Presidents, States, and Capitals

As many of you know, this August I will become eligible for citizenship, and I recently downloaded the list of questions that could be asked during the exam I will eventually take.

I thought it might be an interesting exercise to start my blog on Presidents, States, and Capital Cities with the geography section of the test.

I have already memorized all the states (but to my consternation can only list them in strict alphabetical order -- go figure, I have that kind of mind). Not anywhere on the exam does it require such a basic, fundamental knowledge of the country, knowledge of all fifty states.

Surely, you shouldn’t be able to become a citizen other wise?

The following are a sample of the questions on the exam:

1. Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.
2. What oceans are on the East and West Coast of the country (you only need to know one of them)?
3. Name one U.S. Territory.
4. Name one state that borders Canada or one that borders Mexico?
5. What is the capital of the U.S.?
6. Where is the Statue of Liberty?

I know this is a vast country. I know many non English-speaking immigrants take the test. I choose to become an adult citizen of this country; I am not here by accident of birth. Shouldn’t anyone making a choice as important as this have to know all the states?

In case you’re interested:

There are 4 A states, (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona)
3 C’s
1 each of D, F, G, H, L, P, R, and U
4 I’s
2 K’s
8 M’s
8 N’s
3 O’s
2 S’s
2 T’s
2 V’s
4 W’s

Here are the territories:

American Samoa
District of Columbia
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico
US Minor Outlying Islands
US Virgin Islands

The dh and I love wandering through country back roads and exploring and discovering. So far we’ve yet to visit over half of the states, but are planning trips. Arizona and the Grand Canyon, the badlands of South Dakota, New Mexico, and Texas are high on list ‘must see’ list.

For my US geography knowledge, I plan to take one state at a time in order of joining the union. Over the coming weeks I’ll try to find interesting facts about each state’s capital city, information about a state park, and the food of the state and share them with you.

Along the way I’ll pose more questions from the citizenship test related to history, government, and civics. I hope you’ll stop by and share your discoveries about this great nation with me.