Citizenship test

How many amendments does the Constitution have?

• 
  

• • 14

• • 21

• • 24

• • 27

Answer explanation

The Constitution has 27 amendments. Amendments are changes to the Constitution. Congress added the first ten amendments in 1791. They are called the Bill of Rights. Since then, the government added more amendments. The Twenty-seventh Amendment was added in 1992. 

What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?

• the Declaration of Independence

• the Articles of Confederation

• the Bill of Rights

• the inalienable rights

Answer explanation

The first ten amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. Members of the Constitutional Convention wrote the Constitution in 1787. The original Constitution did not protect individual rights. Soon after, in 1791, Congress added the first ten amendments to the Constitution. The first amendment protects the freedoms of speech, religion, and assembly. It also protects the freedom of the press, and freedom to petition the government. Other amendments in the Bill of Rights protect the rights to a speedy and public trial, the right to bear arms, and the right to fair police searches.

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

• the state where you live

• the President

• the United States

• Congress

Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?

• the Attorney General

• the Secretary of Defense

• the President

• the Vice President

Answer explanation

The president is the commander in chief of the military. The president is a civilian, not a military official. The writers of the Constitution wanted the commander in chief to be a civilian who is elected by the people.

What is the supreme law of the land?

• The Declaration of Independence

• The Constitution

• The Articles of Confederation

• The Emancipation Proclamation

Answer explanation

The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. All laws in the United States need to follow the Constitution. Sometimes, people think a law does not follow the Constitution. They make a case. They take the case to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court can decide that a law is unconstitutional. If that happens, it can't be a law anymore. Everyone must follow the Constitution. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land.

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

• Thomas Jefferson

• John Adams

• George Washington

• James Madison

Answer explanation

James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote the Federalist Papers. The U.S. Constitution was written at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. People at the Constitutional Convention decided how the government should work. Then James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote the Federalist Papers. The Federalist Papers explained the new government. They said that the new United States needed the Constitution. Newspapers all over the United States published the Federalist Paper

What does the Constitution do?

• Protects basic rights of Americans

• sets up the government

• defines the government

• all of these answers

Answer explanation

The Constitution creates the federal government. It says how the federal government works. It creates a government where citizens choose senators and representatives to make laws for the country. The Constitution also protects the basic rights of all Americans. People at the Constitutional Convention wrote the Constitution in 1787. It is the oldest constitution in the world still used today.

Who signs bills to become laws?

• the Secretary of State

• the President

• the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

• the Vice President

Answer explanation

The president signs bills to become laws. A bill is a proposed law. Members of Congress write bills to address issues that are important to the American people. They vote on bills. If Congress accepts a bill, they send it to the president to be signed. If the president agrees with the bill, the president signs it. Then the bill becomes a law.

What is the name of the national anthem?

• God Bless the U.S.A.

• My Country Tis of Thee

• The Star-Spangled Banner

• America the Beautiful

Answer explanation

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the name of our national anthem. The song is about the United States flag. In the War of 1812, the United States fought the British. One night during the war, British ships attacked Fort McHenry in Baltimore. Bombs exploded all night. An American man named Francis Scott Key watched the battle from a ship. He worried that the United States might lose the battle. The next morning, he saw the United States' flag flying in the wind. He knew that the United States won the battle. Then he wrote the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner." "The Star-Spangled Banner" is now the national anthem of the United States.

What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?*

• trial by jury

• to vote

• speech

• to bear arms

Answer explanation

The First Amendment protects the right of speech, assembly, and press. It protects the right to petition the government and freedom of religion. Democracy works only if people can talk to each other and share their opinions. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects these rights.