System of Government

Question 1

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

Answer 1

To print money, to declare war, to create an army, to make treaties

Question 2

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

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Who is the Governor of your state now?

Answer 3

Answers will vary (students should know their current governor)

Question 4

What is the capital of your state?

Answer 4

Answers will vary (students should know their state capital)

Question 5

What are the two major political parties in the United States?

Answer 5

Democratic and Republican

Question 6

What is the political party of the President now?

Answer 6

Republican

Question 7

What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?

Answer 7

Answers will vary (students should know current Speaker)

Question 8

There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.

Answer 8

Citizens eighteen (18) and older can vote, you don’t have to pay to vote, any citizen can vote, a male citizen of any race can vote

Question 9

What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?

Answer 9

Serve on a jury or vote in a federal election

Question 10

Name one right only for United States citizens.

Answer 10

Vote in a federal election or run for federal office

Question 11

What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?

Answer 11

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

Question 12

What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?

Answer 12

The United States or the flag

Question 13

What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?

Answer 13

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, serve the nation, be loyal to the United States

Question 14

How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?

Answer 14

Eighteen (18) and older

Question 15

What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?

Answer 16

April 15

Question 17

When must all men register for the Selective Service?

Answer 17

At age eighteen (18) or between eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26)

Question 18

What is one reason colonists came to America?

Answer 18

Freedom, political liberty, religious freedom, economic opportunity, practice their religion, escape persecution

Question 19

Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?

Answer 19

American Indians or Native Americans

Question 20

What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?

Answer 20

Africans or people from Africa

Question 21

Why did the colonists fight the British?

Answer 21

Because of high taxes, because the British army stayed in their houses, because they didn’t have self-government

Question 22

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

Answer 22

Thomas Jefferson

Question 23

When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

Answer 23

July 4, 1776

Question 24

There were 13 original colonies. Name three.

Answer 24

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

Question 25

What happened at the Constitutional Convention?

Answer 25

The Constitution was written or the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution

Question 26

When was the Constitution written?

Answer 26

1787

Question 27

The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.

Answer 27

James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, or Publius

Question 28

What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Who is the 'Father of Our Country'?

Answer 29

George Washington

Question 30

Who was the first President?

Answer 30

George Washington

Question 31

What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?

Answer 31

The Louisiana Territory or Louisiana

Question 32

Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.

Answer 32

War of 1812, Mexican-American War, Civil War, or Spanish-American War

Question 33

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

Answer 33

The Civil War or the War between the States

Question 34

Name one problem that led to the Civil War.

Answer 34

Slavery, economic reasons, or states' rights

Question 35

What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?

Answer 35

Freed the slaves, saved the Union, or led the United States during the Civil War

Question 36

What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

Answer 36

Freed the slaves, freed slaves in the Confederacy, freed slaves in the Confederate states, freed slaves in most Southern states

Question 37

What did Susan B. Anthony do?

Answer 37

Fought for women's rights or fought for civil rights

Question 38

Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.

Answer 38

World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, or Gulf War

Question 39

Who was President during World War I?

Answer 39

Woodrow Wilson

Question 40

Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?

Answer 40

Franklin Roosevelt