Immigrants face a tough road when coming to the United States, especially these days. The hardest part, though, may not be overcoming discrimination, trying to earn a living or looking for a place to live and have a roof over
Immigrants face a tough road when coming to the United States, especially these days. The hardest part, though, may not be overcoming discrimination, trying to earn a living or looking for a place to live and have a roof over their heads. It might be answering questions before they’re even allowed into this country.
Immigrants who want to become citizens must go through a long list of requirements, including passing a 10-question civics test. It’s likely many of us already living in America wouldn’t know the answers to all these questions. See if you do.
Here are some sample questions:
1. What do we call the first 10 amendments to the Constitution?
2. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
3. What is the name of the current president of the United States?
4. If both the president and vice president can no longer serve, who becomes president?
5. How many justices serve on the Supreme Court?
6. What is one power of the federal government under the Constitution?
7. When was the Constitution written?
8. Who was the first president?
9. Name one of the two longest rivers in the U.S.?
10. Who did the United States fight in World War II?
Well, how did you do? Here are the answers:
1. Bill of Rights; 2. 27; 3. Donald Trump; 4. Speaker of the House; 5. Nine; 6. Print money, declare war, create an army or make treaties; 7. 1787; 8. George Washington; 9. Mississippi or Missouri; 10. Germany, Japan or Italy.
It’s a pretty good guess everyone got number three right. Love him or hate him, nearly everyone in America knows The Donald is the leader of the free world. And we all know about George Washington, the first leader of the free world.
So, what’s the point of this mini-test on your knowledge of American history? Well, there’s a few.
One, most of us aren’t nearly as smart as we think. We’re not as open-minded as we claim. We’re a funny lot in America. We have a lot to be thankful for, but complain a lot. Many have in abundance, but want more. We can live here freely, without fear of someone turning us away, because we didn’t prepare well for a test.
We have a lot to learn. Not just about rivers and amendments and Supreme Court justices, but about others who already live here and the people who want to live here. We have a lot to learn about respecting the views of others, even when we don’t agree with them. We have become people who aren’t wild about sacrifice for the greater good.
The great thing about America isn’t that Americans have the freedoms to pursue their dreams or go to college or wake up in the morning and have a cup of coffee. It’s that people who don’t sound like us or look like us are welcome to join us.
As for that test referenced earlier, if we had to take it, it’s a good bet many of us would be guessing at the answers. Ironically, if our citizenship depended on answering questions about America, many of us wouldn’t be here.
