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How Well Do You Know Your Constitution?

© Brian Tubbs

As an American citizen, how well do you know your Constitution?

Here are ten questions to test your knowledge. The answers follow the questions, but don't cheat. Answer all the questions before looking at the score key.

Here we go...

1. Why is September 17 considered "Constitution Day"?

a. George Washington was inaugurated President on September 17 in 1791.

b. The Constitution was signed by the delegates at the Constitional Convention on September 17, 1787.

c. The first state ratified the Constitution on September 17, 1787.

d. No one knows.

2. What are the three branches of government in the Constitution?

a. Legislative, Executive, and Judicial

b. Legislative, Parliamentary, and Federal

c. Federal, State, and Local

d. Microsoft, McDonald's, and the News Media

3. Who presided over the Constitutional Convention?

a. John Hancock

b. Thomas Jefferson

c. George Washington

d. John Adams

4. How many amendments were ultimately approved as the "Bill of Rights"?

a. 10

b. 12

c. 2

d. 1

5. When was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?

a. 1791

b. 1992

c. 1861

d. 1642

6. Which amendment contains the phrase "separation of church and state"?

a. First Amendment

b. Second Amendment

c. Tenth Amendment

d. None of the above

7. Which amendment protects our "freedom of speech"?

a. First Amendment

b. Second Amendment

c. Tenth Amendment

d. None of the above

8. According to Article II of the Constitution, what is the required age for President of the United States?

a. 30

b. 40

c. 18

d. 35

9. What was the name given to the series of essays written to defend the Constitution during the ratification process, before the Bill of Rights was added?

a. Washington's Top Ten Reasons to Approve the Constitution

b. Common Sense

c. The Federalist Papers

d. Haldeman Diaries

10. Where did George Washington take his oath of office as the first elected President under the new Constitution?

a. Philadelphia

b. New York City

c. Washington, DC

d. Las Vegas

BONUS: Which of these Founding Fathers signed both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence?

a. George Washington

b. Benjamin Franklin

c. Thomas Jefferson

d. Patrick Henry

See answers below....

ANSWER KEY

1. B - The Constitutional Convention officially completed its work on September 17, 1787, with most of the delegates present signing their names to the finished product. This Constitution contained all of its present articles, but no amendments, including no guarantee of rights to the citizenry. This lack of a bill of rights is what led George Mason, a Virginian, to withhold his signature and campaign for a national bill of rights. His leadership prompted fellow Virginian, James Madison, to introduce a series of amendments in the First Congress (under the new Constitution) that became known as the Bill of Rights.

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