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US citizenship civics · Theme 5 · 4 min read

1800s

The Louisiana Purchase, the wars of the 1800s, the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln, the end of slavery, the 14th and 15th Amendments and the women's rights movement. Questions 90 to 99 of the 2025 civics test.

About this section

The ten questions in this section cover a century of growth and conflict, centered on the Civil War: why it was fought, what it ended and how it changed citizenship and voting rights.

This section belongs to American History, one of the three parts of the official USCIS 2025 civics test. At the interview the officer asks up to 20 of the 128 questions, and you need 12 correct answers to pass. Questions marked 65/20 are the 20 that applicants aged 65 or older with 20 or more years as a permanent resident may study instead; they are asked 10 of them and need 6 correct. The 2025 test applies if you filed Form N-400 on or after October 20, 2025; earlier filers take the 2008 version.

The questions

90. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?

Accepted answers:

In the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States bought a vast territory west of the Mississippi River from France, roughly doubling the size of the country.

91. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.

Accepted answers:

The wars of the 1800s were the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War and the Spanish-American War.

92. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.

Accepted answer:

The Civil War was fought between the Northern states, known as the Union, and the Southern states that broke away, known as the Confederacy.

93. The Civil War had many important events. Name one.

Accepted answers:

Important Civil War events include the attack on Fort Sumter, the Emancipation Proclamation, the battles of Antietam, Gettysburg and Vicksburg, Sherman’s March, the surrender at Appomattox and the assassination of Lincoln.

94. Abraham Lincoln is famous for many things. Name one.

65/20 question

Accepted answers:

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, led the country through the Civil War, preserved the Union, freed the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation and delivered the Gettysburg Address.

95. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

Accepted answers:

Issued by President Lincoln during the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation declared freedom for enslaved people in the Confederate states.

96. What U.S. war ended slavery?

Accepted answer:

Slavery ended with the Union victory in the Civil War, and the 13th Amendment then abolished it throughout the country.

97. What amendment says all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are U.S. citizens?

Accepted answer:

The 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, makes everyone born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to its laws, a citizen.

98. When did all men get the right to vote?

Accepted answers:

After the Civil War, during Reconstruction, the 15th Amendment of 1870 stopped states from denying men the vote because of their race.

99. Name one leader of the women’s rights movement in the 1800s.

Accepted answers:

Leaders of the women’s rights movement in the 1800s included Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and Lucy Stone, while Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman fought for women’s rights as well as against slavery.

Check yourself

  1. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
  2. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
  3. Name one thing Abraham Lincoln is famous for.
  4. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
  5. Name one leader of the women's rights movement in the 1800s.

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