Civics question 3 of 128
Name one thing the U.S. Constitution does.
4 accepted answers
- Forms the government
- Defines powers of government
- Defines the parts of government
- Protects the rights of the people
You only need to give one of these. The officer accepts any of them.
Source: official USCIS question list for the 2025 version of the civics test. This site is independent and not affiliated with USCIS.
Background
The Constitution forms the government, defines its powers, defines its parts, and protects the rights of the people, and naming any one of those is enough. The document opens by creating the three branches and saying what each may do: Congress writes law, the president carries it out, the courts interpret it. It also does something less obvious but just as important, which is to say what government may not do. Powers not given to the federal government are left to the states or to the people. The rights protections came mostly through the first ten amendments, added in 1791 because several states would not ratify without them. A useful way to hold the answer in mind is that the Constitution both builds the machine and puts fences around it.
This background section is written by US Citizenship Test Practice to explain the civics fact. It is not part of the USCIS question list, and the official answer above is the one to give at the interview.
Where this question sits
It is part of Principles of American Government, inside the American Government section of the test.
Related questions
- 5. How are changes made to the U.S. Constitution?
- 6. What does the Bill of Rights protect?
- 7. How many amendments does the U.S. Constitution have?
- 8. Why is the Declaration of Independence important?
- 9. What founding document said the American colonies were free from Britain?
- 10. Name two important ideas from the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.