# Could you pass the latest US citizenship test? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 2, 2008, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117 "2008-07-02T23:26:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/41 "2008-07-03T02:58:29Z")
[QUOTE=Frank] Celebrate the birth of your country by blowing up a piece of it! And by breaking the law. [/QUOTE] This is, truly, A Great Country. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/42 "2008-07-03T03:13:17Z")
The Constitution was written in 17-- who cares! 95% for me. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/43 "2008-07-03T03:27:16Z")
95%. I was off by about 100 members of the House of Representatives. It makes sense since I’ve read about four American History text books during the coarse of my education. One in 4th and 5th grade. One in 8th grade. One in 11th grade. Had to reread the 11th grade one again for AP history. Chickened out of taking the AP history test. Then I had to take American History yet again in College. It’'s my fault really for taking AP history and not taking the AP test. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/44 "2008-07-03T05:09:22Z")
95%. They were all very easy questions, but I missed the one about the Chief Justice, because at the time I had been thinking about Antonin Scalia’s role in drafting the majority opinion in _D.C. v. Heller_, and I checked Scalia without even thinking about it and carried on. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/45 "2008-07-03T05:13:02Z")
80% - I missed how many amendments, who is chief justice, year the Constitution was written, and length of a Senate term. I haven’t lived in the US much since 1986 (and I can’t vote for Congressional reps even though we own property in the US) so I don’t feel TOO terrible. But a little embarrassed, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/46 "2008-07-03T05:32:25Z")
I got 95%. I missed the succession question. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/47 "2008-07-03T07:02:45Z")
100%. Now if I knew as much about Japanese government, I might stand a chance of becoming a citizen here. My father’s going to applying in the near future. He should do ok on this test. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/48 "2008-07-03T08:03:52Z")
95% I always have trouble with the order of succession. Should have gone with my first thought, as usual. ---
**Author:** ![22\_Kilometers\_East](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/6bbea6/32.png) [@22\_Kilometers\_East](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/22_Kilometers_East)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/49 "2008-07-03T09:33:50Z")
100% 😛 Oh! Yes! 22KE ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/50 "2008-07-03T09:40:53Z")
50%, but then I couldn’t care less about American history, and little for American politics. As to the point above about significant dates, I agree with GorillaMan that they’re not that relevant. I don’t know when the Magna Carta was signed but I know what it was about, surely that’s more important? ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/51 "2008-07-03T09:47:48Z")
I only scored 50% but I don’t think that’s too bad for someone who’s not from the US and has no plans to apply for citizenship! Out of curiosity, I went to look for a British citizenship test and found one that had a very strange mix of questions - things like the year women got the vote and the year they were granted the right to divorce, who is the head of state, who is in charge of the economy, whether fox hunting is illegal and what kind of employment kids can get. I didn’t do too badly with those either, but it’s an eclectic mix of facts that I wouldn’t expect a native person to know, never mind anyone from outside the UK! ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/52 "2008-07-03T09:48:01Z")
I got 90 per cent! Where do I get my passport? ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/53 "2008-07-03T11:33:51Z")
95%. Missed the number of amendments. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/54 "2008-07-03T11:40:49Z")
I got 100%. It looks like you Americans are stuck with me for a while. Here’s one thing to consider. When you apply for US citizenship, you are given a list of the questions they might ask you and you are encouraged to study for them. I swear I studied harder for my citizenship test than I did for any test I took in high school or college! Then again, I had a lot more at stake. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/55 "2008-07-03T15:08:48Z")
I got 100%. But I might have missed the one on succession if Alexander Haig had been a choice. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/56 "2008-07-03T15:19:39Z")
100% – not a US citizen, and not intending to become one (even though I’m eligible to do so, because I don’t want to have to file a US tax return every year for the rest of my life). ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/57 "2008-07-03T15:30:41Z")
Slightly surprised that I got 100%. I was never a big colonial history buff - History was my least favorite school subject. And the question about which was not one of the original 13 colonies was a 50-50 guess. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/58 "2008-07-03T15:32:25Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] \ I got 100%. The easy way to remember how many people are in the House, especially in an election year, is by remembering that the number of electoral votes is equal to the number of Representatives plus the number of Senators, plus 3 votes for DC for a total of 538. 538-103=435. Or, just maybe, I’m a nerd. That’s entirely possible too. [/QUOTE] Yeah. The easy way is to just remember 435. Joe ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/59 "2008-07-03T16:05:39Z")
1. I should have done better. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117/60 "2008-07-03T17:22:48Z")
100% Seems to me that Congress and the President need to read #11: 1. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. Which of the following is NOT a federal power? To declare war To print money To declare treaties To provide education — [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-pass-the-latest-us-citizenship-test/455117.md?page=4)