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How well do you know about U.S. government and history? Test your civics knowledge with our quiz.
This quiz is from The New Jersey Center for Civic and Law-Related Education.

Part 1

1) Where are the purposes of the Constitution stated in the document?

	A – In the First Amendment
	B – In the Bill of Rights
	C – In the Preamble
	D – In the Declaration of Independence

2) What are “natural rights”?

	A – The right to an education, property, and security
	B – The right to life, liberty and property
	C – The right to clothing, food, and shelter
	D – The right to life, work, and protection

3) The ability of the United States Supreme Court to declare an act of Congress or an act of the President unconstitutional is an example of what power?

	A – Capitalism
	B – States’ rights
	C – Federalism
	D – Judicial Review

4) Citizens who put the common welfare above their own selfish interests demonstrate what?

	A – Democracy
	B – Separation of Powers
	C – Balance of Powers
	D – Civic Virtue

5) What is the purpose of the system of checks and balances?

	A – To grant most legislative power to the House of Representatives
	B – To establish judicial guidelines at the state and local levels
	C – To balance the interests and power of large and small states
	D – To prevent one branch of the federal government from becoming too powerful or abusing its authority

6) The primary purpose of the Bill of Rights was:

	A – To limit the spread of slavery in the United States
	B – To limit the power of the federal government
	C – To establish judicial review
	D – To allot specific powers to the states

7) What does the right to “due process of law” mean?

	A – Laws will be publicly debated
	B – Important public questions must be settled by direct vote of the people
	C – Proposed laws must be passed by both houses of the Congress
	D – Laws and procedures of government must be fair

8) What rights do U.S. citizens have that aliens do not have?

	A – The right to due process of law
	B – Freedom of religion
	C – The right to vote and to hold public office
	D – The right to trial by jury

9) What is the purpose of the writ of habeas corpus?

	A – To protect the individual against accusation of treason
	B – To protect the individual against unlawful detention
	C – To protect the individual against cruel and unusual punishment
	D – To protect the individual against self-incrimination

10) The First Amendment clearly limits the powers of what branch or level of government?

	A – The Supreme Court
	B – The Congress
	C – The president
	D – State and Local governments

11) What is the purpose of the Ninth Amendment in the Bill of Rights?

	A – To deal with the objections of Anti-Federalists
	B – To protect rights which were not specifically listed
	C – To keep the states from violating individual rights
	D – To reserve specific rights for the states

12) When did women receive the right to vote in the United States?

	A – 1870
	B – 1920
	C – 1848
	D – 1902

13) What is the principle of “eminent domain”?

	A – The government must pay fair compensation if it takes private property for public purposes
	B – A property owner may take possession of his house
	C – A bank must give a qualified purchaser a home loan
	D – A man’s home is his castle

14) Which branch of the federal government holds the power to declare war with foreign nations?

	A – Congress
	B – The President
	C – The US Supreme Court
	D – The State Department

Continue to Part 2 of the Quiz

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