US Constitution Quiz: Bill of Rights, Amendments & Founders

This US Constitution quiz goes back to Philadelphia in 1787, with questions on the Preamble, the Bill of Rights, the First and 19th Amendments, James Madison and how the document was ratified. Ten questions, 90 seconds, answers explained.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 90 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 90s

The Preamble
Which three words open the U.S. Constitution?
History
In which city was the Constitution written in 1787?
Amendments
What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution called?
Amendments
How many amendments does the U.S. Constitution have?
Rights
Which amendment protects freedom of speech, religion and the press?
Congress
How many senators does each state send to Washington?
Government
Which branch of government makes the laws?
Amendments
Which amendment, ratified in 1920, gave women the right to vote?
Founders
Which founder is known as the Father of the Constitution?
Ratification
How many states had to ratify the Constitution for it to take effect?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which three words open the U.S. Constitution?
Answer: We the People
The Preamble begins with We the People of the United States, making clear that the government's power comes from its citizens. In God We Trust is the national motto, adopted in 1956.
Q2: In which city was the Constitution written in 1787?
Answer: Philadelphia
Delegates met at the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall, in Philadelphia from May to September 1787. The Constitution was signed there on September 17, now marked as Constitution Day.
Q3: What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution called?
Answer: The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the name for the first ten amendments, proposed by Congress in 1789 and ratified in 1791. They protect freedoms such as speech and religion and set rules for fair trials.
Q4: How many amendments does the U.S. Constitution have?
Answer: 27
The Constitution has been amended 27 times. The most recent, the 27th Amendment, was first proposed in 1789 but was not ratified until 1992.
Q5: Which amendment protects freedom of speech, religion and the press?
Answer: First
The First Amendment protects freedom of religion, speech, the press, peaceful assembly and the right to petition the government. The Fifth protects people from being forced to testify against themselves.
Q6: How many senators does each state send to Washington?
Answer: Two
Every state has two senators, whatever its population, which makes 100 senators in total. Seats in the House of Representatives, by contrast, are shared out by population.
Q7: Which branch of government makes the laws?
Answer: Legislative
Article I gives the power to make laws to Congress, the legislative branch, made up of the Senate and the House. The executive branch, led by the President, carries out laws, and the courts interpret them.
Q8: Which amendment, ratified in 1920, gave women the right to vote?
Answer: 19th
The 19th Amendment, ratified in August 1920, banned denying the vote on account of sex. Tennessee was the 36th state to approve it, giving the three-fourths majority needed.
Q9: Which founder is known as the Father of the Constitution?
Answer: James Madison
James Madison drafted the Virginia Plan that shaped the convention's debates and later wrote the Bill of Rights. He went on to become the fourth President of the United States.
Q10: How many states had to ratify the Constitution for it to take effect?
Answer: 9
Article VII said the Constitution would take effect once nine of the 13 states ratified it. New Hampshire became the ninth in June 1788, and the new government began work in 1789.

US Constitution Quiz – The Rulebook of American Government

The United States Constitution was written in the summer of 1787 by 55 delegates meeting in Philadelphia. It replaced the weaker Articles of Confederation and set out a new federal government split into three branches: Congress to make laws, a President to carry them out and courts to judge them. Signed on September 17, 1787, it is the oldest written national constitution still in use.

The original document is short, with a preamble and seven articles. Most of the rights Americans talk about today, such as free speech, the right to a fair trial and the right to vote regardless of race or sex, were added later through amendments. Only 27 amendments have been approved in more than 230 years, because the process is deliberately difficult.

This quiz covers the basics every citizen and student should know, plus a few details that even history fans can miss.

Reading the Constitution itself takes less than an hour, and it is easier to follow than many people expect. Free copies are available from the National Archives, and the short Preamble is a good place to start.

What This Quiz Teaches

It is useful for students studying civics, people preparing for the U.S. citizenship test and anyone who wants a clearer picture of how American government works.

What the Preamble says and why We the People matters
What the Bill of Rights is and when it was added
How the three branches of government share power
Why every state has two senators but different numbers of representatives
How women won the right to vote through the 19th Amendment
How many states had to agree before the Constitution took effect

Quick Facts About the Constitution

The original Constitution is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
At 81, Benjamin Franklin was the oldest delegate to sign it.
Rhode Island refused to send delegates to the convention and was the last of the 13 states to ratify, in 1790.
To amend the Constitution, two-thirds of both houses of Congress usually propose a change and three-fourths of the states must approve it.
The 18th Amendment introduced Prohibition in 1920, and the 21st repealed it in 1933, the only amendment ever cancelled.
With only about 4,500 words in its original form, it is one of the shortest national constitutions in the world.
The word democracy does not appear anywhere in the Constitution.