How well would you do?

In order to earn United States citizenship, applicants must jump a few hurdles.

They must be legal residents of the U.S. and have lived in this country for a specified amount of time. In addition, they must be of a certain minimum age, be a resident in the state in which they are applying, read, speak and write basic English, be of good moral character, support the Constitution, and answer questions about “the fundamentals of U.S. history and the form and principles of the U.S. government.”

There are usually 100 questions on a test designed to quiz the knowledge of the applicant. Here is a sample of 25 taken from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Web site. (How well do you know your country?)

1. Who elects the president of the United States?

2. What is the Constitution?

3. What do we call the changes to the Constitution?

4. How many changes are there to the Constitution?

5. What makes up Congress?

6. For how long do we elect each senator?

7. For how long do we elect each member of the House of Representatives?

8. How many voting members are in the House of Representatives?

9. Name the highest part of the Judiciary Branch of our Government.

10. Who becomes the president if both the president and the vice president die?

11. Who is the chief justice of the Supreme Court?

12. What were the 13 original states?

13. Who said, “Give me liberty or give me death"?

14. What was the 49th state added to our Union (the United States)?

15. What are some of the requirements to be eligible to become the president?

16. Why are there 100 senators in the United States Senate?

17. How many Supreme Court justices are there?

18. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

19. Name one right or freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment.

20. How many times may a senator or member of Congress be re-elected?

21. What kind of government does the United States have?

22. What is the United States capital?

23. Whose rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?

24. What is the president’s official home?

25. Name one benefit of being a citizen of the United States. What is the most important right?

ANSWERS

1. Electoral college.

2. The supreme law of the land.

3. Amendments.

4. Twenty-seven.

5. The Senate and the House of Representatives.

6. Six years.

7. Two years.

8. 435.

9. The Supreme Court.

10. The Speaker of the House.

11. John G. Roberts, Jr.

12. Virginia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Georgia.

13. Patrick Henry.

14. Alaska.

15. A candidate for president must: • be a native-born, not naturalized, citizen, • be at least 35 years old, and • have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.

16. Two senators from each state.

17. There are nine Supreme Court justices.

18. The Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves.

19. The rights of freedom of religion, of speech, of the press, of assembly, and to petition the Government.

20. There is no limit.

21. A Republic.

22. Washington, D.C.

23. All people living in the United States.

24. The White House.

25. To obtain Federal government jobs, to travel with a U.S. passport or to petition for close relatives to come to the United States to live.