Civics And Revolutionary-Era History

1. Who famously sang the songs “Beat it” and “Billie Jean”?

Elvis

Bruce Springsteen

Michael Jackson

N*SYNC

Don't Know

More Americans could identify Michael Jackson as the composer of "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" than could identify the Bill of Rights as a body of amendments to the Constitution.

Explanation

More Americans could identify Michael Jackson as the composer of "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" than could identify the Bill of Rights as a body of amendments to the Constitution.

2. Which of the following phrases are the opening words to the US Constitution?

When in the course of human events

We the People

Fourscore and seven years ago

I have a dream

Don’t Know

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Explanation

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

3. Who wrote the influential pamphlet called “Common Sense” which advocated independence from Britain?

Patrick Henry

Edmund Burke

Paul Revere

Thomas Paine

Don't Know

4. Which of the following nations played an important role in helping the colonies defeat the British in the American Revolution?

Canada

Mexico

Denmark

France

Don't Know

The people of France gave the Statue of Liberty to the people of the United States over one hundred years ago in recognition of the friendship established during the American Revolution.

Explanation

The people of France gave the Statue of Liberty to the people of the United States over one hundred years ago in recognition of the friendship established during the American Revolution.

5. Who was the first athlete to win a record 8 gold medals at a single Olympics?

Scott Hamilton

Kobe Bryant

Shannon Miller

Michael Phelps

Don't Know

6. When did the American Revolution begin? Was it in the . . .

1490s

1640s

1770s

1800s

Don't Know

7. Which of the following are the inalienable rights stated in the Declaration of Independence?

Life, liberty and property

Honor, liberty and peace

Life, respect and equal protection

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

Don't Know

8. Is the Bill of Rights part of:

The U.S. Constitution

The Declaration of Independence

The Gettysburg Address

The Articles of Confederation

# Don’t know

More Americans could identify Michael Jackson as the composer of "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" than could identify the Bill of Rights as a body of amendments to the Constitution.1

Explanation

More Americans could identify Michael Jackson as the composer of "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" than could identify the Bill of Rights as a body of amendments to the Constitution.1

9. The US Constitution establishes which of the following forms of government in the United States?

A Direct Democracy

A Republic

A Confederacy

An Oligarchy

Don’t know

More than half misidentified the system of government established in the Constitution as a direct democracy, rather than a republic-a question that must be answered correctly by immigrants qualifying for U.S. citizenship.

Explanation

More than half misidentified the system of government established in the Constitution as a direct democracy, rather than a republic-a question that must be answered correctly by immigrants qualifying for U.S. citizenship.

10. Which of the following events came BEFORE the Declaration of Independence?

Founding of Jamestown, VA

The Civil War

The Emancipation Proclamation

War of 1812

Don't Know

11. Which document outlines the division of powers between the states and the federal government?

Declaration of Independence

Marshall Plan

U.S. Constitution

Homestead Act

Don’t Know

12. Which of the following was responsible for declaring America’s independence from Great Britain?

The Albany Congress

The Stamp Act Congress

The Second Continental Congress

The House of Commons

Don't Know

13. Who took detailed notes at the Constitutional Convention and is widely regarded as the “Father of the Constitution?”

Abraham Lincoln

James Madison

Winston Churchill

George Washington

Don't Know

14. How many children do celebrities “Jon and Kate” have?

4

6

8

12

Don't Know

15. How many states were there after the United States won its independence from Britain?

7

13

15

21

Don't Know

16. In what state did the Valley Forge winter encampment occur?

Pennsylvania

New York

Delaware

Ohio

Don't Know

17. Which of the following conflicts most directly led to the Stamp Act?

The War of 1812

The War of the Roses

The French and Indian War (aka The 7 Years war)

The Mexican-American War

Don't Know

18. Which of the following rights is not protected by the Bill of Rights?

Freedom of Speech

Trial by Jury

The right to bear arms

Right to vote

Don't Know

A third mistakenly believed that the Bill of Rights does not guarantee a right to a trial by jury, while 40 percent mistakenly thought that it did secure the right to vote.

Explanation

A third mistakenly believed that the Bill of Rights does not guarantee a right to a trial by jury, while 40 percent mistakenly thought that it did secure the right to vote.

19. Benjamin Franklin epitomized which movement in colonial America?

The Enlightenment

The Great Awakening

The Loyalist movement

The Glorious Revolution

Don't Know

20. John Locke developed the concept of the “consent of the governed,” an important principle underlying the War for Independence, in a theory known as:

Natural Law

Law of Relativity

Common Law

Statutory Law

Don't Know

21. Who was the first Secretary of the Treasury?

James Monroe

Alexander Hamilton

Larry Summers

John Seward

Don't Know

22. Who famously implored her husband to “remember the ladies” in drafting laws for the newly independent United States of America?

Martha Washington

Abigail Adams

Molly Pitcher

Phyllis Wheatley

Don't Know

23. The last major military action of the American Revolution was at:

Bunker Hill

Trenton

Saratoga

Yorktown

Don't Know

24. What river did George Washington cross on Christmas Eve in 1776 in a surprise attack on the Hessian troops?

Rhine

Potomac

Delaware

Michigan

Don't Know

25. Which side of the American War of Independence did American Indians support?

British

American

Both

Neither

Don't Know

26. The most important consequence of the Boston Tea party was:

The repeal of the tax on tea

The failure of the other colonies to support Boston’s action

The opening of negotiations between Britain and Massachusetts

The enactment by Parliament of the Coercive Acts

Don’t Know

More than half of respondents misidentified the outcome of the 18th-century Tea party as a repeal of taxes, rather than as a key mobilization of popular resistance to British colonial rule.

Explanation

More than half of respondents misidentified the outcome of the 18th-century Tea party as a repeal of taxes, rather than as a key mobilization of popular resistance to British colonial rule.

27. Who said the following: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”?

George Washington

Barack Obama

Karl Marx

Thomas Paine

Don't Know

More than 50 percent of respondents attributed the quote "From each according to his ability to each according to his needs" to either Thomas Paine, George Washington or President Obama. The quote is from Karl Marx, author of "The Communist Manifesto."

Explanation

More than 50 percent of respondents attributed the quote "From each according to his ability to each according to his needs" to either Thomas Paine, George Washington or President Obama. The quote is from Karl Marx, author of "The Communist Manifesto."