Civics question 10 of 128
Name two important ideas from the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
6 accepted answers
- Equality
- Liberty
- Social contract
- Natural rights
- Limited government
- Self-government
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
Equality, liberty, social contract, natural rights, limited government, and self-government are the ideas the test lists, and naming any two of them is enough. They fit together as a single argument. Natural rights means people hold certain rights simply by being human, so government does not hand them out. Social contract means people agree to be governed in order to secure those rights, which makes consent the source of authority. Self-government follows from that consent, and limited government follows from the rights: if power came from the people for a purpose, it stops where that purpose stops. Equality and liberty are the two conditions the whole structure exists to protect. Picking two you can explain in a sentence each is more useful than memorizing the full list.
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.