We The People - Special coverage at The Spokesman-Review

Questions

AMERICAN HISTORY: Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information

100. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
- World War I
- World War II
- Korean War
- Vietnam War
- (Persian) Gulf War
101. Why did the United States enter World War I?
- Because Germany attacked U.S. (civilian) ships
- To support the Allied Powers (England, France, Italy, and Russia)
- To oppose the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria)
Read the Story

We the People civics lesson: Why did the United States enter World War I?

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
102. When did all women get the right to vote?
- 1920
- After World War I
- (With the) 19th Amendment
Read the Story

We the People: Women weren't given the right to vote in America — they took it

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
103. What was the Great Depression?
- Longest economic recession in modern history
104. When did the Great Depression start?
- The Great Crash (1929)
- Stock market crash of 1929
Read the Story

We the People: Stock market crash not sole cause of Great Depression

Although the stock market crash of 1929 is commonly blamed for starting the Great Depression – and would count as the correct answer on the Naturalization Test – the worst economic downturn of the 20th century actually began earlier and had more causes than the crash.
105. Who was president during the Great Depression and World War II?
- (Franklin) Roosevelt
Read the Story

We the People: Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited the Spokane area many times during his presidency

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
106. Why did the United States enter World War II?
- (Bombing of) Pearl Harbor
- Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
- To support the Allied Powers (England, France, and Russia)
- To oppose the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan)
Read the Story

We The People: What triggered the U.S. entry into World War II

80 years ago this week, on a sleepy Sunday morning over Oahu, Commander Mitsuo Fuchida was flying his Nakajima B5N “Kate” torpedo bomber, leading the first wave of raiders from the Kidō Butai -- an armada of six Imperial Japanese Navy carriers -- toward his target when Pearl Harbor came into view.
107. Dwight Eisenhower is famous for many things. Name one.
- General during World War II
- President at the end of (during) the Korean War
- 34th president of the United States
- Signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 (Created the Interstate System)
Read the Story

We The People: Eisenhower's legacy and the Philadelphia I-95 collapse

The recent collapse of a highway overpass in Philadelphia highlighted the importance of the Interstate Highway System. Its development is attributed to Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of Allied forces during World War II and the 34th president of the United States.
108. Who was the United States' main rival during the Cold War?
- Soviet Union
- USSR
- Russia
Read the Story

We the People: Does the crisis in Ukraine signal a new era of the Cold War?

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
109. During the Cold War, what was one main concern of the United States?
- Communism
- Nuclear war
Read the Story

We the People: What led to the Cold War? Fear of nuclear weapons annihilating all life on Earth, for one thing

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
110. Why did the United States enter the Korean War?
- To stop the spread of communism
Read the Story

We the People: It's considered 'the forgotten war,' but the effects of America's conflict in Korea can be felt to this day

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
111. Why did the United States enter the Vietnam War?
- To stop the spread of communism
Read the Story

We the People: The reasoning behind the Vietnam War was not as simple as stopping the spread of communism

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
112. What did the civil rights movement do?
- Fought to end racial discrimination
Read the Story

We the People: The civil rights movement had roots in another one, the Pan-African movement

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
113. Martin Luther King, Jr. is famous for many things. Name one. *
- 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'
Read the Story

We the People: Martin Luther King's fight for equality for all changed the way America protests

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
114. Why did the United States enter the Persian Gulf War?
- To force the Iraqi military from Kuwait
Read the Story

We the People: Sure, the Persian Gulf War was about liberating Kuwait. But it's complicated

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
115. What major event happened on September 11, 2001 in the United States? *
- 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
Read the Story

We the People: Young people today have less connection to 9/11. But it led to the world they know

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
116. Name one U.S. military conflict after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
- (Global) War on Terror
- War in Afghanistan
- War in Iraq
Read the Story

We the People: What was once branded the War on Terror has changed, but it continues

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
117. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
- Apache
- Blackfeet
- Cayuga
- Cherokee
- Cheyenne
- Chippewa
- Choctaw
- Creek
- Crow
- Hopi
- Huron
- Inupiat
- Lakota
- Mohawk
- Mohegan
- Navajo
- Oneida
- Onondaga
- Pueblo
- Seminole
- Seneca
- Shawnee
- Sioux
- Teton
- Tuscarora
For a complete list of tribes, please visit bia.gov.
118. Name one example of an American innovation.
- Light bulb
- Automobile (cars, internal combustion engine)
- Skyscrapers
- Airplane
- Assembly line
- Landing on the moon
- Integrated circuit (IC)
Read the Story

We the People: Landing on the moon was an innovation that came to define Americans' sense of what's possible

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.

SYMBOLS AND HOLIDAYS: Symbols

119. What is the capital of the United States?
- Washington, D.C.
120. Where is the Statue of Liberty?
- New York (Harbor)
- Liberty Island [Also acceptable are New Jersey, near New York City, and on the Hudson (River).]
Read the Story

We the People: Statue of Liberty poem celebrates immigration of 'huddled masses yearning to breathe free'

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
121. Why does the flag have 13 stripes? *
- (Because there were) 13 original colonies
- (Because the stripes) represent the original colonies
Read the Story

We the People: Flag Day is this week, and what you know about Betsy Ross is probably not right

The story of the original flag and Ross' involvement is a little bit more complicated than what many might remember learning in grade school.
122. Why does the flag have 50 stars?
- (Because there is) one star for each state
- (Because) each star represents a state
- (Because there are) 50 states
Read the Story

We the People: Why stop at 50? Puerto Rico, D.C. could become states under proposals in Congress

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
123. What is the name of the national anthem?
- The Star-Spangled Banner
Read the Story

We the People: The national anthem was inspired by a moment of chaos (and it's not so easy to perform)

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
124. The Nation's first motto was 'E Pluribus Unum.' What does that mean?
- Out of many, one
- We all become one
Read the Story

Civics lesson: Why did the Founding Fathers want a Latin phrase on my American nickel?

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.

SYMBOLS AND HOLIDAYS: Holidays

125. What is Independence Day?
- A holiday to celebrate U.S. independence (from Britain)
- The country's birthday
Read the Story

We the People: Independence took more than a day

Like many nations, Americans celebrate a day when they became independent from another country or regime. We celebrate July 4, although it is neither the beginning nor end of a long road to independence.
126. Name three national U.S. holidays. *
- New Year’s Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- Presidents Day (Washington’s Birthday)
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Columbus Day
- Veterans Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
Read the Story

We The People: Labor Day celebrates workers and the rights they've won

Each week, The Spokesman-Review examines one question from the Naturalization Test immigrants must pass to become United States citizens.
127. What is Memorial Day?
- A holiday to honor soldiers who died in military service
Read the Story

We the People: Memorial Day has been a national holiday for decades, but it can come with fresh pain on a local scale

With Memorial Day 2022, the first in many years that the United States is not engaged in a major war on foreign soil, we are reminded that conflicts always come with a first casualty as well as a last.
128. 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)
Read the Story

We The People: How Veterans Day became more than Armistice Day

By the summer of 1918, after four long years in the trenches of Europe, the beaches of Gallipoli, the sands of Palestine, the frigid seas at Jutland and the jagged mountaintops of Italy, the end was in sight.

Applicants 65 years old or older who have been living in the United States as a lawful permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years may study just the 20 questions that have been marked with an asterisk.

Questions

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: Principles of American Government

1. What is the form of government of the United States?

2. What is the supreme law of the land? *

3. Name one thing the U.S. Constitution does.

4. The U.S. Constitution starts with the words 'We the People.' What does 'We the People' mean?

5. How are changes made to the U.S. Constitution?

6. What does the Bill of Rights protect?

7. How many amendments does the U.S. Constitution have? *

8. Why is the Declaration of Independence important?

9. What founding document said the American colonies were free from Britain?

10. Name two important ideas from the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

11. The words 'Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness' are in what founding document?

12. What is the economic system of the United States? *

13. What is the rule of law?

14. Many documents influenced the U.S. Constitution. Name one.

15. There are three branches of government. Why?

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: System of Government

16. Name the three branches of government.

17. The President of the United States is in charge of which branch of government?

18. What part of the federal government writes laws?

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

20. Name one power of the U.S. Congress. *

21. How many U.S. senators are there?

22. How long is a term for a U.S. senator?

23. Who is one of your state's U.S. senators now?

24. How many voting members are in the House of Representatives?

25. How long is a term for a member of the House of Representatives?

26. Why do U.S. representatives serve shorter terms than U.S. senators?

27. How many senators does each state have?

28. Why does each state have two senators?

29. Name your U.S. representative.

30. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now? *

31. Who does a U.S. senator represent?

32. Who elects U.S. senators?

33. Who does a member of the House of Representatives represent?

34. Who elects members of the House of Representatives?

35. Some states have more representatives than other states. Why?

36. The President of the United States is elected for how many years? *

37. The President of the United States can serve only two terms. Why?

38. What is the name of the President of the United States now? *

39. What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now? *

40. If the president can no longer serve, who becomes president?

41. Name one power of the president.

42. Who is Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?

43. Who signs bills to become laws?

44. Who vetoes bills? *

45. Who appoints federal judges?

46. The executive branch has many parts. Name one.

47. What does the President's Cabinet do?

48. What are two Cabinet-level positions?

49. Why is the Electoral College important?

50. What is one part of the judicial branch?

51. What does the judicial branch do?

52. What is the highest court in the United States? *

53. How many seats are on the Supreme Court?

54. How many Supreme Court justices are usually needed to decide a case?

55. How long do Supreme Court justices serve?

56. Supreme Court justices serve for life. Why?

57. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?

58. Name one power that is only for the federal government.

59. Name one power that is only for the states.

60. What is the purpose of the 10th Amendment?

61. Who is the governor of your state now? *

62. What is the capital of your state?

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: Rights and Responsibilities

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

64. Who can vote in federal elections, run for federal office, and serve on a jury in the United States?

65. What are three rights of everyone living in the United States?

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

67. Name two promises that new citizens make in the Oath of Allegiance.

68. How can people become United States citizens?

69. What are two examples of civic participation in the United States?

70. What is one way Americans can serve their country?

71. Why is it important to pay federal taxes?

72. It is important for all men age 18 through 25 to register for the Selective Service. Name one reason why.

AMERICAN HISTORY: Colonial Period and Independence

73. The colonists came to America for many reasons. Name one.

74. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived? *

75. What group of people was taken and sold as slaves?