Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comDo you have what it takes to pass the new version of the U.S. citizenship test to be introduced in October 2008? We've picked some of the tougher questions that'll be used by immigration officers. Find out just how much you know about our nation and its government.
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The answer to question 3 in regards to who wrote the Constitution is wrong. James Madison is considered the primary author not Thomas Jefferson.
Great quiz. I must say sadly I did not get the required 80% score!
Where's the spanish, french, portuguese, etc versions???
Don't you know that the ability to communicate is a VERY important skill that anyone who wants to be a citizen, a PRODUCTIVE citizen, must have. If you can't contribute to a society, if you can't speak the language, if you don't love the country, you should NOT be a citizen.
English needs to be the official language of the UNITED States, and if you don't love the country, LEAVE.
In Hawaii the official language is Hawaiian, so if you want to communicate there, you must learn Hawaiian. And eat pineapple.
And do the hula.
I found this citizenship test and wanted to share it with Newsvine. Take it, it's fun. It would be great if we would post our scores, too.
Score = 100. Not bad for a southerner who is also a Christian and a conservative.
I got 85%, but if I had picked my first thought on one of them, it would have been 90%. Anyway, they said I could stay. That's good. But it really makes you think that maybe we should do a little more educating of the ones that were born here! lol
Scored 100%... yippeeee
Kathy, you probably cheated, didn't you?
Not so great quiz even though I did not get "the required 80% score" either.
LOL, anybody who made a hundred would of course want to get an ego trip off other people's scores.
Not ashamed to say I got a 75, which is more than public school students are required to make to pass History courses. But ya know what, I'm more interested in what the Bible's requirements are for living under God's goverenment.
Hey, vfro, don't hate on the 100% earners because you didn't pass lol!
Vfro, If you knew how few 100's I've ever gotten, you'd know why I'm bragging!!!!!
Darn -- only got 95% --- I know it is because I have a mind block when it comes to thinking that Nancy Pelosi is third in line.
I got a 90%! Of course, I was upset at the 2 that I did miss because those were the ones where I seconded guessed myself. I'm glad they posted this test, because recently my boyfriend, who is not yet a citizen, asked me about the difficulty of citizenship test. I told him that it really was not too bad, but most Americans probably could not pass it lol. I'm going to help him study for the exam, because I forgot how fun studying civics and American history was!
I got 85%.
Rita, since when is laughing at someone's ego "hating"? BTW you didn't list your score...
You know you were hating lol. If you read my first post, I said I got a 90%.
BTW, that's GOVERNMENT. Typo, and this site program would not let me fix it.
The Constitution does not provide the government with the right of printing money, but of coining money. There is a big difference.
Very good post
I love this quiz even if I did get 80%
We need more of this. I would love to see if Hussein could pass this test
95% - Not bad for a liberal and agnostic! Missed the supreme court justice one.
A couple I thought could be on there:
Q.) What individual is primarily responsible for writing the U.S. Constitution?
Q.) What was the original governing document of the U.S.A.?
I thought that the very first question was who primarily wrote the constitution.
I think the answer to your second would be, The Articles of Confederation.
No, the first question was about the Declaration of Independence. An important document, no doubt, but decidedly different from the Constitution.
Was there ever a President under the Articles of Confederation?
The Constitution was not written by any one man. It was the result of the Constitutional Convention, after much debate.
You are correct "The Constitution was not written by any one man" and that's why I said "Primarily responsible". James Madison is considered to be the "Father of the Constitution", since aprox. 25% of the material in it came from him - a larger portion than from any other source.
The Bill of Rights came almost entirely from Madison.
"Was there ever a President under the Articles of Confederation?" Excellent question and apparently there wasn't one - at least not one with the type of power that the current "President of the United States" has. There was a position called "President of the Continental Congress" which is the closest thing I could find. Basically, under the Articles of Confederation the states were more autonomous with no strong central authority. That's why the Constitution was created; it was decided that a stronger federal government was needed.
Look up "President of the Continental Congress" on Wikipedia. I tried posting you a link on here but this board is too restrictive and won't allow links.
"...it was decided that a stronger federal government was needed....."
True, but our Founding Fathers never dreamt the extent of federal power that now exists.
Unfortunately, few Americans are aware of the 10th Amendment---"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
The name of our country is the United States of America, NOT America.
What about The Mayflower Compact?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_Continental_Congress
Ted! See! It can be done!
Nice! How'd you do it? It kept blocking the links when I posted them.
A:) James Madison
A:) The Articles of Confederation
Oops, sorry, my bad. You DID list it. Nevertheless, my questions stands. And since I care more about the coming government than I do any that exist now, a score of 75% on this subject does not bother me in the least. You calling me out about a comment I made on someone else's apparent issue would point to YOU as the hater, not me.
I pay my taxes, and that's more than probably many who could score high this test do. My parents always said politicians are the biggest crooks, and who knows more about US history and laws than the people involved in it?
Oh, and interest in a subject plays a LARGE roll in how much people are willing to learn and retain about a subject. For example, how many native species of trees can you name and identify by the shape, a leaf, or even its bark? Or how many different species of native birds can you correctly identify by call alone?
Anyhow, I've got more important things to do than fence with people who don't like character faults pointed out.
Go annoy someone who's into patriotism and politics and gets rabid over who's worse, George or Barak. They're both going to bow to the new ruler, the laws will not be the ones existing now, and no one will care a hoot who wrote the constitution (I didn't miss that one, BTW).
a-ya ha-ni-gi
Hey, what does all that have to do with you pointing out how people who posts their 100% scores are on an ego trip. I'm happy they got 100%, but apparently you feel have to make an excuse on why you made a 75% (which isn't a bad score anyway) by saying you only care about the true ruling power, God's kingdom. I'm with you there since I did grow up in a similar background. However, I still find it important to know one's history and civics. I'm not trying to be a total witch, just stating how I feel about the situation. No worries, though.
That is a pretty hard quiz and I am a history major. :O) I got 80%.
Yikes, I thought this was for FUN...some peoples take everything so seriously and find anything to complain about...chill, it's a holiday! enjoy
Okay, so my score was 75%. Is that so bad? The test is very interesting and this sample isn't that hard, but it's hard enough.
Not really, Stephen. I kind of wonder what difference it makes if you know this stuff or not. As long as we are good citizens and don't break the law, isn't that what counts?
Proud to say I got a 100% on this!
You would think a basic knowledge of American history would be required of a journalism major, but I shockingly discovered this last semester that that simply is not the case. Most of the students in my classes had never even heard of Prohibition and, thus, had no idea that an amendment that had been passed could later be repealed. Several could not even tell you how many branches of government we have, let alone what they are called or what purpose they serve. I shudder at the thought of the press in our future if colleges don't begin requiring history classes of journalism students, but I'm happy to prove that at least a few of us know what we're getting into!
I got 95%--missed one that -duh- I knew but misread. Bifocals are not all they are cracked up to be!
A better test would not be multiple choice (or at least would have 5 choices) but this is probably the best you could do for a mass-market online quiz. At least it got people thinking. But..... re an early post: how is being Southern, Christian, or conservative related to mastery of basic knowledge of our system of government? You mean, we shouldn't expect much of ourselves? C'mon.
95% Yay! I only missed the Chief Justice question.
I missed the Chief Justice question, too, but that's the one I should
have put my first answer down for. I would have got it right.
Bottom line, you shouldn't be allowed to vote if you cannot pass this.
Well, at least you should know who you are voting for.
I find it rather strange---it is a requirement to be able to read, write, and speak English to become a citizen, yet our ballots are in several languages.
That is weird. However, I thought the citizenship tests are also in other languages? When I looked out the tests for my bf, they had sample tests in Spanish and other languages, but I'm not sure if those are given out for the real test.
English literacy IS a requirement for naturalization. There are exemptions for some people over a certain age, but I do not know the justification for such an exemption.
I was doing a little checking on my post, and came across an interesting poll from a few years ago. In it, 41% of the respondents did NOT think that English was a requirement for naturalization.
Oh, come on. Learn to speak Chinese if you think learning another language is so easy!
Oh, c'mon. How immaterial can you be.
If I wanted to make China my home-----I would. I do not want to become a citizen of China, so I will not learn Chinese.
Mean Old lady, IF you're referring to my post, I think you missed it here. The quiz is about patriotism as well. Political Science is strictly the study of governments. This test has questions in it that are tied to a nation's history and things important to patriotism. You don't have to know who authored the constitution to obey the laws. There are the Miranda rights, no? And apparently not expecting much of "our" children in this area is fine with public schools (and/or parents), since all they need is 70% to pass (and from experience, I can tell you many don't really earn that).
Notice, this test came out for the 4th of July, a PATRIOTIC holiday.
Please, please people. If this is really a "free" country, let people alone who don't happen to agree with you.
ni-hi o-wa-sa u-na-s-ti-s-gi yi-ni-ga-la-s-di-quo !
No, in fact, vfro, I was not referring to your post at all, but one from a David person.
"Patriotism" is not synonymous with history, or political science, nor is it central to anything on this quiz. The hallmark of citizenship should be participation (backed by knowledge)-- but we require only immigrants to pass a test.
I don't know that I would consider July 4th a "patriotic holiday," but it is a celebration in remembrance of events uniquely significant to our birth as a nation. I enjoy a day off and a feast with neighbors, but I think Election Day is more of a patriotic occasion--a time for real patriots to act.
It is weird that you think you were somehow attacked or even disagreed with. Kinda cranky!