Around the July 4th holiday every year, there’s often a local or national news report about a group of newly minted U.S. citizens. Usually, this is a diverse assemblage of people standing in a government office, raising their right hands, and swearing allegiance to their new country. Previous to this naturalization ceremony, there was a rigorous process of applying for citizenship. Basically, you have to be 18 or older and a permanent resident of the U.S.; have had a Green Card for at least five years; be able to read, write, and speak basic English; and be a person of virtuous moral character. (It’s a good thing those born in this country don’t have to meet that last criterion. Might be a little difficult for some to pass.)

If all the basics are in good order, then a person wanting to become an American has to submit an application form and take a citizenship test. And have a personal interview. (There are a couple of other things on the list too, but those are the two biggies.)

Apparently, it’s not an easy test to pass. Having provided some of the questions in a column several years ago, I thought it might be fun to revisit the test now to see if we all know as much as we should about our country and determine if we would qualify to be citizens if we had to be examined.

The citizenship test really hasn’t changed since about 2008. Although, there was an attempt during the Trump years to update the questions. But before the changes could get too far, the Biden Administration apparently considered some of the queries too difficult, and it stuck with the test as it had been.

So, get your pencils ready. Here are ten sample questions wanna-be citizens have to answer correctly. They come directly from the U.S. citizenship practice test available online. Applicants have to study about 100 topics that could become questions, but ten are randomly chosen. Test-takers have to get six out of ten to pass.

  1. Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?
  2. What is the capital of the United States?
  3. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
  4. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
  5. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?
  6. Who was President during World War I?
  7. Name two national U.S. holidays.
  8. Why did the colonists fight the British?
  9. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?
  10. We elect a President for how many years?

How’d you do? I’m guessing perhaps questions four, five, six, eight, and nine may have been the trickiest. And, no, the correct answer to question 10 is not “Too many.”

The Trump Administration wanted questions from 128 topics and 12 correct answers out of 20 to pass. I’m not sure what questions staffers might have wanted to add, but these could have been viable possibilities:

  • Why is Chuck Schumer such a bozo?
  • For how many years should Hillary Clinton be put in jail?
  • What should we do with people who cross our border illegally?
  • How many Russians does it take to affect the outcome of an election?
  • How many people living in the U.S. illegally are working in Nancy Pelosi’s vineyard?
  • Will California bankrupt itself this year or next?

On second thought, maybe those questions weren’t considered. Among the questions that CAN appear on the test are ones you might have to think about for a minute. “How many amendments does the Constitution have?” Or “What is the economic system in the United States?” “What is the ‘rule of law’?” “What is one reason colonists came to America?” “Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?” “Name three original states.” “When was the Constitution written?” “Name one of the two longest rivers in America.” “What are two ways Americans can participate in their democracy?”

Reading these probably makes you feel as if you’ve got a big Civics test tomorrow and you haven’t studied all week, right? It’s no doubt a daunting task to try to become a citizen of this country. And depending on how well some of us who were born in this country listened in school, it’s probably a good bet that naturalized citizens know more about the basics of our government than we do.

So, congratulations to the 500+ new Americans who were sworn in this past July 4th. You passed a test quite a few native-borns might have struggled with. Welcome to the land of opportunity. Oh, and by the way, be sure to circle November 5, 2024, on your calendar. That’s the next time we vote to elect our President. (And it’s still a great privilege.)

© MMXXIII. William J. Lewis, III – Freelance Writer