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WorksheetsCivics Test Worksheet – Extracted Questions (Grade 12)
Total questions: 128
Worksheet time: 1hrs 12mins
What is the form of government of the United States?
Republic (Constitution-based Federal Republic, Representative Democracy)
Absolute monarchy
Military junta
Theocracy
What is the supreme law of the land?
U.S. Constitution
Declaration of Independence
Articles of Confederation
Federalist Papers
Name one thing the U.S. Constitution does. (Check all correct answers)
Forms the government
Defines the powers of government
Defines the parts of government
Protects the rights of the people
The U.S. Constitution starts with the words “We the People.” What does “We the People” mean?
Popular sovereignty (self government, consent of the governed, social contract)
Rule by hereditary leaders
Only Congress governs the states
Government power comes solely from the courts
How are changes made to the U.S. Constitution?
By amendments through the amendment process
By executive orders
By Supreme Court appointments
By state governors
What does the Bill of Rights protect?
The basic rights of people in the United States
Only the rights of elected officials
Only property rights
Only rights of citizens born in the United States
How many amendments does the U.S. Constitution have?
Twenty‑seven
Twenty‑three
Thirty
Ten
Why is the Declaration of Independence important? (Check all correct answers)
It says America is free from British control and identifies equal and inherent rights
It says all people are created equal
It established the federal court system
It identifies inherent rights and freedoms
What founding document said the American colonies were free from Britain?
Declaration of Independence
Bill of Rights
U.S. Constitution
Emancipation Proclamation
Name two important ideas from the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. (Check all correct answers)
Equality
Liberty
Social contract / Self-government
Natural rights
Limited government
The words “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” are in what founding document?
Declaration of Independence
U.S. Constitution
Bill of Rights
Federalist Papers
What is the economic system of the United States?
Capitalism and a free market economy
Centralized command economy
Feudal economy
State‑planned economy only
What is the rule of law? (Check all correct answers)
Everyone, including leaders and government, must obey the law
Only citizens must obey the law
Leaders are above the law
No one is above the law
Many documents influenced the U.S. Constitution. Name one.
Declaration of Independence
Code of Hammurabi
Magna Graecia Edicts
Roman Twelve Families Pact
There are three branches of government. Why?
To prevent any one part from becoming too powerful through checks and balances and separation of powers
To keep the military separate from civilians
To make elections unnecessary
To ensure states have no authority
Name the three branches of government.
Legislative, executive, and judicial (Congress, president, the courts)
Federal, state, and local
Military, police, and courts
House, Senate, and Cabinet
The President of the United States is in charge of which branch of government?
Executive branch
Legislative branch
Judicial branch
State governments
What part of the federal government writes laws?
U.S. Congress (legislative branch)
Supreme Court
The President alone
State governors
What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
Senate and House of Representatives
Cabinet and Supreme Court
House of Lords and Commons
Council and Assembly
Name one power of the U.S. Congress. (Check all correct answers)
Writes laws
Declare war
Make federal budget
Commands state militias
How many U.S. senators are there?
100
50
435
270
How long is a term for a U.S. senator?
Six years
Two years
Four years
Eight years
Who is one of your state’s U.S. senators now?
Jeanne Shaheen
Chris Pappas
Maggie Hassan
Mike Johnson
How many voting members are in the House of Representatives?
435
100
270
50
How long is a term for a member of the House of Representatives?
Two years
Four years
Six years
Eight years
Why do U.S. representatives serve shorter terms than U.S. senators?
To more closely follow public opinion
Because the House has fewer responsibilities
To reduce campaign costs
To match presidential terms
How many senators does each state have?
Two
One
Four
It varies by population
Why does each state have two senators?
Equal representation for each state
To favor large states
To give Washington, D.C., representation
To mirror the number of House districts
Name your U.S. representative.
Chris Pappas
Jeanne Shaheen
Maggie Hassan
Kelly Ayotte
What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?
Mike Johnson
John Roberts
J.D. Vance
Donald Trump
Who does a U.S. senator represent?
Citizens of their state
Only people who voted for them
Only residents of the state capital
Only members of their political party
Who elects U.S. senators?
Citizens from their state
The President
State governors
The Supreme Court
Who does a member of the House of Representatives represent?
Citizens in their congressional district
All citizens of the state
Only state legislators
Only federal employees
Who elects members of the House of Representatives?
Citizens from their congressional district
State legislatures
The President
The Supreme Court
Some states have more representatives than other states. Why?
Because they have more people (larger population)
Because they are physically larger
Because they have more counties
Because they have more senators
The President of the United States is elected for how many years?
Four years
Two years
Six years
Eight years
The President of the United States can serve only two terms. Why?
Because of the 22nd Amendment and to prevent too much power
Because of the First Amendment
Because of tradition dating to the Constitution
Because of state law
What is the name of the President of the United States now?
Donald Trump
J.D. Vance
Joseph Biden
Kamala Harris
What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?
Kamala Harris
Mike Pence
J.D. Vance
John Roberts
If the president can no longer serve, who becomes president?
The Vice President of the United States
The Speaker of the House
The Chief Justice
The Secretary of State
Name one power of the president. (Check all correct answers)
Signs bills into law and vetoes bills
Enforces laws
Commander in Chief of the military
Chief Diplomat
Appoints federal judges
Who is Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?
The President of the United States
The Secretary of Defense
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
The Vice President
Who signs bills to become laws?
The President of the United States
The Speaker of the House
The Senate Majority Leader
The Chief Justice
Who vetoes bills?
The President of the United States
The Vice President
The Secretary of State
The Chief Justice
The executive branch has many parts. Name one. (Check all correct answers)
Cabinet
President of the United States
House of Representatives
Federal departments and agencies
What does the President’s Cabinet do?
Advises the President of the United States
Writes federal laws
Decides court cases
Runs state governments
What are two Cabinet-level positions? (Check all correct answers)
Attorney General
Secretary of Education
Chief Justice
Speaker of the House
Director of National Intelligence
Why is the Electoral College important?
It decides who is elected president.
It selects members of Congress.
It appoints federal judges.
It ratifies constitutional amendments.
What is one part of the judicial branch?
Supreme Court and federal courts
Cabinet
Electoral College
Department of State
What does the judicial branch do? (Check all correct answers)
Decides if a law goes against the U.S. Constitution
Reviews and explains laws
Sets foreign policy
Resolves disputes (disagreements) about the law
What is the highest court in the United States?
Supreme Court
Federal District Court
Court of Appeals
State Supreme Court
How many seats are on the Supreme Court?
Nine (9)
Seven (7)
Eleven (11)
Five (5)
How many Supreme Court justices are usually needed to decide a case?
Five (5)
Three (3)
Seven (7)
Nine (9)
How long do Supreme Court justices serve?
For life
Four-year term
Ten-year term
Until age 70
Supreme Court justices serve for life. Why?
To be independent of politics
To allow the president to remove them easily
To ensure frequent turnover
To reflect public opinion polls
Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?
John Roberts
Clarence Thomas
Sonia Sotomayor
Merrick Garland
Name one power that is only for the federal government. (Check all correct answers)
Declare war and create an army
Print and coin money
Make treaties and set foreign policy
Operate public schools
Name one power that is only for the states. (Check all correct answers)
Provide schooling and education
Provide protection (police) and safety (fire departments)
Give driver's license
Approving zoning and land use
What is the purpose of the 10th Amendment?
Powers not given to the federal government belong to the states or to the people.
It abolishes slavery.
It guarantees freedom of speech.
It establishes the income tax.
There are four amendments to the U.S. Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them. (Check all correct answers)
Citizens eighteen (18) and older can vote (26th Amendment)
You don't have to pay to vote (no poll tax) (24th Amendment)
Women can vote (19th Amendment)
Any male citizen of any race (15th Amendment)
Who can vote in federal elections, run for federal office, and serve on a jury in the United States?
U.S. citizens
Permanent residents
Visitors on tourist visas
Foreign diplomats
What are three rights of everyone living in the United States? Select all that apply.
Freedom of speech (expression)
Freedom of religion
Freedom of assembly
The right to bear arms
Freedom to petition the government
What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?
The United States
The president
The Congress
The Flag
Name two promises that new citizens make in the Oath of Allegiance. Select two.
Obey the laws of the United States
Give up loyalty to other countries
Serve in the military in all cases
Never vote in federal elections
How can people become United States citizens? (Check all correct answers)
Be born in the United States under the conditions set by the 14th Amendment
Naturalize
Derive citizenship under conditions set by Congress
Receive it automatically after five years of residence
What are two examples of civic participation in the United States? Select two.
Vote
Run for office
Refuse jury duty
Ignore public meetings
What is one way Americans can serve their country? (Check all correct answers)
Vote
Pay taxes
Obey the law
Serve in the military
Run for office
Why is it important to pay federal taxes? (Check all correct answers)
Required by law
Civic Duty
To vote in presidential elections
To avoid military service
It is important for all men age 18 through 25 to register for the Selective Service. Name one reason why. (Check all correct answers)
Required by law
Civic Duty
Makes the draft fair, if needed
To avoid paying taxes
The colonists came to America for many reasons. Name one. (Check all correct answers)
Freedom (political and religious)
Economic opportunity
Escape persecution
To avoid paying any taxes
Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
American Indians (Native Americans)
European settlers
Colonial governors
Pilgrims
What group of people was taken and sold as slaves?
People from Africa (Africans)
American colonists
European immigrants
Native Americans
What war did the Americans fight to win independence from Britain?
The American Revolutionary War
The War of 1812
The French and Indian War
The Civil War
Name one reason why the Americans declared independence from Britain. (Check all correct answers)
Taxation without representation
No self-government
Fight against the Stamp Act, the Sugar Act, the Townshend Acts, the Intolerable Acts and the Tea Act (Boston Tea Party)
The quartering (housing) British soldiers
Boston Massacre
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson
George Washington
John Adams
James Madison
When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
July 4, 1776
July 4, 1787
June 12, 1775
September 17, 1787
The American Revolution had many important events. Name one. (Check all correct answers)
Battles of Saratoga, Bunker Hill, Yorktown
Declaration of independence
Washington crossing the Delaware
Valley Forge encampment
There were 13 original states. Name five. (Check all correct answers)
New York
Virginia
Georgia
Massachusetts
Pennsylvania
What founding document was written in 1787?
The U.S. Constitution
The Declaration of Independence
The Articles of Confederation
The Bill of Rights
The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers. (Check all correct answers)
James Madison
Alexander Hamilton
John Jay
Patrick Henry
Why were the Federalist Papers important? (Check all correct answers)
They helped people understand the U.S. Constitution.
They supported passing the U.S. Constitution.
They abolished the Articles of Confederation.
They created the Bill of Rights.
Benjamin Franklin is famous for many things. Name one. (Check all correct answers)
Founded the first free public libraries
First Postmaster General of the United States
Helped write the Declaration of Independence
Inventer
U.S. Diplomat
George Washington is famous for many things. Name one. (Check all correct answers)
First president of the United States
"Father of Our Country"
General of the Continental Army during the American Revolution
President of the Constitutional Convention
Thomas Jefferson is famous for many things. Name one. (Check all correct answers)
Writer of the Declaration of Independence
Third president of the United States
Purchased the Louisiana Territory
Father of the Constitution
James Madison is famous for many things. Name one. (Check all correct answers)
Father of the Constitution
Fourth president of the United States
One of the writers of the Federalist Papers
President during the War of 1812
Alexander Hamilton is famous for many things. Name one. (Check all correct answers)
First Secretary of the Treasury and established the First Bank of the United States
One of the writers of the Federalist Papers
Lead author of the Emancipation Proclamation
Commander of Union forces
What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
Louisiana Territory
Florida
Alaska
Texas
Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s. (Check all correct answers)
Mexican–American War
War of 1812
Civil War
Spanish-American War
Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
The Civil War
The Revolutionary War
The War of 1812
The Spanish–American War
The Civil War had many important events. Name one. (Check all correct answers)
Battles of Gettysburg, Fort Sumter, Vicksburg, Antietam
Emancipation Proclamation
Sherman's March
Lincoln was assassinated
Abraham Lincoln is famous for many things. Name one. (Check all correct answers)
Freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
Led the United States during the Civil War and saved (preserved) the Union
16th president of the United States
Delivered the Gettysburg Address
What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
Freed the slaves (in the south, in the Confederate states)
Ended Prohibition
Created the Bill of Rights
Established the Supreme Court
What U.S. war ended slavery?
The Civil War
World War I
The Revolutionary War
The War of 1812
What amendment says all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are U.S. citizens?
14th Amendment
13th Amendment
15th Amendment
10th Amendment
When did all men get the right to vote?
1870 (15th Amendment, after the Civil War)
1865
1920 (19th Amendment, after World War 1))
1789
Name one leader of the women’s rights movement in the 1800s. (Check all correct answers)
Susan B. Anthony
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Sojourner Truth
Lucretia Mott
Lucy Stone
Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s. (Check all correct answers)
World War II
World War I
Korean War
(Persian) Gulf War (1990–1991)
Vietnam War
Why did the United States enter World War I?
Because Germany attacked U.S. civilian ships
To support isolationism
To conquer Canada
Because Japan invaded Hawaii
When did all women get the right to vote?
1920 (19th Amendment, after World War 1)
1870 (15th Amendment, after the Civil War)
1865
1964
What was the Great Depression?
The longest economic recession in modern history
A short recession during World War II
A period of rapid industrial growth
A banking holiday in 1933
When did the Great Depression start?
The stock market crash of 1929
The end of World War I
The Dust Bowl of 1935
The New Deal of 1933
Who was president during the Great Depression and World War II?
Franklin Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Dwight Eisenhower
Why did the United States enter World War II?
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
To support isolationism
To aid the Axis Powers
Because of the Great Depression
Dwight Eisenhower is famous for many things. Name one. (Check all correct answers)
34th president of the United States
General during World War II
President during Korean War
Created the Interstate System (signed Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956)
Who was the United States’ main rival during the Cold War? (Check all correct answers)
Soviet Union
USSR
Russia
During the Cold War, what was one main concern of the United States? (Check all correct answers)
Communism
Nuclear war
Why did the United States enter the Korean War?
To stop the spread of communism
To gain territory in East Asia
To colonize the Korean Peninsula
To end monarchy in Korea
Why did the United States enter the Vietnam War?
To stop the spread of communism
To expand trade with Southeast Asia
To install a monarchy in Vietnam
To compete for natural resources
What did the civil rights movement do?
Fought to end racial discrimination
Promoted segregation in schools
Supported poll taxes
Expanded colonial rule
Martin Luther King, Jr. is famous for many things. Name one. (Check all correct answers)
Fought for civil rights
Worked for equality for all Americans
Worked to ensure that people would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character
Why did the United States enter the Persian Gulf War?
To force the Iraqi military from Kuwait
To annex Kuwait
To overthrow the Saudi government
To secure a U.S. military base in Iraq
What major event happened on September 11, 2001 in the United States? (Check all correct answers)
Terrorists attacked the United States
Terrorists took over two planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City
Terrorists took over a plane and crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia
Terrorists took over a plane originally aimed at Washington, D.C., and crashed in a field in Pennsylvania
Name one U.S. military conflict after the September 11, 2001 attacks. (Check all correct answers)
(Global) War on Terror
War in Afghanistan
War in Iraq
Name one American Indian tribe in the United States. (Check all correct answers)
Apache
Cherokee
Navajo
Sioux
Seminole
Name one example of an American innovation. (Check all correct answers)
Light bulb
Automobile (cars, internal combustion engine)
Airplane
Assembly line
Integrated circuit (IC)
What is the capital of the United States?
Washington, D.C.
New York City
Philadelphia
Boston
Where is the Statue of Liberty? (Check all correct answers)
New York Harbor
Liberty Island
New Jersey
On the Hudson River
Why does the flag have 13 stripes? (Check all correct answers)
Because there were 13 original colonies
Because the stripes represent the original colonies
Why does the flag have 50 stars? (Check all correct answers)
Because there is one star for each state
Because each star represents a state
Because there are 50 states
What is the name of the national anthem?
The Star-Spangled Banner
America the Beautiful
God Bless America
My Country, ’Tis of Thee
The Nation’s first motto was “E Pluribus Unum.” What does that mean? (Check all correct answers)
Out of many, one
We all become one
What is Independence Day? (Check all correct answers)
A holiday to celebrate U.S. independence (from Britain)
The country’s birthday
Name three national U.S. holidays. (Check all correct answers)
New Year’s Day
Presidents Day (Washington’s Birthday)
Independence Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day
What is Memorial Day?
A holiday to honor soldiers who died in military service
A holiday to celebrate the end of a war
A holiday to honor all public servants
A holiday to honor firefighters
What is Veterans Day?
A holiday to honor people in the U.S. military
A holiday to honor people who have served in the U.S. military
Who appoints federal judges?
The President of the United States
The House of Representatives
The Senate
The 50 state governors
Who is the governor of your state now?
Kelly Ayotte
Chris Pappas
Jeanne Shaheen
Maggie Hassan
What is the capital of your state?
Concord
Boston
Washington, D.C.
Chicago
