Things I’ve learned recently

President Bush has quick reflexes!

- Monday’s post-shoe throwing news broadcasts

The star on the state flag of California comes from the lone star of Texas.

- State Flags II Quiz, encarta.msn.com

As of 6:45am Wednesday, Oklahoma City had been below freezing for 66 hours.

- David Payne, KFOR meteorologist

As of Wednesday morning, 37 states had had weather advisories issued this week.

- Al Roker, Today

A child has been saddled with the name Adolph Hitler Campbell, and a bakery refused to put a swastika and “Happy Birthday Adolph Hitler” on the cake for his third birthday. His siblings are named Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell (named for SS head Heinrich Himmler) and JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell (whose name the bakery also refused to place on a cake).

- Many, many news broadcasts and postings

Unlike last year, I am not the Person of the Year.

- Time magazine

Mittens will not remain on the hands of a thumb sucker, regardless of the temperature.

- Personal experience

A six-foot-tall inflatable palm tree is not an easy and fun party decoration in 40-mile-an-hour wind.

- Personal experience

My friend Deb can take something I would pass by with an “Eh…” and create something lovely.

- Personal experience

–oOo–

In the early 19th century nog was a strong of beer.

- Holiday Foods: Do You Know What You Are Eating? quiz, encarta.msn.com

Plums are not an ingredient of plum pudding.

- Holiday Foods: Do You Know What You Are Eating? quiz, encarta.msn.com

The story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created in 1939 as a holiday promotion for Montgomery Ward.

- Merry Mythmas Quiz, encarta.msn.com

President Theodore Roosevelt was a conservationist and did not approve of cutting down trees and didn’t allow Christmas trees in his home, including the White House.

- Merry Mythmas Quiz, encarta.msn.com

From 1659 until 1681 it was against the law to publicly celebrate Christmas in Massachusetts.

- Merry Mythmas Quiz, encarta.msn.com

It is very difficult to decorate a Christmas tree with a 15-month-old in the room, even when there are two adults.

- Personal experience

If Samantha is Christmas shopping in a store that has mirrors on the floor and propped against the wall, she will walk up and kiss the baby. A lot.

- Personal experience

–oOo–

My next column won’t appear until after the 25th, so…

Merry Christmas to you, and may the blessings of this holiday be yours!

Checklists and mittens and cards, oh my!

Christmas is swiftly approaching, and I can hardly catch my breath! My checklist looks like… oh, I don’t know, I guess an unchecked list…

Decorating: incomplete, and so unchecked

Christmas shopping: ditto and unchecked 

Buy Dirty Santa gift: unchecked

Gift-wrapping: unchecked

Take Samantha to have her picture taken with Santa: unchecked

Christmas cards: yeah, right

Mail gifts and cards: are you kidding me?

Third panic attack of the month: right on schedule

–oOo–

I’m making our Christmas cards this year. Yes, in fact, I AM insane.

In my defense, this is something I’ve wanted to do for five or six years, and I feel like if I do it just this once, I’ll be able to get it out of my system.

For the prosecution: (1) I have a 14-month-old baby; (2) I have a way-more-than fulltime job; (3) I don’t seem to possess all of the requisite card-making skills needed; (4) I am wa-a-a-ay too much a perfectionist to make cards. Plus, insanity is not a defense.

So I dreamed up ideas, stalled a couple of times, mocked up a prototype, made purchases from Hobby Lobby, Stampin’ Up and Michael’s, and played with a second prototype. And there I was, working hard on the project over the weekend, when crash! I slammed into a wall, after realizing how true prosecution argument number four is. And now I have all these supplies, which cost at least as much as bought cards. So two days later, I have a brainstorm, and now I’m ready to get back to it and see if my solution works.

I hope things work out, because I don’t think I’ll be able to really focus on the rest of my list until the cards are in the mail.

–oOo–

My daughter is turning into a little person right before my eyes. You know, developing a sense of humor and such. She’s done so many things for the first time lately. Almost every day since Thanksgiving there’s been something new. It’s just a whirlwind. I’m excited to see Christmas through her eyes. I know that she doesn’t understand, but she’s very interested in all of the activity. She’s asleep in every one of last year’s Christmas photos. Looking adorable in her little red dress, but completely sacked out. This year is, of course, a whole other story. It’s such fun!

–oOo–

Do they not make mittens on strings for children anymore? We have found only one pair of (supposedly) 12-24 month mittens for Samantha, and they don’t have anything to help us keep up with them. They’re also too small, and all I can find are mittens for bigger kids. All we need is a pair of light or hot pink mittens that fit and have some sort of mechanism to help us keep up with them, because, basically, if it’s not zipped or velcroed then it’s coming off in the car. And the store. And the parking lot. And the yard. What’s a mommy to do?

–oOo–

Thanks to technical difficulties on this end, my column was not in last Friday’s Index. So this is late but still heartfelt. Cal, Samantha and I spent Thanksgiving and that weekend in Childress. I was very impressed with the Christmas Festival! There were a lot of activities in addition to Treasure Hunt tickets and Santa, and what a great turnout!

I also did some Christmas shopping over that weekend, and let me tell you this: There is great shopping in Childress, people! The gifts I purchased are unique and will be very well received.

Though it may be cliché…

Are you familiar with the name Sarah Josepha Buell Hale? She was an American author, poet and magazine editor who lived from October 24, 1788 until April 30, 1879. She wrote Northwood, the first novel about slavery, and the poem “Mary’s Lamb,” which we know today as “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

She was also the driving force behind Thanksgiving becoming a national holiday in 1863. Prior to that, a day of thanksgiving was celebrated only in New England, and it took many years for Sarah Hale’s wish for a national holiday to be proclaimed. In fact it took a couple of decades.

Sarah Hale wrote letters to five American presidents in her endeavor. Her letters to Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan were unsuccessful; however, Abraham Lincoln was persuaded and, as a result, supported legislation to establish Thanksgiving Day. Thankfully!

–oOo–

I have a few words of gratitude today. I am thankful to the following for these reasons and so many more…

My boss and co-workers, who could not have been more supportive this year.

Brenda, for her letters and words of encouragement.

Cal, who, pardon the pun, is my rock.

The caregivers for my father, who are angels on Earth.

Chris, for his vision and our (ad)venture.

My sweet Dad, a good man.

Dad’s unawareness of what is happening to him.

Friends who have cried with me.

God, for my many blessings.

Dr. Green and CRMC for providing healthcare to the Blackburns.

My iPhone, with which there is never a dull moment and always an answer to those nagging trivia questions that suddenly arise.

Jackson and Sutton, who, though they aren’t my sons, are my boys.

Kellie, who makes me seem sane in comparison.

The love and tolerance of my family.

The truly inconditional love of my precious Mom, who I miss and need.

Ryan and the rest of the Index staff.

Samantha, my sunshine.

Sharon, to whom I can say anything and never feel stupid.

Tom, godfather extraordinaire, for handling the farm stuff.

And you. Blessings and Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Week long obsession

So, I really checked out Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Singers Ever” list, and it’s not what I’d call THE list of the greatest singers ever.

They asked 179 voters to each “list his or her 20 favorite vocalists from the rock era, in order of their importance.” The voters were a diverse cross-section of singers, band members, journalists, recording companies’ founders, and others, as well as an assortment of current and former Rolling Stone editors. They were given ballots, on which they ranked their top 20. Then accounting firm Ernst & Young did their tabulation magic, and the list was created.

–oOo–

Frankly, I’ve been having trouble with this list, and, as a result, with this week’s column, and I’m not really certain why, exactly.

There are several beautiful voices on the list: Etta James’ (number 22 on the list), Elvis Presley’s (3), Luther Vandross’ (54), Freddie Mercury’s (18), and Whitney Houston’s (34), for example. But those voices are lumped in with those of Lou Reed (62), Janis Joplin (28), Björk (60), and Axl Rose (64). To me, that’s a good use for the apples/oranges cliché.

Is that my problem with the list? That it’s not simply a list of singers with beautiful voices?

–oOo–

The voters were to list vocalists from the rock era, but that’s a broad description, as the listing indicates, what with the likes of Hank Williams (27), Stevie Wonder (9), Elton John (38), Bob Marley (19), Johnny Cash (21), Joni Mitchell (42) and Kurt Cobain (45). All rock singers? No. So we have a span of, what six decades, with a variety of genres…

Is that my issue? It’s not a pure rock (or R&B, or pop, etc.) list?

–oOo–

Or maybe it’s this: I don’t see how you can have a list of “great” singers of the rock era without Ann Wilson, of Heart, on it. Or Pat Benatar. Or Christine McVie, of Fleetwood Mac.

Or how any self-respecting list can have John Fogarty (72) above Mary J. Blige (100) or Bob Dylan (7) over Bono (32). And Bob Dylan is number seven? Really?

But they didn’t ask me. Hunh, guess that’s my problem. 

–oOo–

Just a few more of observations… 

These voters were on the list of 100: Eric Burdon (57, The Animals); Solomon Burke (89); Dion (63); Art Garfunkel (86); Merle Haggard (77); Toots Hibbert (71); Etta James (22); B.B. King (96); Darlene Love (84); Patti Smith (83); Ronnie Spector (69, The Ronettes); Bruce Springsteen (36); Mavis Staples (56); Rod Stewart (59); and Brian Wilson (52, The Beach Boys).

Keith Richards (--) ranked himself number 20; James Blunt and Courtney Love (--) both ranked themselves number one; Ozzy Osbourne (--) ranked himself at six, Billy Gibbons (--, ZZ Top) ranked himself number eight; and Maynard James Keenan (--, Tool) ranked himself number one and voted for no one else.

Alice Cooper (--), Merle Haggard, Solomon Burke, Patti Smith, B.B. King, Iggy Pop (75), and David Crosby were on the list, but none of them voted for themselves.

There are a couple of other glaring omissions from the list: Diana Ross and Grace Slick. And k.d. lang (think “Constant Craving”).

–oOo–

This silly list has been my obsession for a week now, and I’ve got to let it go before it takes over my life completely. I’d hate for my daughter to tell people in the future that Mommy had to go live with the other crazy people because Elvis was ranked at only number three!

Asked and Answered

Yes, it’s time to read my email and answer your questions…

Asked: Have you seen Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 greatest singers ever? What do you think? -Kim

Answered: I haven’t seen much of it, Kim, but I heard Ron-the-radio-god and his crew discussing it. They were beside themselves and think Rolling Stone is on crack. I was planning to really check it out and write about it next week.

Asked: When are you coming to Childress? -JL

Answered: I was there a couple of weeks ago, but didn’t really get out and about. We will be celebrating Thanksgiving in Childress, so I’ll be there in a couple of weeks.

Asked: Really cool trivia on the presidents! What did you think about the outcome of the presidential election? -CH

Answered: While I didn’t vote for Barack Obama, I think it is very exciting that an African-American was elected to the presidency. Our country has come a long way sing the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. 40 years ago. Obama’s candidacy led to many new registered voters, and I hope that now that they have participated in the electoral process that they will continue to do so.

Asked: I thought your columns on citizenship were very interesting, and I learned a lot, like my criminal ex-husband probably couldn’t become an American if he hadn’t been born here. -Me

Asked: Thanks for the information on becoming a citizen. That’s something I’ve never thought about. -JJ

Answered: Thanks, Me and JJ!

Asked: The citizenship test was not easy, and I barely passed! But I’m glad I took it, because I think its information Americans should know! -WH

Answered: I’m glad you took it and looked up the answers, and I agree with you.

Asked: Hey Shawn, I scored 89% on the citizenship test! What two questions did you miss? -Ron

Answered: For the life of me, I can’t seem to keep Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ name in my head. Seems like the other was the one (I’m so embarrassed!) on powers of the state.

–oOo–

Feel free to email me with your questions and comments: displaced_texan@rocketmail.net.

Presidential Trivia

Are you familiar with Encarta on msn.com? It’s an educational site with a dictionary, an atlas, an encyclopedia, and all kinds of resources for students, from kindergarten through grad school. It also has all kinds of trivia in the forms of lists and quizzes. And I love trivia. And lists. Ok, yes, and quizzes, but I think we’re quizzed out here these days.

So here, thanks to Encarta, are some things you might not know about U.S. presidents…

First U.S. president George Washington never shook hands with his visitors. Instead, he bowed to them.

At a time when tomatoes were thought by most people to be poisonous, Thomas Jefferson, the third president, was a pioneer grower of them.

In warm weather, sixth president John Quincy Adams normally went skinny-dipping in the Potomac River before dawn.

The ninth U.S. president, William Henry Harrison, gave the longest inauguration speech ever on a bitterly cold day. He then caught a cold, which developed into pneumonia, and Harrison died exactly one month into his presidency. It was the shortest term in U.S. history.

Zachary Taylor, 12th president, was a career military man who had never established a permanent address and had never voted when he won the presidency. And at a hot-weathered Fourth of July celebration in 1850, Taylor became ill after eating cherries and milk and died five days later.

The only unmarried man ever to be elected president was James Buchanan, the 15th U.S. president.

The 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, carried letters, bills, and notes in his stovepipe hat.

Andrew Johnson, 17th president, never attended school and learned to write at the age of 17.  He also only wore suits that he custom-tailored himself.

Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president, was the first to receive a raise in salary (the first 17 presidents earned $25,000 per year; Grant's presidential salary was increased in 1873 to $50,000). Grant was smoked about 20 cigars a day and died of throat cancer.

The 20th president, James Garfield, was multilingual and ambidextrous and could write Greek with one hand while writing Latin with the other.

Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th president, had the cancerous upper portion of his jaw removed during a secret operation aboard a yacht during his second term.

The teddy bear came about after 26th U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear with her cub on a hunting trip in Mississippi.

William Taft, 27th president, was 6-foot-2 and weighed more than 300 pounds, and he had a special oversized bathtub installed in the White House.

The 29th U.S. president, Warren G. Harding, was the first to ride to his inauguration ceremony in an automobile, to speak on the radio, and to have a radio in the White House. He also played poker at least twice a week, and his advisors were nicknamed the "Poker Cabinet" because they joined the games. Harding once gambled away a set of White House china.

Calvin Coolidge, 30th president, suffered chronic stomach pain and required 10 to 11 hours of sleep each night and a daily afternoon nap.

Herbert Hoover, the 31st president, was, in 1929, the first to have a telephone on his desk. Prior to that, the telephone was located in a booth outside the executive office. Hoover also published more than 16 books, including Fishing for Fun -- And to Wash Your Soul.

The 32nd president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, was related to 11 former presidents by either blood or marriage.

The full middle name of the 33rd president, Harry S Truman is the letter "S," which represents his two grandfathers, both of whom had a name starting with that letter.

President number 34, Dwight D. Eisenhower, loved to cook and created an 894-word recipe for vegetable soup that includes the stems of nasturtium flowers as an ingredient.

Gerald Ford, 38th president, was a model and appeared in Look and Cosmopolitan magazines in the early 1940s.

The 40th president, Ronald Reagan, broke the Curse of Tippecanoe, also called the "20-year curse," in which, for 120 years, every president elected in a year ending in 0 died in office.

George W. Bush, 43rd president, and his wife Laura were married just three months after meeting.

Citizenship: The Right Stuff, Part 3

I had been contemplating citizenship, in general, and the importance of being an American and of voting, specifically, a lot recently, what with next week’s presidential election looming. I’d wondered if I have what it takes to become an American citizen by naturalization and decided to establish whether I have the right stuff to become naturalized American citizen.

As a result, this column has been devoted to citizenship over the past two weeks in an effort to determine whether we are living up to our responsibilities as citizens. First, we covered the naturalization process, from establishing our eligibility to apply for naturalization to completing the application. Then we addressed the interview and reviewed the civics test materials. And the naturalization process ends successfully with the Oath of Allegiance at a formal naturalization ceremony.

–oOo–

Let’s take another look at the oath: “I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”

The oath lists several responsibilities of citizens: renounce all allegiance to foreign nations, swear allegiance to the U.S., support and defend the U.S. Constitution and laws, and, when required, serve the country. Yet, the United States is pretty accommodating. A modified oath, omitting “bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law,” is available to those who qualify by providing adequate evidence that their religious beliefs and training prevent them from bearing arms for the U.S. For those presenting sufficient corroboration of religious beliefs and training preventing them from carrying out any type of service in the U.S. Armed Forces, the oath may be amended by eliminating “perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law.” Additionally, if one is unable to swear using the phrase “on oath,” s/he may “solemnly affirm.”

–oOo–

American citizens have other responsibilities in addition to those noted in the oath. It is our obligation to tolerate the differences of other people. It is our duty to serve on juries when called. And it is our responsibility to register and vote in elections.

And that last responsibility was the catalyst for this little experiment. Voting in our federal, and state and local, elections is, it seems to me, more than a right or a duty. It is a privilege.

–oOo–

I’ve heard several excuses why people are not going to vote in the presidential race: My vote doesn’t matter. My candidate is going to lose anyway. I can’t decide between the candidates. I don’t like either of them.

I flat out tell them that I will not tolerate any complaints regarding the election outcome (and/or any of it’s bi-products, such as tax increases) from them for the next four years. Period. But that’s just me, and they may not want to talk to me at all after I say that, but I hope I’ve caused them reconsider their decision, even if they don’t change their minds.

–oOo–

The point is to exercise your right to vote. American history is abundant with people who fought, both physically and intellectually, formidable foes so that we may cast our ballots next week.

If you are registered, and did not vote early, I urge you to flaunt your citizenship on Tuesday by voting. Though the for-whom-to-vote decision may not be easy, the ballot process is.

I can’t think of anything more patriotic that I could possible do on Tuesday.

–oOo–

Now, about my score on that civics test… I took the 100-question version found on uscis.gov last Friday without studying and scored 78%. After feeling the relief of just passing, I was then disappointed that I’d not performed better. But who doesn’t study for such an important test? I took it again on Thursday after reading through it once more. The second time I scored 98%. How did you do?

Citizenship: The Right Stuff, Part 2

Last week we began a study of citizenship. In light of the nearing presidential election, I had been giving citizenship and the importance of being an American and of voting a lot of thought and had wondered if I had what it takes to become an American citizen by naturalization.

So, in an effort to determine if we have the right stuff to become naturalized American citizens and whether we’re living up to our responsibilities as citizens, we pretended that we aren’t American citizens and set out to see if we have the right stuff to become naturalized citizens. 

–oOo–

First, we established that we are eligible to apply for naturalization, according to uscis.gov, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website. The criteria we met included being 18 years of age or older; being a legal permanent resident; meeting the time requirement as a permanent resident in the U.S.; demonstrating continuous permanent residence and physical presence; and demonstrating good moral character and an attachment to the ideals and principles of the U.S. Constitution.

Then we applied via our 10-page Application for Naturalization. Our application process also included obtaining two passport-style photographs, collecting all necessary documents, paying $675.00 in fees, and being fingerprinted.

Now we are down to the final two steps in the naturalization process: (1) appearing for an interview and taking the test; and (2) taking the Oath of Allegiance at a formal naturalization ceremony.

–oOo–

During the first of the last steps, we must demonstrate an ability to speak, read, write, and understand basic English, as well as take, and pass, a civics exam. According to “Pathway to U.S. Citizenship,” a naturalization test brochure, our demonstration of our grasp of the English language will occur in three parts. Of course, when we prepared for this test, we utilized USCIS’s study materials that we found at, particularly the vocabulary lists and test questions.

An oral test will help the USCIS officer determine our ability to speak English, and during eligibility interview, s/he will use our answers to questions on the application form.

The reading test will allow us to demonstrate our ability to read English. In order to pass, we have to read 1 out of 3 sentences, the content of which focuses on civics and history. The USCIS’s reading vocabulary list contains the words found in the test. The vocabulary list’s content consists of: People (Abraham Lincoln, George Washington); Civics (American flag, Bill of Rights, capital, citizen, city, Congress, country, Father of Our Country, government, President, right, Senators, state/states, White House); Places (America, United States, U.S.); Holidays (Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving); Question Words (how, what, when, where, who, why); Verbs (can, come, do/does, elects, have/has, is/are/was/be, lives/lived, meet, name, pay, vote, want); Other (Function) words (a, for, here, in, of, on, the, to, we); and Other (Content) words (colors, dollar bill, first, largest, many, most, north, one, people, second, south).

During the writing test we will exhibit our ability to write English by correctly writing one out of 3 sentences correctly. USCIS’s writing vocabulary list, in addition to the words listed in the reading vocabulary list, contains: People (Adams); Civics (American Indians, Civil War, flag, free, freedom of speech); Places (Alaska, California, Canada, Delaware, Mexico, New York City, Washington, Washington, D.C., United States); Months (February, May, June, July, September, October, November), Other (Function) words (and, during); and Other (Content) words (blue, fifty/50, most, one hundred/100, red, taxes, white).

–oOo–

The USCIS recently redesigned the naturalization test to standardize the test-taking experience nationally and to assess the level of understanding applicants have of U.S. history and government. As of October 1, 2008 the redesigned test is the only version offered.

As applicants, we will be asked 10 questions from a list of 100. We must correctly answer at least six of the ten questions to pass the civics test. USCIS’s list of test questions consists of:

American Government:

A: Principles of American Democracy

What is the supreme law of the land?
What does the Constitution do?
The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are
these words?
What is an amendment?
What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?
How many amendments does the Constitution have?
What did the Declaration of Independence do?
What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?
What is freedom of religion?
What is the economic system in the United States?
What is the “rule of law”?

B: System of Government

Name one branch or part of the government.

What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?

Who is in charge of the executive branch?

Who makes federal laws?

What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?

How many U.S. Senators are there?

We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?

Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators now?

The House of Representatives has how many voting members?

We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?

Name your U.S. Representative.

Who does a U.S. Senator represent?

Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?

We elect a President for how many years?

In what month do we vote for President?

What is the name of the President of the United States now?

What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?

If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?

If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes

President?

Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?

Who signs bills to become laws?

Who vetoes bills?

What does the President’s Cabinet do?

What are two Cabinet-level positions?

What does the judicial branch do?

What is the highest court in the United States?

How many justices are on the Supreme Court?

Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?

Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is

one power of the federal government?

Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the

states?

Who is the Governor of your state now?

What is the capital of your state?

What are the two major political parties in the United States?

What is the political party of the President now?

What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?

C: Rights and Responsibilities

There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of

them.

What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?

Name one right only for United States citizens.

What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?

What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?

What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?

How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?

What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?

When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?

When must all men register for the Selective Service?

Integrated Civics

A: Geography

Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.

What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?

What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?

Name one U.S. territory.

Name one state that borders Canada.

Name one state that borders Mexico.

What is the capital of the United States?

Where is the Statue of Liberty?

B: Symbols

Why does the flag have 13 stripes?

Why does the flag have 50 stars?

What is the name of the national anthem?

C: Holidays

When do we celebrate Independence Day?

Name two national U.S. holidays.

American History

A: Colonial Period and Independence

What is one reason colonists came to America?

Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?

What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?

Why did the colonists fight the British?

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

There were 13 original states. Name three.

What happened at the Constitutional Convention?

When was the Constitution written?

The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one

of the writers.

What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?

Who is the "Father of Our Country"?

Who was the first President?

B: 1800s 

What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?

Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.

Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.

Name one problem that led to the Civil War.

What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?

What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

What did Susan B. Anthony do?

C: Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information

Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.

Who was President during World War I?

Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?

Who did the United States fight in World War II?

Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?

During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?

What movement tried to end racial discrimination?

What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?

What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?

Name one American Indian tribe in the United States

–oOo–

So, all we lack now is the final part, taking the Oath of Allegiance at a formal naturalization ceremony. Assuming we passed.

I want to know! I’m going to review the answers to the test questions a couple of times over the weekend and then take the entire 100-question test next week. Are you with me?

–oOo–

Next week we’ll see if we’re living up to our responsibilities as citizens and I’ll share my rest results with you!