American Government/ History Quiz
This quiz will test your basic knowledge of our government and the history of the U. S. Some questions were taken from tests that are used everyday like the government naturalization exams, History 101 tests etc. .
- 1.Which of the following are the inalienable rights referred to in the Declaration of Independence?
- A.
. life, liberty, and property
- B.
Honor, liberty, and peace
- C.
Liberty, health, and community
- D.
Life, respect, and equal protection
- E.
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
- 2.In 1933 the government programs started by Franklin D. Roosevelt became known as:
- A.
The Great Society
- B.
The Square Deal
- C.
The New Deal
- D.
The New Frontier
- E.
Supply-side economics
- 3.What are the three branches of government?
- A.
Executive, legislative, judicial
- B.
Executive, legislative, military
- C.
Bureaucratic, military, industry
- D.
Federal, state, local
- 4.The United States Electoral College:
- A.
Trains those aspiring for higher political office
- B.
Was established to supervise the first televised presidential debates
- C.
Is otherwise known as the U.S. Congress
- D.
Is a constitutionally mandated assembly that elects the president
- E.
Was ruled undemocratic by the Supreme Court
- 5.The Bill of Rights explicitly prohibits:
- A.
Prayer in public school
- B.
Discrimination based on race, sex, or religion
- C.
The ownership of guns by private individuals
- D.
Establishing an official religion for the United States
- E.
The president from vetoing a line item in a spending bill
- 6.Under Our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?
- A.
Make treaties
- B.
Make zoning laws
- C.
Maintain prisons
- D.
Establish standards for doctors and lawyers
- 7.Name one right or freedom guaranteed by the first amendment.
- A.
Right to bear arms
- B.
Due process
- C.
Religion
- D.
Right to counsel
- 8.What was the source of the following phrase: “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”?
- A.
The speech “I Have a Dream”
- B.
Declaration of Independence
- C.
U.S. Constitution
- D.
Gettysburg Address
- 9.Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas would all agree that:
- A.
All moral and political truth is relative to one’s time and place
- B.
Moral ideas are best explained as material accidents or byproducts of evolution
- C.
Values originating in one’s conscience cannot be judged by others
- D.
Christianity is the only true religion and should rule the state
- E.
Certain permanent moral and political truths are accessible to human reason
- 10.Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his "I have a dream speech" talked about?
- A.
Argued for the abolition of slavery
- B.
Advocated black separatism
- C.
Morally defended affirmative action
- D.
Expressed his hopes for racial justice and brotherhood
- E.
Proposed that several of America’s founding ideas were discriminatory
- 11.Sputnik was the name given to the first
- A.
Telecommunications system
- B.
Animal to travel to space
- C.
Hydrogen bomb
- D.
Man made satellite
- 12.Puritans
- A.
Opposed all wars on moral grounds
- B.
Stressed the sinfulness of all humanity
- C.
Believed in complete religious freedom
- D.
Colonized Utah under the leadership of Brigham Young
- E.
Were Catholic missionaries escaping religious persecution
- 13.Susan B. Anthony started and lead a movement for:
- A.
Guarantee women the right to vote in national elections
- B.
Guarantee former slaves the right to vote
- C.
Ensure that harsher laws against criminals were passed
- D.
Reduce the authority of the Constitution of the United States
- 14.The commander and chief of the military is?
- A.
Secretary of the army
- B.
Secretary of state
- C.
President
- D.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
- 15.Two U.S. enemies during WWII were?
- A.
Canada and Mexico
- B.
Germany and Japan
- C.
England and Spain
- D.
China and Russia
- 16.In Oct. 1962 the U.S. and the Soviet Union almost went to war over what?
- A.
Control of East Berlin
- B.
Missiles in Cuba
- C.
Support of the Ho Chi Minh regime in Vietnam
- D.
Military support of the Marxist regime in Afghanistan