The structure of the government and politics in the United States of America is relatively young in comparison to the rest of the world. Irrespective of this youth, America is rich in history and facts, due to the rapid and volatile nature of its short lived existence. The below 175 trivia questions and answers cover the politics of the U.S., specifically the evolution of the structure of government into how it currently resides.
These 175 political trivia questions and answers offer a lot of education and insight into the current democratic U.S. system. It includes the structure of government, what constitutes the laws, the systems that drive it, significant events in political history, and more. This is chock full of information, as well as fun facts you may have never known before.
So whether you are looking for a simple way to brush up on American politics, learn interesting trivia, or challenge your friends to a trivia night, these 175 U.S. political trivia questions and answers will provide a simple and casual way to really understand the political structure of the United States of America. I hope you enjoy them.
175+ U.S. Political Trivia Questions
1. How often is approximately 1/3 of the Senate up for election?
Every Two Years
2. Which branch the the U.S. Government does the Supreme Court fall under?
The Judicial Branch
3. Which member of the United States government nominates federal judges?
The President
4. Which amendment to the United States Constitution, expresses the principle of federalism, by stating that the federal government has only those powers delegated to it by the Constitution, and that all other powers not forbidden to the states by the Constitution are reserved to each state?
The Tenth Amendment
5. What is the form of government in which the people have the authority to choose their governing legislators, with cornerstones including freedom of assembly and speech, inclusiveness and equality, membership, consent, voting, right to life and minority rights?
Democracy
6. In 1935, what foundational statute of United States labor law guaranteed the right of private sector employees to engage in collective bargaining, organize into trade unions, and to strike?
National Labor Relations Act of 1935
7. How many years do you have to be a citizen of the United States in order to be eligible for the Senate?
Nine Years
8. What is the name of the specialized U.S. federal court that oversees requests for surveillance warrants against foreign spies inside the United States by federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies?
The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court or FISC
9. How many federal judicial districts are there in the United States district courts?
94
10. Which U.S. President is the only six-star general in United States history?
George Washington
11. In what year was the Department of Homeland Security created?
2002
12. Which amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, and sets requirements for issuing warrants?
The Fourth Amendment
13. Which member of the United States government has a vote in the Senate when senators are evenly divided?
The Vice President of the United States
14. Which article of the United States Constitution establishes the executive branch of the federal government?
Article II
15. Who is the oldest U.S. President to ever take office?
Joe Biden
16. What is the name of the collective works written by the Founding Fathers who were opposed to or concerned with the merits of the United States Constitution of 1787?
The Anti-Federalist Papers
17. What three branches make up the division of powers in the United States government?
Legislative, Executive, and Judicial
18. Which amendment of the United States Constitution restricts the ability of individuals to bring suit against states in federal court?
The Eleventh Amendment
19. Who are the only two presidents to have ever signed the United States Constitution?
James Madison and George Washington
20. What is the name of the policymaking body of the U.S. federal courts, responsible for creating and revising federal procedural rules pursuant to the Rules Enabling Act?
The Judicial Conference of the United States
21. How old do you have to be, to be a member of the U.S. Senate?
30 Years Old
22. Which Amendment of the United States constitution reads, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
The Ninth Amendment
23. Conscription in the United States, is more commonly known as what?
The Draft
24. What is the name of the United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of political campaigns?
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 or BCRA
25. What is the name of the codification of the general and permanent regulations published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government of the United States?
The Code of Federal Regulations or CFR
26. How many non-voting members does the House of Representatives have as of 2020?
Six
27. Which amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits both Congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax?
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment
28. What type of foreign policy holds that political rulers should avoid interfering in the affairs of foreign nations relations but still retain diplomacy and trade, while avoiding wars unless related to direct self-defense?
Non-interventionism
29. What is the political principle that advocates greater political or economic cooperation among states and nations?
Internationalism
30. Who was the first president to have his photograph taken while in office?
William Henry Harrison
31. Which Amendment to the United States Constitution provides the procedure for electing the president and vice president?
The Twelfth Amendment
32. How many U.S. presidents have been convicted after being impeached?
None
33. The federal courts of appeals sit permanently in how many appellate circuits?
13
34. In what year was the American Civil Rights Act passed, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin?
1964
35. What is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party?
Democratic National Committee or DNC
36. Who created the political slogan “No taxation without representation!”?
James Otis
37. What kind of 527 organization pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation?
Political Action Committee or PAC
38. How many voting members does the United States Congress have?
535
39. Which 1937 unofficial congressional coalition brought together the conservative wings of the Republican and Democratic Parties?
The Conservative Coalition
40. In the United States, “Social Security” is the commonly used term for what federal program?
Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance or OASDI
41. Which amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments?
The Eight Amendment
42. What is the term for any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern, including communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to protect public values or make a change in a community, addressing public concerns and promoting the quality of the community?
Civic engagement or Civic participation
43. What did the 1954 court case of Brown v. Board of Education establish as unconstitutional in public schools?
Racial Segregation
44. What is the name of the pronouncement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776, explaining why the Thirteen Colonies at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain regarded themselves as thirteen independent sovereign states, no longer under British rule?
The United States Declaration of Independence
45. What two words in the official name of a court can readily identify them as federal?
“United States”
46. Which article of the United States Constitution sets the number of state ratifications necessary in order for the Constitution to take effect and prescribes the method through which the states may ratify it?
Article VII
47. Who is the only president that was a lifelong bachelor?
James Buchanan
48. Which amendment to the United States Constitution places restrictions on the quartering of soldiers in private homes without the owner’s consent, forbidding the practice in peacetime?
The Third Amendment
49. Which U.S. President signed the Social Security Act in 1935?
Franklin D. Roosevelt?
50. What is the name of the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president?
The United States Electoral College
51. What two chambers of the United States government makes up Congress?
The House of Representatives & The Senate
52. Who was the youngest president to take office?
Franklin D. Roosevelt
53. What is the founding document of the United States, which is the supreme law of the United States of America, originally comprising seven articles, and delineates the national frame of government?
The Constitution of the United States
54. What kind of government is the United States of America?
Federal Constitutional Democratic Republic
55. Who was the first president to be born in as a citizen of the United States?
Martin Van Buren
56. Who is the only president to ever hold office in the history of the United States of America, not explicitly affiliated to any political party?
George Washington
57. Which amendment to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws which regulate an establishment of religion, or that would prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances?
The First Amendment
58. What is the legal requirement called where the state must respect all legal rights that are owed to a person, balancing the power of law of the land and protecting the individual person from it?
Due Process
59. What Act was signed into law by George W. Bush in 2001 to expand the abilities of law enforcement in surveillance, interagency collaboration communication, and increased terrorism penalties?
The USA PATRIOT Act
60. How many terms was Franklin D. Roosevelt successfully elected as the U.S President?
Four Terms
61. What is the name of the form completed by current and prospective college undergraduate and graduate students in the United States to determine their eligibility for student financial aid?
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA
62. Which article of the United States Constitution establishes the legislative branch of the federal government?
Article I
63. How many Senators are there in the United States government?
100
64. What were the series of opinions by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1901, about the status of U.S. territories acquired at the end of the Spanish–American War, where the United States had to answer the question of whether or not people in newly acquired territories were citizens?.
Insular Cases
65. In what year did the Thirteen Colonies proclaim their independence from Britain?
1776
66. How many Vice Presidents of the U.S. became President of the U.S. as of 2021?
Fifteen
67. Which amendment to the United States Constitution codifies the right to a jury trial in certain civil cases and inhibits courts from overturning a jury’s findings of fact?
The Seventh Amendment
68. What is the name of the independent agency of the United States government that maintains information on those potentially subject to military draft and carries out contingency planning and preparations for drafts?
The Selective Service System or SSS
69. Where does Congress meet to vote?
The United States Capitol
70. What was the name of the political party, which were the followers of Alexander Hamilton, who favored a strong central government that would support the interests of commerce and industry?
The Federalist Party
71. Which branch of the U.S. government does the commander in Chief fall under?
The Executive Branch
72. Which amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime?
The Thirteenth Amendment
73. Which set of United States domestic programs were launched by Lyndon B. Johnson beginning in 1964 to eliminate racial injustice and poverty?
The Great Society
74. How many voting representatives are currently in the House of Representatives, as of 2020?
435
75. Which President’s administration was involved in the Watergate Scandal?
Richard Nixon
76. What is the name of the central banking system of the United States of America, created in 1913?
The Federal Reserve System
77. Which of the main two United States political parties considers itself to be center-left?
The Democratic Party
78. Which President of the United States made Christmas a national holiday in 1870?
Ulysses S. Grant
79. Which amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right to keep and bear arms?
The Second Amendment
80. What was the name of the agreement among the 13 original states of the United States of America that served as its first constitution?
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union
81. How long is a term for a United States Senator?
6 Years
82. What is the Fair Housing Act of 1968 also known as?
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968
83. In what year did President Abraham Lincoln sign the Emancipation Proclamation executive order which freed the slaves in the United States of America?
1863
84. What is the name of the political ideals that stress liberty and inalienable individual rights as central values, recognizing the sovereignty of the people as the source of all authority in law?
Republicanism
85. What is the term for the right to vote in public, political elections?
Suffrage or Political Franchise
86. What term refers to the division of a state’s government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches?
Separation of Powers
87. What year did George Washington become the first president of the United States?
1789
88. Which Amendment to the United States Constitution extends the right to vote in presidential elections to citizens residing in the District of Columbia?
The Twenty-third Amendment
89. What type of political ideology advocates civil liberties under the rule of law with an emphasis on economic freedom?
Classical Liberalism
90. Which 1956 Alabama political and social protest against racial segregation on the public transit system occurred as a result of the arrest of Rosa Parks for her refusal to give up her seat to a white person?
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
91. What three words does the Preamble to the United States Constitution begin with?
We the People
92. The United States courts of appeals are also known as what?
Circuit Courts
93. What type of state holds a dominant position characterized by its extensive ability to exert influence or project power on a global scale, through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political and cultural strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power influence?
A Superpower
94. What are the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments to the United States Constitution, adopted between 1865 and 1870 called?
The Reconstruction Amendments
95. Who is the only president that is buried in Washington D.C.?
Woodrow Wilson
96. Which Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of Congress from taking effect until the start of representatives’ next set of terms of office?
The Twenty-seventh Amendment
97. Who is the only U.S. President to serve two nonconsecutive terms?
Grover Cleveland
98. Who did Gerald Ford take up the office of the Presidency from?
Richard Nixon
99. In what year was the intergovernmental military alliance between 30 European and North American countries known as NATO established?
1949
100. What is the term for the practice intended to establish an unfair political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating the boundaries of electoral districts, which is most commonly used in first-past-the-post electoral systems?
Gerrymandering
101. As of 2020, how many U.S. Presidents were impeached?
Three
102. Which amendment to the United States Constitution limits the number of times a person is eligible for election to the office of President of the United States to two?
The Twenty-second Amendment
103. Who was the second President of the U.S.?
John Adams
104. What event caused the passing of the Intolerable Acts by British Parliament in 1774?
The Tea Party Protest or the Boston Tea Party
105. What is the name of the process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party’s candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election?
Primary Elections
106. How long are the terms for members of the House of Representatives?
Two Years
107. What was the last elected U.S. President that was not affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican Party?
Millard Fillmore
108. In which building where both the the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence debated and adopted?
Independence Hall
109. How many electoral votes are required to elect the president and vice president of the United States of America?
270 or More
110. What is the name of the process by which seats in the United States House of Representatives are distributed among the 50 states according to the most recent decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution?
United States Congressional Apportionment
111. Which amendment to the United States Constitution allows Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states on the basis of population?
The Sixteenth Amendment
112. What is the name of the collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the collective pseudonym “Publius” to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution?
The Federalist Papers
113. What is the kind of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from or almost free from any form of economic interventionism such as regulation and subsidies?
Laissez-faire
114. What is the primary judiciary function of the United States Supreme Court?
To Interpret the United States Constitution
115. How old do you have to be, to be a member of Congress?
25 Years Old
116. Which United States President created the Works Progress Administration?
Franklin D. Roosevelt
117. What was the name of the state department in London that governed the Thirteen Colonies in 1660?
The Southern Department
118. Which amendment to the United States Constitution sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions?
The Sixth Amendment
119. Which members of the United States government approve federal judges?
The Senate
120. What Plymouth colony’s first governing document called?
The Mayflower Compact
121. Who was the first U.S. President to attend baseball’s opening day and throw out the first pitch?
William Howard Taft
122. Which 1791 tax protest occurred in response to the first tax imposed by the newly formed federal government?
The Whiskey Insurrection or the Whiskey Rebellion
123. Which article of the United States Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the federal government?
Article III
124. What principle of the United States government creates a divided system of power, to limit or check the other two branches of government, creating a balance between the three separate branches of the state?
Checks and Balances System
125. What year was John F. Kennedy assassinated?
1963
126. Which amendment to the United States Constitution established the direct election of United States senators in each state?
The Seventeenth Amendment
127. Who was the only President of the Confederate States of America?
Jefferson Davis
128. What is the name of the specialized U.S. federal court that adjudicates civil actions arising out of U.S. customs and international trade laws?
The United States Court of International Trade
129. How many states remained in the Union during the American Civil War?
Twenty
130. What 1773 Sons of Liberty political and mercantile protest destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent to Boston, Massachusetts?
The Boston Tea Party
131. Which article of the United States Constitution establishes the laws and treaties of the United States made in accordance with it as the supreme law of the land, forbids a religious test as a requirement for holding a governmental position, and holds the United States under the Constitution responsible for debts incurred by the United States under the Articles of Confederation?
Article Six
132. What is the official name of the United States court of last resort?
The United States Supreme Court
133. Which President of the United States of America signed the Affordable Care Act?
Barack Obama
134. Which amendment to the United States Constitution ended the prohibition of alcohol?
The Twenty-first Amendment
135. What is the name of the speech that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Pennsylvania, on the afternoon of November 19, 1863, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy?
The Gettysburg Address
136. What are the first ten amendments of the Constitution of the United States called?
The Bill of Rights
137. Which U.S. Vice President served under a President, and then went on to defeat the President he had served in the election for the U.S. Presidency?
Thomas Jefferson
138. What is the term for the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide?
Globalization
139. What is the name of the legislative sub-organization in the United States Congress that handles a specific duty, rather than the general duties of Congress?
A Congressional Committee
140. In the United States government, who is the President of the Senate?
The Vice President of the U.S.
141. Which United States President created the Bank of the United States?
George Washington
142. Which of the main two United States political parties considers itself to be center-right?
Republican
143. How many years do you have to be a citizen of the United States in order to be eligible for the House of Representatives?
7 Years
144. Which amendment of the United States Constitution established the prohibition of alcohol in the United States?
The Eighteenth Amendment
145. What are the names of the groups that use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy, playing an important role in the development of political and social systems, using motives for action usually based on political, religious, moral, or commercial positions?
Advocacy Groups or Special Interest Groups
146. Which President of the United States signed the Voting Rights act of 1965 into law?
Lyndon B. Johnson
147. Which amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the states and the federal government from using age as a reason for denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States who are at least eighteen years old?
The Twenty-sixth Amendment
148. Who was the youngest U.S. President to ever be elected into office?
John F. Kennedy
149. From 1774 to 1789, what served as the government of the 13 American colonies and later on, the United States?
The Continental Congress
150. Who was the first president to have ever appeared on television?
Franklin D. Roosevelt
151. What was the name of the first political party of the United States of America?
The Federalist Party
152. What organization replaced the League of Nations after World War II?
The United Nations or the UN
153. How many electors currently reside in the electoral college?
538
154. Which article of the United States Constitution outlines the relationship between the various states, as well as the relationship between each state and the United States federal government?
Article Four
155. In what year was the Treaty of Paris signed, which was the official recognition by Britain, of the independence of the United States of America?
1783
156. What kind of area is a region not governed by a local municipal corporation?
An Unincorporated Area
157. Which amendment to the United States Constitution moved the beginning and ending of the terms of the president and vice president, and of members of Congress, while also having provisions that determine what is to be done when there is no president-elect?
The Twentieth Amendment
158. Which branch of the U.S. government passes bills, has taxing and spending power, regulates the federal budget, regulates interstate commerce, has sole power to declare war, oversees and makes rules for the government, and has the sole power of impeachment?
The Legislative Branch
159. What was the name of the severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the United States?
The Great Depression
160. Who is considered the chief executive of a state’s government?
The Governer
161. What did the Sherman Antitrust Act outlaw in business?
Monopolies
162. In what year did prohibition end in the U.S.?
1933
163. What is the name of the specialized U.S. federal court that determines whether non-citizens should be deported from the United States on the grounds that they are terrorists?
The United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court
164. What type of legislature is divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses?
A Bicameral Legislature
165. Which three U.S. Presidents have been impeached?
Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump
166. Which amendment to the United States Constitution addresses criminal procedure and other aspects of the Constitution?
The Fifth Amendment
167. What is the name of the U.S. political committee that leads the Republican Party of the United States?
The Republican National Committee or RNC
168. In 1754, what plan proposed a unified government of the Thirteen Colonies to coordinate defense and other important matters, but most colony leaders rejected it?
The Albany Plan of Union
169. Where did the First Continental Congress meet to discuss how the colonies could collectively respond to the British government’s coercive actions in 1774?
Carpenters’ Hall
170. What type of election refers to an election where the people can elect their representatives and other subnational officeholders in the middle of the term of the executive?
Midterm Elections
171. Which amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and the states from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex?
The Nineteenth Amendment
172. Which article of the United States Constitution describes the process whereby the Constitution, may be altered under the process of proposing an amendment or amendments, and subsequent ratification?
Article V
173. Which U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice was responsible for defining the functions of the Supreme Court, including overturning the acts of states or Congress that were in violation of the United States Constitution?
Chief Justice John Marshall
174. What was the only unanimously elected president, with all state representatives voting for him?
George Washington
175. Who was the first woman to hold federal office in the United States?
Jeanette Rankin
176. Which amendment to the United States Constitution deals with presidential succession and disability, clarifying that the vice president becomes president if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, and establishes how a vacancy in the office of the vice president can be filled?
The Twenty-fifth Amendment
177. Which political party was U.S. President Millard Fillmore affiliated with?
The Whig Party
178. Which Article of the Constitution requires the establishment of a Supreme Court and permits the Congress to create other federal courts, and place limitations on their jurisdiction?
Article III
179. How many states seceded to the Confederate states of America during the American Civil War?
Eleven
