Home › History & Civics

History & Civics?

How the country actually works, minus the shouting. 24 questions and counting.

How many amendments does the Constitution have?27. The first ten are the Bill of Rights, and the 27th took 202 years to ratify, rescued from oblivion by a college stud…
How does the Electoral College actually work?You vote for electors, not the candidate: 538 total, 270 to win, awarded winner-take-all in 48 states. That math is how …
Why do we still have daylight saving time?It started as a WWI fuel-saving measure, the farmers actually opposed it, modern studies find little energy benefit, and…
How does a bill actually become a law?Both chambers must pass identical text, then the president signs or vetoes, with a two-thirds override available. The Sc…
What is the filibuster?A Senate rule letting a minority block most bills unless 60 of 100 senators vote to proceed. It is not in the Constituti…
Who actually wrote the Constitution?No single author: 55 delegates debated it in Philadelphia in 1787, James Madison shaped it enough to earn the Father tit…
What are the three branches of government and what does each do?Legislative writes the laws, executive enforces them, judicial interprets them. Each has tools to check the others, Cong…
How do you register to vote?Register through your state, online in most states, or by mail or in person at DMVs and election offices. Deadlines vary…
Is the United States a democracy or a republic?Both, and the framing of the question is usually a rhetorical move. The US is a constitutional republic and a representa…
How do you file a complaint against a business?Escalate in order: the company in writing, then your state attorney general or consumer protection office, then the rele…
How many Supreme Court justices are there, and why nine?Nine, but the Constitution never specifies a number. Congress sets it by statute and has changed it six times, from six …
What happens when federal and state law conflict?Federal law wins where it validly applies, under the Constitution's Supremacy Clause. But states hold broad authority ov…
What does a mayor actually do?It depends enormously on the city's charter. Strong-mayor systems give real executive power over budgets and departments…
What is gerrymandering?Drawing district boundaries to favor one party or group. Two techniques do the work: packing opponents into a few distri…
How do tax brackets actually work?Marginally, which almost everyone misunderstands. Moving into a higher bracket taxes only the income above that threshol…
What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid?Medicare is federal health coverage based mainly on age, 65 and older, plus certain disabilities. Medicaid is need-based…
When should you start taking Social Security?You can claim from 62, but waiting increases the benefit permanently, by roughly 8 percent per year up to age 70. Claimi…
What is the difference between a recession and a depression?A recession is a significant, widespread decline in economic activity lasting more than a few months. A depression is fa…
What does the Federal Reserve actually do?It is the US central bank, with a dual mandate from Congress: maximum employment and stable prices. Its main lever is sh…
What does the census actually do?It counts everyone living in the country every ten years, as the Constitution requires, and that count determines how ma…
How does impeachment actually work?The House impeaches by simple majority, which is an accusation rather than a removal. The Senate then tries the case and…
What does a state governor actually do?Runs the state's executive branch: proposes and signs budgets, commands the National Guard, appoints agency heads and of…
What is the national debt, and does it matter?The accumulated total of past deficits, money the federal government borrowed and has not repaid. Economists disagree sh…
How do you actually run for local office?Lower barriers than people assume. Most local offices require residency, a filing fee or a modest number of petition sig…