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Citizenship Test

 

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Part 1: Political Peccadillos

1. Which US president had once signed a confession that he had committed murder?

George Washington
Abraham Lincoln
Harry Truman
George W. Bush


2. What was the first group of states where a number of its congressmen threatened to secede from the Union?

Southern Seaboard
Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey
New England
Pennsylvania and Delaware


3. What sitting president was arrested for speeding and taken to the police station?

Chester Arthur
Ulysses Grant
Harry Truman
Lyndon Johnson


4. How many sitting vice-presidents have been indicted for murder?

0
1
2
3


5. Who was the first cabinet member to be sentenced to prison and who was the most famous client of his most famous political rival?

Secretary of Labor James J. Davis and Whitaker Chambers
Attorney General Edward Bates and Frank James
Secretary of Defense Charles Erwin Wilson and Norman Thomas
Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall and Henry McCarty


6. Which vice-president who later became president showed up drunk at the inauguration ceremony?

Richard M. Nixon
John Tyler
Andrew Johnson
James Buchanan


Part 2: The Health of the Nation

7. How many teeth did George Washington have when he took his first oath of office?

15
8
1
0


8. How many presidents died in office or had serious and even life threatening personal emergencies?

7
11
19
35


9. Which president exercised by swimming in the Potomac?

John Kennedy
John Quincy Adams
Franklin Roosevelt
Bill Clinton


10. Which president served the shortest term?

William Henry Harrison
James Garfield
Zachary Taylor
Warren Harding


Part 3: Moving West

11. Which is the highest mountain in the United States?

Mount Whitney
Mount Ranier
Black Mesa
Mount McKinley


12. Which was the favorite drink in the Old West?

Water
Coffee
Beer
Whiskey


13. How much money would the most successful buffalo hunters make per annum during the years 1865 - 1885?

$5000
$10,000
$20,000
$50,000


14. What was the most common cause of death of the Old West cowboy?

Lightning
Indian attacks
Riding accidents
Gunfights


15. Which famous westerner thought his wife might have been trying to poison him?

James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickock
William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody
Temple Houston
Wyatt Earp


Part 4: Military History

16. Who was the first president to declare a part of the country to be in a state of insurrection?

George Washington
Abraham Lincoln
Rutherford B. Hayes
Dwight Eisenhower


17. How many prisoners of war escaped from the United States in World War II?

0
23
76
129


18. Which country has the United States never gone to war with?

England
Canada
Mexico
Russia


19. When did the US Government end a liquor ration for its soldiers?

1789
1865
There never was a liquor ration in the US armed forces.
Officially there still is a liquor ration but it is given as part of the official pay.


20. Which former foreign general whose army fought the US eventually retired to New York City?

Confederate General Joseph Johnston
World War II Japanese General Toshinari Shoji
Communist Chinese General Peng Dehuai.
Mexican General and President Antonio López de Santa Anna.


5. American Know-How: Science and Technology

21. How did President Harry Truman describe Robert Oppenheimer, the scientific director of the Manhattan Project which developed the atomic bomb?

A good man but a cold fish
A crybaby scientist
The man who won the war
A typical overeducated egghead


22. What patent did American ventriloquist Paul Winchell hold?

A voice modifier later used by the US Central Intelligence Agency.
The first electronic musical computer that could successfully imitate a full orchestra.
The first artificial heart which was intended to be implanted into the chest
A method of encryption of language that is now used for website security.


23. Who declined to invest in the telephone business because it was clearly just a fad?

Gardiner Greene, the father-in-law of Alexander Graham Bell
Thomas Watson, Bell's assistant when he made his discovery
Mabel Gardiner Hubbard, Bell's future wife who thought the invention a waste of her husband's time
Mark Twain, the famous author who was given a personal invitation to invest in the invention by Bell.


24. Which of the following is not an actual patented invention in the United States?

A 'comb over' to conceal baldness.
Exercising a cat with a laser toy.
An umbrella to keep your can of beer cool.
A patent with a claim that says the previous claim is bogus and should be removed.


25. Which president holds a US patent?

George Washington
Abraham Lincoln
Herbert Hoover
Jimmy Carter


26. Which of the following American-made inventions was not invented by a 1st generation immigrant?

Ex-Lax
Heinz Ketchup
Levi's Jeans
Vaseline Petroleum Jelly


27. Correction fluid - marketed most famously as 'Liquid Paper' and 'Wite-Out' - was invented by an American woman whose young son helped her fill the orders. What did her son achieve independent fame as?

A television evangelist
A rock musician
The president of 3M
The founder of Microsoft


28. Which of the following famous scientists was not an American citizen?

Albert Einstein
Mary Anning
Gerty T. Cori
Stanislaw Ulam


29. Which American did not win the Nobel Prize?

Glenn Seaborg
Barbara McClintock
Jonas Salk
Woodrow Wilson


30. The New York Times once printed an editorial that scoffed about an American scientist who was advocating an application of his research - an application which the Times said was contrary to knowledge taught daily in high schools. Who was the scientist, and what was he advocating?

Claude Shannon for predicting electronic computers were possible.
Robert Goddard, the pioneering rocket scientist, for claiming rockets could be used for space flight outside of the earth's atmosphere.
Jimmy Doolittle for developments he claimed could lead to the autopilot.
Thomas Edison for patenting concrete houses and furniture.


31. What famous scientist was once a character on a Bonanza television episode and what was the basis of the plot?

Thermodynamicist J. Willard Gibbs who at the time was a young teacher who the tough guys of Virginia city gave a hard time
Electrical scientist and engineer Nikola Tesla who created a great deal of angst amongst the Virginia city citizens with his electrical experiments
Edward Alexander Bouchet who was the first African-American to receive a Ph. D. in physics in 1878 and who encountered prejudice while traveling through Virginia City on his way to teach at Berkeley.
Physicist Albert Michelson who as a teenager was living in Virginia City and had been expelled from the town's school for his rebellious behavior


Part 6: Rule by the Majority (and Minority)

32. How many presidents have been elected by fewer popular votes than the runner up?

2
3
4
5


33. What percentage of African-Americans became working cowboys during the Old West?

Essentially none. They tended to avoid the cowboy life due to the widespread prejudice.
10 % - 15 %
20 - 25 %
It varied and was roughly representative of the population of the area.


34. When did the first woman cast her vote in the United States?

The late 1700's.
The early 1840's
The late 1860's and early 1870's
In 1920


35. How many presidents effectively ran unopposed?

1
2
4
5


36. Which famous American before the Civil War left the most clear cut statement that he believed in the equality of the races?

George Washington
Benjamin Franklin
Abraham Lincoln
Thomas Jefferson


37. Is it possible for a candidate to receive the most electoral and popular votes and lose the presidential election?

Yes, it is possible and has actually happened!
Yes, it is possible under extremely unusual circumstances but has never happened.
No, it is impossible according to the 12th Amendment of the Constitution.
No, it is impossible by the mathematics of our voting system.


38. Which religion has 400,000 adherents now living in the United States that use a religious text based on the Ancient Egyptian language?

Christianity
Islam
The Unity Church of Isis
None. This is a trick question.


Part 7: Heroes from the Criminal Classes

39. Who stated that 'Americans are certainly great hero-worshippers and always take heroes from the criminal classes'?

The Reverend Billy Graham
Temperance Leader Carry Nation
British Poet and Playwright Oscar Wilde
President Theodore Roosevelt


40. After Jesse James was killed, his brother Frank James turned himself in to the Missouri Governor, Thomas Crittenden. Although put on trial, why was Frank never convicted?

There just wasn't sufficient evidence to meet the criteria for a conviction.
The local jury was too biased in Frank's favor.
There was a legal technicality with the jurisdiction of the trial.
The jury was intimidated by the presence of armed gang members in the court.


41. Al Capone's oldest brother, Vincenzo, left home at an early age. What happened to him?

He joined the rival Bugs Moran gang but left before the famous St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
He was elected chief of police in Terra Haute, Indiana.
He joined the merchant marine and was lost at sea.
He became a prohibition officer in Nebraska.


42. Who actually deducted travel expenses incurred from his criminal activities from his income tax even though he did not cover up the fact he was traveling on illegal business?

Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel
Al Capone
Lucky Luciano
Meyer Lansky


43. What criminal has not had a ballad written about him?

Mysterious Dave Mather
Big John Dillinger
Evil John Wilkes Booth
Bad John Wesley Hardin


Part 8: Americana

44. What foreign country had an American citizen for its prime minister?

Ireland
Canada
Japan
Liberia


45. Which US state has an 'official state folk song' whose composer wrote for the Communist Party newspaper the 'Daily Worker'?

Massachusetts
California
Oklahoma
Nebraska


46. Which US magazine devoted an entire issue to the Soviet Union that had a cover portrait of Stalin, an article that stated the country was run by 'loyal, capable administrators', had many photographs of happy, well-fed, smiling diverse Russian citizens, mentioned that Lenin was perhaps the 'greatest man of modern times', and that regarding the lack of free speech in the Soviet Union, the proper attitude was 'not to get too excited about it', and given what the USSR had accomplished, we can 'make allowances for certain shortcomings'?

Time Magazine
True Magazine
The Daily Worker
Life Magazine


47. How many states allow home distilling of moonshine?

None. All states prohibit home distilling.
Only one state
23
38


48. How many states do not have an official state rock?

35
18
10
5


49. Where was the first parking meter installed?

Sioux City
Johnson City
Oklahoma City
Mason City


50. The painter of the of the iconic 'Athenaeum Portrait' of George Washington was Gilbert Stuart. Gilbert was born in the American colonies, but trained in England. How many years did Gilbert stay in England before moving back home?

18
25
10
5


Part 9: America's Heritage

51. What did the Founding Fathers borrow directly from the Roman Constitution?

Progressive minimum age requirements for elected officials
Payment of the senators from public taxes.
No term limits for the president.
Election of the senators by popular votes


52. What did Henry VIII love that the US Constitutional specifically forbids?

A unicameral legislature
A judiciary which is part of the executive branch.
Enforcement of laws by the military
Bills of attainders and ex-post facto laws


53. Which Roman was George Washington inevitably compared to?

Cincinnatus
Seneca
Tacitus
Caesar


54. What did we inherit from the Athenian Democracy that has undergone the least amount of change?

The custom of taking daily baths in the privacy of the home.
Being the first advocates of women's equality.
The method of electing political leaders
The jury system


55. Which US president believed the English parliamentary system was superior to the American federal system?

William McKinley
Herbert Hoover
Woodrow Wilson
Rutherford B. Hayes


56. What is the key difference in the US Senate as first defined in the Constitution and the Roman Senate?

The Roman senate was not elected directly by the voters.
The Roman Senate could not pass laws.
The Roman Senators had no minimum age requirement.
Roman Senators had term limits.


57. How was freedom of speech in Athens similar to ours?

What could be written in plays and books was subject to censorship laws.
Actual speech was protected as long as it was not written down.
Satirizing political leaders and religious beliefs was accepted and popular.
Military leaders were limited in what they could say about the elected officials.


58. How did the Athenian assembly differ from our own legislative bodies?

The Athenian assembly was composed of every voter.
Voting was by groups not individuals.
There were no subcommittees.
Eating was not permitted.


59. What form of government did Plato favor?

A monarchy similar to that of the Roman dominate
A democracy as in Athens
An aristocracy based on the government of Sparta
A republic similar to that of the Founding Fathers


60. How did the elected office holders of the Roman Republic differ from those of the United States?

It was considered undignified for them to give campaign speeches.
They were not allowed to spend personal funds for electioneering.
They had to carry out their duties in person.
They did not have to be Roman citizens.


Part 10: Art in America

61. How many Americans were invited to show their art in the original Impressionists Exhibitions?

3
1
None
2


62. How many portraits of George Washington did Gilbert Stuart paint from life?

One
Two
Three
Four


63. How much did Gilbert Stuart get paid for a hand painted copy of a portrait of George Washington?

$10,000
$700
$300
$100


64. What was one thing we have no evidence that American painter Thomas Eakins did?

Poke a woman sitter in the ribs.
Smoke and drink while painting
Loudly and deliberately break wind while painting.
Kill a rattlesnake


65. How many American artists have had their work in the permanent collection of the Louvre?

5
None
1
2


66. Which artist was not born in the United States?

Charles Schulz
Rhoda Nicholls
Alfred Stieglitz
Isamu Noguchi


67. Which American artist was permitted to paint the portrait of the Queen of England from life?

Georgia O'Keefe
Mary Cassatt
John Singer Sergeant
Thomas Sully


68. What did Lyndon Johnson say about his official portrait by artist Peter Hurd?

Who the hell is that supposed to be?
Next time I'll stick with a photograph.
It's the ugliest thing I ever saw.
Amazing! It looks like me and is handsome to boot!


69. What paintings did the African American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner specialize in?

Wildlife paintings
Everyday life of the post-bellum African American family
Still lifes
Biblical scenes


70. American sculptor Malvina Hoffman studied with the famous Auguste Rodin. What was a main difference between the way she worked and Rodin?

She felt that rigorous study of anatomy was not needed.
She refused to have her original work cast in bronze by professional foundries.
She did stone carving with her own hands.
She never made preparatory studies in first.


71. Which American artist has had his art mistaken for real people?

Photographer Alfred Eisenstadt
Sculptor Duane Hanson
Master draftsman Walter Hauser
Painter Chuck Close


72. Which American artist never exhibited at the Paris Salon?

Thomas Eakins
James McNeil Whister.
John Singer Sergeant.
None of the above as only French artists were allowed to exhibit.


73. American portrait painter John Singer Sergeant would entertain his friends and clients by playing the piano and one other instrument. What was it?

Banjo
Water armonica
Cello
Viola


74. Why did artist Charles Wilson Peale paint George Washington with a small head, wide hips, potbelly, and narrow shoulders?

Charles had astigmatism which produced distortion in his paintings.
That's more or less what George looked like.
He was influenced by the Mannerist style of painting of Pietro Perugino.
Charles had not studied anatomical proportions.


75. Which president's portrait was lost because his wife thought it made him look drunk and stuck it in a closet?

Theodore Roosevelt
Calvin Coolidge
Millard Fillmore
Rutherford B. Hayes


Part 11: Wierdos, Whackos, and Oddballs

76. Which American first went over Niagara Falls in a barrel - and survived?

Ed Delahanty
Jean Lussier
George Stathakis
Ann Taylor


77. Which Old West train robber appeared on a famous quiz program?

Roy Gardner
Al Jennings
Emmett Dalton
Pearl Hart


78. Ferdinand Demara, the 'Great Impostor', faked a number of credentials and college degrees so he could land various jobs. What is one occupation he did not fake during his impersonating?

A mine manager who rescued 10 trapped miners after a cave-in
A warden in a prison at Huntsville, Texas who quickly gained the respect of the prisoners and the guards
A medical doctor who successfully performed chest operations on seriously wounded soldiers
A Roman Catholic monk who helped found a religious college


79. After Joshua Abraham Norton died in San Francisco in 1880, 30,000 people turned out for his funeral. According to the city directory, what was Joshua's occupation?

Emperor of the United States
Successor to Socrates
Consul of the American Nations
High Pope of All Christianity


80. What did Andrew Johnson do to pass the time in his last year as president?

He fed crows that would land on his window sill.
He helped the White House groom feed and brush the horses.
He left food and water for mice that lived in his room.
He tried to kill flies by snapping at them with his shoe laces.


Part 12: Potpourri

81. After gaining national attention, who later turned to selling hamburger patties?

The chief of the Untouchables Eliot Ness
Melvin Purvis, slayer of John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson
Old West Lawman, Bill Tilghman
World War I General 'Black Jack; Pershing


82. What did home brewing manuals written during Prohibition say about the prohibition laws?

They said don't worry because the Federal Government had a 'hands-off' policy for home brewing for personal use.
They pointed out the Volstead Act mandated fines but no prison time for home brewers.
They advised that you could be arrested but the judges tended to be lenient.
They warned that you would be treated as any bootlegger.


83. How many cabinet members did George Washington have?

None. The cabinet began only with John Adams.
Four
Seven
Ten


84. George Washington once gave instructions as to who should be hired as workmen at Mount Vernon. What restrictions did he put on the workers?

George put no restrictions on his workers - not even regarding regarding race or religion - as long as they were good workers.
They had to be limited to men of 'good Christian character'.
They must be of European descent, but he put no restrictions on their religion.
They had to be between 23 and 34 years of age.


85. What did George Washington not do for recreation?

Betting on horse races
Play cards on Sunday
Play croquet
Attending and betting on cockfights


86. What did George Washington consider too undignified for the president of the United States?

Bow from the waist
Stand up when greeting visiting diplomats
Shake hands
Attend the receptions that Martha held every Friday


87. What started America's two-party system?

George Washington borrowed the idea from the British Liberals and Conservatives.
The philosophical differences between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.
It was due to the rivalry between Henry Knox and Edmund Randolph.
It really emerged only after the Civil War from Union and the Confederacy.


88. What is one memento of George Washington's we don't have?

One of his whiskeys stills
A real set of his false teeth
His fishing tackle
The ribbons he used to tie back his hair


89. Which of the following comedians was not a natural born American?

Buster Keaton
Bob Hope
Bing Crosby
Harold Lloyd


90. What did George Washington not produce at Mount Vernon?

Beer
Dried fish which was exported as far away as Spain
Muskets and pistols
Whiskey


91. Which outgoing president did not attend the inauguration of his successor because he was sure the next administration would destroy the United States?

Warren Harding
Grover Cleveland
John Adams
Herbert Hoover


92. Who were the last presidents to wear top hats at the inaugurations ceremony?

Outgoing President Herbert Hoover and His Successor Franklin Roosevelt
Outgoing President James Buchanan Taft and His Successor Abraham Lincoln
Outgoing president Dwight Eisenhower and His Successor John Kennedy.
Outgoing President William Howard Taft and His Successor Woodrow Wilson


93. Which president decided to first shake hands with his visitors?

George Washington
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison


94. What was the last president to be shown wearing knee breeches?

Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
James Monroe
John Quincy Adams


95. What topic does the Constitution say nothing about?

The speaker of the house becoming president if both the president or vice president can no longer serve.
The president resigning from office
Suspension of the writ of habeas corpus
Creating new states out of existing states


96. Which famous general graduated first in his class and received no demerits in his years at West Point?

Omar Bradley
George Patton
Douglas MacArthur
Robert E. Lee


97. Which president had never heard of which world famous musician before a historic White House performance?

John Kennedy and Pablo Casals
Theodore Roosevelt and Pablo Casals
Jimmy Carter and Andres Segovia
Gerald Ford and the Captain and Tennille


98. What President was reputed to set such a stingy table that a lady journalist made sure she ate a couple of sandwiches before she attended a White House dinner?

Calvin Coolidge
Franklin Roosevelt
Ronald Reagan
Jimmy Carter


99. How many presidents have been refused renomination by their own party?

None
1
2
3


100. Can any United States natural born citizen be president if they are 35 years of age?

Yes, all natural born citizens are eligible
No. They must also have been born in one of the US States.
No. They must satisfy a residency requirement of 14 years as well.
Yes, but if they were born in a US territory they are not full citizens.


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