Can you pass the US Civics quiz?

Native Americans were not granted US citizenship until 1924

The Indian Citizenship Act granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the US, more than 130 years after the Constitution's ratification. Even then, some states continued to deny Native Americans the right to vote for decades.

Guess US city populations via bracket-style game

The US Census Bureau's data visualization team created a game—laid out like a March Madness basketball bracket—where you try to decide which metro area of two has the greater population. Test your knowledge of relative city populations and see...

Political typology quiz

Where do you fit in the political typology? Take this quiz to find out which political typology best matches your views. Sixteen questions serve to filter political views across nine typology groups. These groups include: Progressive Left;...

A poll from May 2025 found that a majority of Americans oppose ending birthright citizenship

As legal challenges progressed, a May 2025 NPR/Ipsos poll showed fewer than one-third of Americans supported eliminating birthright citizenship, despite broader public backing for other immigration restrictions.

The US lags behind other developed countries in math and science scores

The Programme for International Student Assessment, administered every three years by the OECD to 15-year-olds, scores US students below the OECD average in math (465 vs. 472) and only slightly above average in science (499 vs. 485). These figures place US pupils in the lower half of developed nations.

Read through the actual text of the US Constitution

This helpful guide from the US Congress includes annotations that provide valuable insights into the background, crafting, and legacy of each article in the document. Additionally, the resource offers accessible legal analysis and interpretations.

Election 101 podcast

What’s actually at stake when someone casts their vote in a US election? CNN’s “Election 101” podcast series provides ten episodes summarizing some of the basics of democratic elections. The ins and outs of voting are highlighted in 15-minute episodes on voter registration and voting by mail. Additional segments highlight how the electoral system works, how ballots are counted, the Electoral College, why it takes so long to get election results, and more.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

On the role of 'Citizenship In A Republic'

After finishing a Smithsonian-sponsored expedition to East Africa, US President Theodore Roosevelt stopped by Paris and gave a speech about the responsibilities an ordinary citizen has to their republic. Citizens must know there is no effort without error, knowing they "fail while daring greatly" in pursuit of a truly democratic republic. This podcast series on powerful speeches across history is written and narrated by historian and author Jon Meacham.

Take a quiz to discover your brain care score

Each year, nearly 800,000 Americans have a stroke. With such a high occurrence rate, you may be asking yourself what you could do now to prevent a future stroke. Researchers at Harvard collaborated to answer this question by coming up with a "Brain Care" scoring system. Take the quiz to learn the quality of your brain health today and pick up helpful insights to lower your risk of stroke and dementia well into the future.

Most common jobs in the US

Most US government organizations list roughly 500 primary occupations that most Americans fall into, such as teachers and cashiers. Using data from the 2018 through 2022 American Community Survey, these graphics break down the most common jobs in the US by age, gender, and more. See the graphics here.

'The $64,000 Question' took the quiz show formula to new levels

Creator Louis G. Cowan upped the potential winnings and had his team scour through contestant applications in search of everyday people with exceptional knowledge in a particular area. When the show premiered in 1955, they made the game appear high-tech by using cutting-edge IBM technology to deliver questions. The gambit worked: At one point, 55 million Americans tuned in.

Test your ETF knowledge

A 10-question quiz from the SEC allows investors to test their basic knowledge about exchange-traded funds and their investing counterparts, mutual funds. Here’s a sample question: Is the past performance of a fund a good indicator of future results? (Hint, the answer is no).

The census reshapes House representation every 10 years

Conducted once every 10 years, the US Census determines how House seats are reapportioned among the states. The 2020 results shifted representation as state population growth and decline altered the geographic balance of political power.

Take a bankruptcy self-filing quiz

If a debtor is considering filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it may be tempting to take a do-it-yourself approach to avoid attorney or preparer fees. However, experts caution that this could come back to bite filers. A quiz can help would-be filers explore whether their cases are complex enough to necessitate a lawyer.

An interactive map of 250 American places worth visiting before you die

The Smithsonian created ten categories of landmarks—from history and food to oddball Americana and architecture—to enrich your celebration of America's semiquincentennial. You can sort by region or category, see a map of each location, and learn each spot's significance in a clean, aesthetic user interface.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

Take a quiz to identify whether you can spot deepfakes

Advances in artificial intelligence have made deepfakes increasingly difficult to identify, as they are intentionally designed to appear real. The technology has exacerbated some of the problems brought on by digital editing tools like Photoshop.

Test your knowledge of famous death days

Of the thousands of celebrities whose name you know, how many can you remember the year they died? This simple game tests your knowledge of celebrity death days. An exact match gets you 1,000 points, and if you select within 15 years of the right year you get some points. Go see how much you remember here.

Read the criteria for federal jury selection and the exemptions and excuses that can get you out of it

Federal jurors must be US citizens, at least 18 years old, proficient in English, and free of felony convictions. Active-duty military, full-time police and firefighters, and certain public officials are fully exempt from service.

Before the 16th Amendment, US tax law required direct taxes to be directly apportioned to a state's population

Due to these requirements, the federal government could not impose many direct taxes. Direct taxes include property and income taxes, whereas indirect taxes include duties and excises.

40% of Americans have ancestors who immigrated via Ellis Island

For over 60 years, Ellis Island was the gateway to America, processing millions of immigrants seeking a new life. While many passed through with ease, others faced rigorous medical exams, legal scrutiny, and even deportation. Learn how this small island shaped generations of American families.

Certain government assistance programs are available to green-card holders

Federal programs such as Medicaid and SNAP are often available to US green-card holders, but that's not typically the case for people with other immigration statuses in the US, like DACA recipients, asylum applicants, and unauthorized immigrants.

Some say a $100,000 salary can’t buy the American dream

According to a 2023 survey, 52% of Americans said they would need to earn at least $100,000 a year to be financially comfortable. However, for a family of four, that's not enough money to achieve the American dream (having a degree of economic security) in any of the 50 states.

How the US built the Interstate Highway system

As late as World War II, it took a well-prepared motorist roughly 10 days to cross America from coast to coast in a car. That all changed when the nation undertook its biggest public infrastructure project in 1956, the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, initiating a 36-year, $114B mission to lay 41,000 miles of roads across America. Watch a smart overview here.

Five steps to start your credit union journey

Once you’ve decided you want to start banking with a credit union, you’ll need to fill out an application. This will ensure that you meet all of the institution’s membership requirements. You’ll need to hand over basic information like your name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, and your driver’s license. This tutorial walks you through the process so that you can make your first deposit in no time.

The Senate must approve top presidential appointments

Under Article II of the Constitution, the United States Senate provides "advice and consent" on presidential nominees. This resource displays the outcome of every Cabinet nomination since Jimmy Carter's presidency and every Supreme Court nomination in US history.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

This poison ivy knowledge quiz—accompanied by photos of the plant's varied forms—may help you identify this common rash-inducing growth.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

11 people died from firework injuries in the US in 2024.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

US intelligence allegedly pursued more than 600 schemes to assassinate Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.

About 12.5% of US adults experience a phobia in their lifetime, a diagnosis that hinges on the intense fear interfering with daily life and persisting for at least six months.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.