U.S. Citizenship Civics Test Colonial Period and Independence Summary

Native Americans lived in America before the Europeans arrived.
Other answer USCIS accepts: American Indians.

Wrong choices

• The British: The British were Europeans who came later.
• The Spanish: The Spanish were Europeans who came later.
• The Dutch: The Dutch were Europeans who came later.

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence.

Wrong choices

• George Washington: Washington led the army. He did not write the Declaration.
• Abraham Lincoln: Lincoln lived much later and led the country in the Civil War.
• James Monroe: Monroe was the fifth President. He did not write the Declaration.

George Washington was the first president of the United States.
Other answers USCIS accepts: "Father of Our Country," General of the Continental Army, President of the Constitutional Convention.

Wrong choices

• Writer of the Declaration of Independence: That was Thomas Jefferson.
• President during the Civil War: That was Abraham Lincoln.
• Third president of the United States: That was Thomas Jefferson.

Many colonists came to America for religious freedom.
Other answers USCIS accepts: Freedom, Political liberty, Economic opportunity, Escape persecution.

Wrong choices

• To take part in the California Gold Rush: The Gold Rush was in 1849, long after the colonial period.
• To be ruled by a king with no limits: Many colonists came to find more freedom, not less.
• To work in automobile factories: Cars were invented much later.

People from Africa were taken and sold as slaves.
Other answer USCIS accepts: Africans.

Wrong choices

• People from Canada: Enslaved people in America were taken from Africa, not Canada.
• People from Australia: Enslaved people in America were taken from Africa, not Australia.
• People from Japan: Enslaved people in America were taken from Africa, not Japan.

Americans fought the Revolutionary War to win independence from Britain.
Other answers USCIS accepts: American Revolution, War for (American) Independence.

Wrong choices

• The Civil War: The Civil War was between the North and the South.
• The War of 1812: The War of 1812 came after independence.
• The French and Indian War: This war was before independence, when colonists fought with Britain against France.

One reason was taxation without representation. The colonists paid British taxes but had no vote in the British government.
Other answers USCIS accepts: High taxes, British soldiers stayed in Americans' houses (boarding, quartering), They did not have self-government, Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party (Tea Act), Stamp Act, Sugar Act, Townshend Acts, Intolerable (Coercive) Acts.

Wrong choices

• The colonies had too much self-government: The colonists complained they did not have self-government.
• The Louisiana Purchase: This was in 1803, after independence.
• The Emancipation Proclamation: This was in 1863, during the Civil War.

The U.S. Constitution was written in 1787.

Wrong choices

• Declaration of Independence: The Declaration was written in 1776.
• Articles of Confederation: The Articles were written earlier, in 1777.
• Bill of Rights: The Bill of Rights was added later, in 1791.

Benjamin Franklin was an inventor.
Other answers USCIS accepts: Founded the first free public libraries, First Postmaster General of the United States, Helped write the Declaration of Independence, U.S. diplomat.

Wrong choices

• First president of the United States: That was George Washington.
• Writer of the Federalist Papers: Franklin did not write the Federalist Papers.
• General of the Continental Army: That was George Washington.

Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States.
Other answers USCIS accepts: Writer of the Declaration of Independence, Doubled the size of the United States (Louisiana Purchase), First Secretary of State, Founded the University of Virginia, Writer of the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom.

Wrong choices

• First president of the United States: That was George Washington.
• General of the Continental Army: That was George Washington.
• President during the Civil War: That was Abraham Lincoln.