Civics Test Questions 81–90 with Answers & Explanations2008 · for earlier filers

Quick answer: below are 10 questions (81-90) with answers and explanations, sourced from official public material or written to the official outline. The format matches the mock exam exactly, so what you learn here transfers one-to-one.

Questions 81-90

Question 81: Who did the United States fight in World War II?

• A. Canada and Great Britain
• B. the Soviet Union
• C. Spain and Portugal
• D. Japan, Germany, and Italy ✓

Answer: D — Japan, Germany, and Italy. The United States fought the Axis powers — Japan, Germany, and Italy. The Soviet Union, Great Britain, and Canada were Allied partners, not enemies: that is the trap. The war ended in Europe in May 1945 and in the Pacific that September. Official, adapted

Question 82: Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?

• A. World War I
• B. the Vietnam War
• C. the Korean War
• D. World War II ✓

Answer: D — World War II. Eisenhower commanded as Supreme Allied Commander in World War II — he planned the D-Day landings — before serving as President 1953–1961. The Korean War ran during his presidency, but his generalship was in World War II; World War I he spent stateside training tank crews. Official, adapted

Question 83: During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?

• A. colonialism
• B. an economic depression
• C. Terrorism
• D. Communism ✓

Answer: D — Communism. The Cold War — the decades-long standoff with the Soviet Union, roughly 1947 to 1991 — made the spread of Communism the main U.S. concern. Terrorism became the era-defining concern after September 11, 2001, which is the deliberate era trap here. Official, adapted

Question 84: What movement tried to end racial discrimination?

• A. the civil rights movement ✓
• B. the temperance movement
• C. the environmental movement
• D. the labor movement

Answer: A — the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement — through the 1950s and 1960s, led by figures like Martin Luther King, Jr. — fought to end racial discrimination and segregation. Temperance targeted alcohol, labor targeted working conditions, environmentalism targets pollution: related eras, different causes. Official, adapted

Question 85: What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?

• A. freed the slaves during the Civil War
• B. was President during the Great Depression
• C. signed the Emancipation Proclamation
• D. fought for civil rights ✓

Answer: D — fought for civil rights. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for civil rights and worked for equality for all Americans — the March on Washington, "I Have a Dream," the Civil Rights Act era — before his assassination in 1968. Slaves were freed by Lincoln a century earlier; the Great Depression presidency belonged to Franklin Roosevelt. Official, adapted

Question 86: What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?

• A. Terrorists attacked the United States. ✓
• B. A major earthquake struck the West Coast.
• C. The stock market crashed.
• D. A hurricane destroyed New Orleans.

Answer: A — Terrorists attacked the United States.. On September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the United States — hijacked airliners struck the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. Hurricane Katrina was 2005; the market crash was 1929; the great San Francisco earthquake was 1906. Official, adapted

Question 87: Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.

• A. the Maori people
• B. the Maya civilization
• C. the Aztec Empire
• D. Cherokee ✓

Answer: D — Cherokee. USCIS officers carry the federal list of recognized tribes — Cherokee, Navajo, Sioux, Chippewa, Choctaw, Pueblo, Apache, Iroquois, Creek, Blackfeet, Seminole, Cheyenne, Arawak, Shawnee, Mohegan, Huron, Oneida, Lakota, Crow, Teton, Hopi, and Inuit — and naming any one of them is a full answer. The Aztec and Maya are Mesoamerican civilizations and the Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand: real peoples, but none are on the U.S. federal list. Official, adapted

Question 88: Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.

• A. the Missouri (River) ✓
• B. the Potomac River
• C. the Hudson River
• D. the Colorado River

Answer: A — the Missouri (River). The two longest U.S. rivers are the Missouri and the Mississippi — naming either one is a full answer. The Missouri edges the Mississippi in length; the Mississippi carries more water. The Colorado, Hudson, and Potomac are famous but far shorter. Official, adapted

Question 89: What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?

• A. the Arctic Ocean
• B. the Gulf of Mexico
• C. the Pacific (Ocean) ✓
• D. the Atlantic Ocean

Answer: C — the Pacific (Ocean). The Pacific Ocean lies on the West Coast — California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska all face it. The Atlantic is on the opposite coast; the Gulf of Mexico opens to the south, below Texas and Louisiana. Official, adapted

Question 90: What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?

• A. the Pacific Ocean
• B. the Indian Ocean
• C. the Atlantic (Ocean) ✓
• D. the Gulf of Mexico

Answer: C — the Atlantic (Ocean). The Atlantic Ocean lies on the East Coast — from Maine down to Florida. The Pacific is the West Coast answer; mixing the two is the most common slip on this pair of questions. Official, adapted

Answer key at a glance

Answer from memory first, then check the key — the fastest way to find which explanations you actually need to read in full.

Study notes for this set

Every explanation above cites its source — verify anything that surprises you at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) material directly. Ready for more? Continue with questions 91-100; the full index lives in the Civics Test question bank.