexican-American War
  • Civil War
  • Spanish-American War
73
Q

Name the U.S. war between the North and the

South.

A
  • the Civil War

* the War between the States

74
Q

Name one problem that led to the Civil War

A
  • slavery
  • economic reasons
  • states’ rights
75
Q

What was one important thing that Abraham

Lincoln did?*

A
  • freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
  • saved (or preserved) the Union
  • led the United States during the Civil War
76
Q

What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

A
  • freed the slaves
  • freed slaves in the Confederacy
  • freed slaves in the Confederate states
  • freed slaves in most Southern states
77
Q

What did Susan B. Anthony do?

A
  • fought for women’s rights

* fought for civil rights

78
Q

Name one war fought by the United States in the

1900s.*

A
  • World War I
  • World War II
  • Korean War
  • Vietnam War
  • (Persian) Gulf War
79
Q

Who was President during World War I?

A

Woodrow Wilson

80
Q

Who was President during the Great Depression

and World War II?

A

Franklin Roosevelt

81
Q

. Who did the United States fight in

World War II?

A

• Japan, Germany, and Italy

82
Q

Before he was President, Eisenhower was a

general. What war was he in?

A

• World War II

83
Q

During the Cold War, what was the main

concern of the United States?

A

communism

84
Q

What movement tried to end racial

discrimination?

A

• civil rights (movement)

85
Q

What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?*

A
  • fought for civil rights

* worked for equality for all Americans

86
Q

What major event happened on September 11,

2001, in the United States?

A

• Terrorists attacked the United States

87
Q

. Name one American Indian tribe in the
United States.
[USCIS Officers will be supplied with a list of federally
recognized American Indian tribes.]

A
  • Cherokee • Cheyenne
  • Navajo • Arawak
  • Sioux • Shawnee
  • Chippewa • Mohegan
  • Choctaw • Huron
  • Pueblo • Oneida
  • Apache • Lakota
  • Iroquois • Crow
  • Creek • Teton
  • Blackfeet • Hopi
  • Seminole • Inuit
88
Q

Name one of the two longest rivers in the United

States.

A
  • Missouri (River)

* Mississippi (River)

89
Q

What ocean is on the West Coast of the United

States?

A

pacific ocean

90
Q

What ocean is on the East Coast of the United

States?

A

Atlantic ocean

91
Q

Name one U.S. territory.

A
  • Puerto Rico
  • U.S. Virgin Islands
  • American Samoa
  • Northern Mariana Islands
  • Guam
92
Q

Name one state that borders Canada.

A
  • Maine • Minnesota
  • New Hampshire • North Dakota
  • Vermont • Montana
  • New York • Idaho
  • Pennsylvania • Washington
  • Ohio • Alaska
  • Michigan
93
Q

Name one state that borders Mexico.

A
  • California
  • Arizona
  • New Mexico
  • Texas
94
Q

What is the capital of the United States?*

A

washinton DC

95
Q

Where is the Statue of Liberty?*

A

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

96
Q

Why does the flag have 13 stripes?

A
  • because there were 13 original colonies

* because the stripes represent the original colonies

97
Q

Why does the flag have 50 stars?*

A
  • because there is one star for each state
  • because each star represents a state
  • because there are 50 states
98
Q

What is the name of the national anthem?

A

The Star-Spangled Banner

99
Q

When do we celebrate Independence Day?*

A

July 4th

100
Q

Name two national U.S. holidays

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