Recent American History

The 19 official questions on Recent American History — numbers 100–118 of the 128-question bank for the 2025 civics test — with every accepted answer. At the interview the officer asks up to 20 questions from the full bank; 12 correct passes, and the officer stops at 12 right or 9 wrong.

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

     • World War I
     • World War II
     • Korean War
     • Vietnam War
     • (Persian) Gulf War

101. Why did the United States enter World War I?

     • Because Germany attacked U.S. (civilian) ships
     • To support the Allied Powers (England, France, Italy, and Russia)
     • To oppose the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria)

102. When did all women get the right to vote?

     • 1920
     • After World War I
     • (With the) 19th Amendment

103. What was the Great Depression?

     • Longest economic recession in modern history

104. When did the Great Depression start?

     • The Great Crash (1929)
     • Stock market crash of 1929

105. Who was president during the Great Depression and World War II?

     • (Franklin) Roosevelt

106. Why did the United States enter World War II?

     • (Bombing of) Pearl Harbor
     • Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
     • To support the Allied Powers (England, France, and Russia)
     • To oppose the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan)

107. Dwight Eisenhower is famous for many things. Name one.

     • General during World War II
     • President at the end of (during) the Korean War
     • 34th president of the United States
     • Signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 (Created the Interstate System)

108. Who was the United States' main rival during the Cold War?

     • Soviet Union
     • USSR
     • Russia

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

     • Communism
     • Nuclear war

110. Why did the United States enter the Korean War?

     • To stop the spread of communism

111. Why did the United States enter the Vietnam War?

     • To stop the spread of communism

112. What did the civil rights movement do?

     • Fought to end racial discrimination

113. Martin Luther King, Jr. is famous for many things. Name one.

     • Fought for civil rights
     • Worked for equality for all Americans
     • Worked to ensure that people would "not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character"

114. Why did the United States enter the Persian Gulf War?

     • To force the Iraqi military from Kuwait

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

     • Terrorists attacked the United States
     • Terrorists took over two planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City
     • Terrorists took over a plane and crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia
     • Terrorists took over a plane originally aimed at Washington, D.C., and crashed in a field in Pennsylvania

116. Name one U.S. military conflict after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

     • (Global) War on Terror
     • War in Afghanistan
     • War in Iraq

117. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.

     • Apache
     • Blackfeet
     • Cayuga
     • Cherokee
     • Cheyenne
     • Chippewa
     • Choctaw
     • Creek
     • Crow
     • Hopi
     • Huron
     • Inupiat
     • Lakota
     • Mohawk
     • Mohegan
     • Navajo
     • Oneida
     • Onondaga
     • Pueblo
     • Seminole
     • Seneca
     • Shawnee
     • Sioux
     • Teton
     • Tuscarora

118. Name one example of an American innovation.

     • Light bulb
     • Automobile (cars, internal combustion engine)
     • Skyscrapers
     • Airplane
     • Assembly line
     • Landing on the moon
     • Integrated circuit (IC)

Last verified against USCIS on 2026-08-25.