by Evelyn J. Mocbeichel
With Election Day soon coming up on November 3rd, we are constantly barraged with political television commercials, political commentary and campaign headlines that can make ones head spin if you don’t tune out once in a while. While it is vital to be informed, there are times this can be stressful when headlines blare doom and gloom on a continual basis. This does not mean, however, that we shouldn’t listen, learn and know the facts, truth and how each party is planning to run our wonderful country. Listening to all of this coverage does hearken back to either civics or social studies classes where knowing all sorts of American governmental history was vital to passing each grades required tests.
Recently I had a chance to look at the booklet a friend has that is studying for the United States citizenship exam and I was amazed at the questions that are expected to be known, and rightfully so, that might be on the test. Several had me stumped and I had to look up the answers to refresh my own memory. Would I be able to pass this test if I had to take it many decades after leaving school? I’m sure any fifth grader can spill out the answers in seconds, as this is current information for the student. Some of the easier questions asked on the test was “Who was the Father of our country?” and of course it is our first president, George Washington. Everybody knows that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution is known as The Supreme Law of the Land. It is a masterful document that was put together by our Founding Fathers and perfectly holds together our vast government to this day. Way back when I was in elementary school we learned many of our lessons by rote and famous speeches were ingrained in us by a somewhat strict, but kind social studies teacher. 
To this day I can recall the first three words of the Constitution, which is “We the people”. See how many facts you can remember about our government and its history that should still be on the tip of your tongue after all of these years.
Mini quiz:
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- What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution called?
- How many amendments does the Constitution have in total?
- How many U.S. Senators do we have in the United States?
- How long is a Senator’s term?
- Why do some states have more representatives?
- What stops any branch from becoming more powerful than another?
- How old do you have to be to vote?
- Who was the President during WWI?
- What countries did the United States fight during WW II?
- In a typical year (before Covid) what is the deadline to file your income taxes?
Answers: 1. Bill of Rights; 2. Twenty Seven; 3. One hundred – 2 for each state; 4. Two years; 5. It is based on population, so states with more people have more representatives; 6. A system of Checks and Balances; 7. Eighteen; 8. Woodrow Wilson; 9. Germany, Japan, Italy; 10. April 15th
