This Civics Quiz is at Civic Quiz at Intercollegiate Studies Institute if you would like to take this quiz online and get your score plus see the answers, you can go to their website here.Are you more knowledgeable than the average citizen? The average score for all 2,508 Americans taking the following test was 49%; college educators scored 55%. Can you do better? Questions were drawn from past ISI surveys, as well as other nationally recognized exams.A printable version of the quiz, along with the answers, is available for download for those who register.Note: This quiz does not support WebTV.1) Which of the following are the inalienable rights referred to in the Declaration of Independence?A. life, liberty, and propertyB. honor, liberty, and peaceC. liberty, health, and communityD. life, respect, and equal protectionE. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness2) In 1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed a series of government programs that became known as:A. the Great SocietyB. the Square DealC. the New DealD. the New FrontierE. supply-side economics3) What are the three branches of government?A. executive, legislative, judicialB. executive, legislative, militaryC. bureaucratic, military, industryD. federal, state, local4) What was the main issue in the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in 1858?A. Is slavery morally wrong?B. Would slavery be allowed to expand to new territories?C. Do Southern states have the constitutional right to leave the union?D. Are free African Americans citizens of the United States?5) The United States Electoral College:A. trains those aspiring for higher political officeB. was established to supervise the first televised presidential debatesC. is otherwise known as the U.S. CongressD. is a constitutionally mandated assembly that elects the presidentE. was ruled undemocratic by the Supreme Court6) The Bill of Rights explicitly prohibits:A. prayer in public schoolB. discrimination based on race, sex, or religionC. the ownership of guns by private individualsD. establishing an official religion for the United StatesE. the president from vetoing a line item in a spending bill7) 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 IndependenceC. U.S. ConstitutionD. Gettysburg Address8) In 1935 and 1936 the Supreme Court declared that important parts of the New Deal were unconstitutional. President Roosevelt responded by threatening to:A. impeach several Supreme Court justicesB. eliminate the Supreme CourtC. appoint additional Supreme Court justices who shared his viewsD. override the Supreme Court’s decisions by gaining three-quarter majorities in both houses of Congress9) Under Our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?A. Make treatiesB. Make zoning lawsC. Maintain prisonsD. Establish standards for doctors and lawyers10) Name one right or freedom guaranteed by the first amendment.A. Right to bear armsB. Due processC. ReligionD. Right to counsel11) What impact did the Anti-Federalists have on the United States Constitution?A. their arguments helped lead to the adoption of the Bill of RightsB. their arguments helped lead to the abolition of the slave tradeC. their influence ensured that the federal government would maintain a standing armyD. their influence ensured that the federal government would have the power to tax12) Which of the following statements is true about abortion?A. it was legal in most states in the 1960sB. the Supreme Court struck down most legal restrictions on it in Roe v. WadeC. the Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that underage women must notify their parents of an impending abortionD. the National Organization for Women has lobbied for legal restrictions on itE. it is currently legal only in cases of rape or incest, or to protect the life of the mother13) Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas would concur that:A. all moral and political truth is relative to one’s time and placeB. moral ideas are best explained as material accidents or byproducts of evolutionC. values originating in one’s conscience cannot be judged by othersD. Christianity is the only true religion and should rule the stateE. certain permanent moral and political truths are accessible to human reason14) The Puritans:A. opposed all wars on moral groundsB. stressed the sinfulness of all humanityC. believed in complete religious freedomD. colonized Utah under the leadership of Brigham YoungE. were Catholic missionaries escaping religious persecution15) The phrase that in America there should be a “wall of separation” between church and state appears in:A. George Washington’s Farewell AddressB. the Mayflower CompactC. the ConstitutionD. the Declaration of IndependenceE. Thomas Jefferson’s letters16) In his “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:A. argued for the abolition of slaveryB. advocated black separatismC. morally defended affirmative actionD. expressed his hopes for racial justice and brotherhoodE. proposed that several of America’s founding ideas were discriminatory17) Sputnik was the name given to the first:A. telecommunications systemB. animal to travel to spaceC. hydrogen bombD. manmade satellite18) Susan B. Anthony was a leader of the movement toA. guarantee women the right to vote in national electionsB. guarantee former slaves the right to voteC. ensure that harsher laws against criminals were passedD. reduce the authority of the Constitution of the United States19) The Scopes “Monkey Trial” was about:A. freedom of the pressB. teaching evolution in the schoolsC. prayer in the schoolsD. education in private schools20) Who is the commander in chief of the U.S. military?A. Secretary of the armyB. Secretary of stateC. PresidentD. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs21) Name two countries that were our enemies during World War II.A. Canada and MexicoB. Germany and JapanC. England and SpainD. China and Russia22) What part of the government has the power to declare war?A. CongressB. the presidentC. the Supreme CourtD. the Joint Chiefs of Staff23) In October 1962 the United States and the Soviet Union came close to war over the issue of Soviet:A. control of East BerlinB. missiles in CubaC. support of the Ho Chi Minh regime in Viet NamD. military support of the Marxist regime in Afghanistan24) In the area of United States foreign policy, Congress shares power with the:A. presidentB. Supreme CourtC. state governmentsD. United Nations25) Free enterprise or capitalism exists insofar as:A. experts managing the nation’s commerce are appointed by elected officialsB. individual citizens create, exchange, and control goods and resourcesC. charity, philanthropy, and volunteering decreaseD. demand and supply are decided through majority voteE. government implements policies that favor businesses over consumers26) Business profit is:A. cost minus revenueB. assets minus liabilitiesC. revenue minus expensesD. selling price of a stock minus its purchase priceE. earnings minus assets27) Free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than government’s centralized planning because:A. the price system utilizes more local knowledge of means and endsB. markets rely upon coercion, whereas government relies upon voluntary compliance with the lawC. more tax revenue can be generated from free enterpriseD. property rights and contracts are best enforced by the market systemE. government planners are too cautious in spending taxpayers’ money28) A progressive tax:A. encourages more investment from those with higher incomesB. is illustrated by a 6% sales taxC. requires those with higher incomes to pay a higher ratio of taxes to incomeD. requires every income class to pay the same ratio of taxes to incomeE. earmarks revenues for poverty reduction29) A flood-control levee (or National Defense) is considered a public good because:A. citizens value it as much as bread and medicineB. a resident can benefit from it without directly paying for itC. government construction contracts increase employmentD. insurance companies cannot afford to replace all houses after a floodE. government pays for its construction, not citizens30) Which of the following fiscal policy combinations would a government most likely follow to stimulate economic activity when the economy is in a severe recession?A. increasing both taxes and spendingB. increasing taxes and decreasing spendingC. decreasing taxes and increasing spendingD. decreasing both taxes and spending31) International trade and specialization most often lead to which of the following?A. an increase in a nation’s productivityB. a decrease in a nation’s economic growth in the long termC. an increase in a nation’s import tariffsD. a decrease in a nation’s standard of living32) Which of the following is a policy tool of the Federal Reserve?A. raising or lowering income taxesB. increasing or decreasing unemployment benefitsC. buying or selling government securitiesD. increasing or decreasing government spending33) If taxes equal government spending, then:A. government debt is zeroB. printing money no longer causes inflationC. government is not helping anybodyD. tax per person equals government spending per personE. tax loopholes and special-interest spending are absent

You need to be a member of The Patriots For America to add comments!

Join The Patriots For America

Email me when people reply –

Replies

  • Scored over 90. Incorrect answers on #s 8, 13 and 14.

This reply was deleted.