U.S. Citizenship Practice Test 2 (20 Questions)

Documents written before 1787, such as the Mayflower Compact, the Articles of Confederation and the Virginia Declaration of Rights, influenced the Constitution. The other three were written decades after it.

An amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states, which is 38 of the 50. This high bar makes the Constitution hard to change.

Limited government means the government has only the powers the people give it in the Constitution. Leaders cannot simply do whatever they want.

A member of the House represents the people of one congressional district. The state's two senators represent the whole state.

The 17th Amendment lets the people of each state elect their senators directly. Before 1913, state legislatures chose them.

Only the federal government can make treaties, declare war, coin money and set foreign policy. Marriage licenses, fire departments and land-use rules are handled by states and local governments.

The 22nd Amendment says no one can be elected President more than twice. With two four-year terms, a President usually serves at most eight years.

The Vice President is the President of the Senate but votes only to break a tie. This gives the executive branch a small role in the legislative branch.

The House has 435 voting members and the Senate has 100, for a total of 535. The number of House seats for each state depends on its population.

The First Amendment protects freedom of the press, so the government cannot punish newspapers for criticizing it. The same amendment protects speech, religion, assembly and petition.

New citizens promise to support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States, give up loyalty to other countries, and serve the nation when the law requires it.

The Boston Tea Party was a protest against the Tea Act and other British taxes that the colonists had no voice in. Britain answered with harsh laws, and the conflict moved closer to war.

George Washington was chosen to lead the Constitutional Convention. Benjamin Franklin took part as a delegate, and in 1789 Washington became the first President.

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay wrote the 85 Federalist Papers under the shared name "Publius." The essays urged Americans to support the new Constitution.

The Spanish-American War was fought in 1898. Earlier wars of the 1800s include the War of 1812 against Britain and the Mexican-American War.

Gettysburg, in Pennsylvania, was one of the largest battles of the Civil War. Months later, Lincoln honored the fallen soldiers there in the Gettysburg Address.

In October 2001, the United States began the War in Afghanistan against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The Iraq War followed in 2003; both were part of what was called the War on Terror.

The Navajo Nation is one of the largest American Indian tribes, located mainly in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. The Maori live in New Zealand, the Zulu in South Africa, and Bedouin groups in the Middle East and North Africa.

France gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States as a sign of friendship. It was dedicated in New York Harbor in 1886.

Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday in November. Labor Day is the first Monday in September, and Memorial Day is the last Monday in May.