The second part of the citizenship civics test asks about American history, from colonial times through recent decades, and about national symbols and holidays. You studied this history in U.S. History I and U.S. History II; here it is gathered for review. The practice uses the official USCIS 2025 questions 73 to 128, word for word; the 2008 list and a mock interview are on the citizenship test practice page.
| Area | Key facts to know |
|---|---|
| Colonial times and independence | colonists fought the British over taxation without representation, quartered soldiers and the lack of self-government; Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, adopted July 4, 1776; the 13 original states; the Constitution was written in 1787 at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia; Hamilton, Madison and Jay wrote the Federalist Papers to support ratification; Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Alexander Hamilton |
| The 1800s | the Louisiana Purchase from France (1803); wars: the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War; the Civil War (1861 to 1865) between the North and the South; Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation (1863); the Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery (1865); leaders of the women's rights movement such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton |
| Recent history | World War I (entered 1917), the Great Depression (began with the 1929 crash), World War II (entered after Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941), Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr., the September 11, 2001, attacks; women won the vote in 1920 |
| Geography (on the 2008 list only) | the capital is Washington, D.C.; the country borders Canada and Mexico; it lies between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; two of its longest rivers are the Mississippi and the Missouri; its territories include Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Symbols and holidays | 13 stripes for the original colonies, 50 stars for the states; the national anthem is "The Star-Spangled Banner"; the motto "E Pluribus Unum" means "Out of many, one"; Independence Day (July 4), Memorial Day, Veterans Day (November 11) and other federal holidays |
Why it works
Why a time line? The most common slip is mixing up dates and documents: 1776 (the Declaration, which said the colonies were free) and 1787 (the Constitution, which set up the government). Put each answer on the line and it becomes a story with causes: the taxes and the Declaration, the weak Articles and the Constitution, slavery and the Civil War, the Depression and the New Deal, Pearl Harbor and World War II. Remember the symbols by their meaning: the stripes count the first 13 colonies and stay at 13; the stars count the states and grew to 50 when Hawaii joined in 1959; Memorial Day honors soldiers who died in military service, and Veterans Day honors everyone who has served.
Key idea
Anchor each history answer on a time line: 1776 Declaration, 1787 Constitution, 1803 Louisiana Purchase, 1861 to 1865 Civil War, 1920 women's vote, 1941 Pearl Harbor, 2001 September 11. Learn symbols and holidays by what they mean.
Worked example: Which document?
Which document said the colonies were free from Britain, and when was it adopted?
- The Declaration of Independence announced independence.
- It was adopted on July 4, 1776. (The Constitution came in 1787.)
Answer: The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.
Worked example: Why 13?
Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
- The stripes stand for the 13 original colonies.
- Stars, not stripes, were added for new states.
Answer: Because there were 13 original colonies.
Common mistake
Mixing up dates and documents, such as 1776 and 1787 or the Declaration and the Constitution. Anchor each answer on a time line: the Declaration (1776) came first and said why the colonies broke away; the Constitution (1787) came eleven years later and set up the government.