2025-2026 MAE Citizenship Class 13

uscitizenpod: Mix-and-Match U.S. Citizenship Interview: Level D Practice 4 and "Places" Civics Questions

Classroom:

• N-400 Miz-and-Match Interview D4 (fixed)
• USCIS 100 Quiz: History/Geography—Name One of Several Possible Answers
• Voices of Freedom: Ch 10 and Ch 11
• A Citizenship Interview Quiz for Paulette Poujol-Oriol (Port-au-Prince, Haiti) pdf

Learn more:

• U.S. Citizenship Resources for the Winter Holidays

Anniversary of the Monroe Doctirne

 

 

National Museum of American Diplomacy: Monroe Doctrine 101 | What is the Monroe Doctrine?

Dec 2, 1823: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James Monroe proclaims American neutrality in future European conflicts, and warns European powers not to interfere in the Americas.

The Monroe Doctrine was an early U.S. foreign policy that tried to stop European nations from getting involved in the Western Hemisphere. President James Monroe explained this policy in 1823, during a time when world powers were changing. This lesson explains what a doctrine is and how the Monroe Doctrine became an important part of U.S. foreign policy.

When many Latin American countries won independence from Spain and Portugal, the United States worried that other European countries might try to take control again. Monroe worked with his Secretary of State and then announced in a speech that the Americas were no longer open to colonization. Why was this seen as a strong statement of independence? And how did the Doctrine affect old and new relationships between nations? Learn more in this video.

Learn more about the National Museum of American Diplomacy

POP QUIZ

USCIS 128:58.   Name one power that is only for the federal government.

USCIS 128:85.   Benjamin Franklin is famous for many things. Name one. 

Rosa Parks Day

What does it mean to stand up for something?
How do you show your support for causes you believe in?

TED-ED: The hidden life of Rosa Parks - Riché D. Richardson

Learn about the life of civil rights activist Rosa Parks— her work with the NAACP, bus boycotts, and her lifelong fight against racial inequality.

Throughout her life, Rosa Parks repeatedly challenged racial violence and the prejudiced systems protecting its perpetrators. Her refusal to move to the back of a segregated bus ignited a boycott that lasted 381 days and helped transform civil rights activism into a national movement. But this work came at an enormous risk— and a personal price. Riché D. Richardson details the life of Rosa Parks.

Lesson by Riché D. Richardson, directed by Eido.

Learn more:

Rosa Parks Day is a U.S observance that celebrates the famous civil rights leader Rosa Parks. In different parts of the United States, this day is celebrated on different days. In some areas, its celebrated on December 1, the day in 1955she refused to give up her seat on bus, kicking off the Montgomery Bus Boycott.  In other places, its celebrated on Rosa Park’s birthday—which is February 4th. No matter what day it’s observed, however, it’s a good day to learn about the civil rights movement or to take part in activities that support the civil rights movement.

• LOC: Today in History: Dec 1: Rosa Parks Arrested
• NPS: Places of Rosa Parks

POP QUIZ:

12. What is the “rule of law”?

42. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states? 

55. What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?

84. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?

48. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.

37. What does the judicial branch do?

23. Name your U.S. Representative.

26 new Americans take oath of allegiance at Vt. naturalization ceremony

WCAX-TV Channel 3 News: 26 new Americans take oath of allegiance at Vt. naturalization ceremony

A Citizenship Quiz in Honor of the Double Birthday of San Jose, CA

A Citizenship Quiz in Honor of the Double Birthday of San Jose, CA  mp3 | pdf

Happy Birthday San Jose! Today we are going to celebrate the Double Birthday of San Jose, California--my hometown.

Today we are going to listen to eight questions from the USCIS 100 questions plus 2 extra credit questions. There is so much to say about San Jose, that I could have asked many more questions, but ten questions in total is just enough. 

Remember, you only have to get 6 out of 10 questions correct to pass the citizenship exam along with the questions from you N-400 plus reading and writing one sentence.

Today when I ask the questions, there will be no answers--you will have to answer the questions yourself. Check your copy of the USCIS questions to make sure that you are correct. Let's get started!

The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Region

Worldwide Walls: POW! WOW! San Jose 2021 AIR: We Are Muwekma Ohlone (clip)

"We Are Muwekma Ohlone" is the title of the mural.

They were once recognized but it got taken away back in the late 1920s.

Charlene Nijmeh, the current chairperson, 

she represents the present, 

and she's doing what she can to help get the tribe 

federally reinstated as a sovereign nation as a Muwekma Ohlone, 

an American Indian tribe recognized by the United States.

Ask the question.

Find out why you didn't know anything about the Ohlone people before.

Just learn.

I'm glad I painted this just to be like a talking point, 

like a starting point to to talk about that.

--Alfonso Salazar 

US Citizenship Podcast gratefully acknowledges Muwekma Ohlone people on whose ancestral land we reside, as well as the diverse Native communities who make their home here today.

The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Region are seeking seeking federal recognition of their tribal status, which would give them the same benefits as other Native American tribes for housing, medical care, higher education and the ability to establish a land trust.  

Watch the documentary The Trail of Truth: Muwekma Ohlone’s Journey for Justice and Federal Recognition that follows their 2024 cross-county journey from the Golder Gate Bridge to Washington DC and sign their letter of support. 

Check out Native Land (native-land.ca) to discover the Indigenous people, languages, and treaties associated with your local area.

POP QUIZ:

1. USCIS 100:59. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
2. USCIS 100:87. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.

Learn more:

• Native Land 
• National Native American Heritage Month
• NMAI: Honoring Original Indigenous Inhabitants: Land Acknowledgment
• Preparing the Oath: 100:59, 100:87
• SJSU: The Muwekma Ohlone Are Still Here
• uscitizenpod: U.S. Citizenship Resources for Native American Heritage Month

Learn more the Muwekma Ohlone of San Jose / Oakland / San Francisco:

• Muwekma Ohlone | Facebook | YouTube
• ABC7: Ohlone women fighting to get back their land, cultural heritage in Bay Area
• Brian Fanger: We Are Still Here: Ohlone Mural San Jose
• Brian Fanger: Chictactac-Adams Ohlone site in Gilroy, CA
• Brian Fanger: Exploring the Ohlone Territory of the South Bay
• India Country Today: Preserving Ohlone cosmology and teachings
• KQED: How This Native American Elder Reclaimed Sacred Land in the Bay Area
• Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority: Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the SF Bay Area | The Past, Present, and Future Stewards of Coyote Valley
• Sacred Land Film Project: Unearthing Ancestors at the West Berkeley Shellmound
• SJ Walls: We Are Still Here

See also: 

• A Citizenship Quiz in Honor of the Double Birthday of San Jose, CA mp3 and  pdf
• US Census: Native American Heritage Day: November 28, 2025
  

The immigrant history of Thanksgiving dinner

Scripps News: The immigrant history of Thanksgiving dinner 

In this episode of "Americanize Me," we head to Plymouth to learn the immigrant history of the Thanksgiving dinner.

Learn more about Thanksgiving:

• U.S. Citizenship Resources for Native American Heritage Month page
• U.S. Citizenship Resources for Thanksgiving page

How Are Thanksgiving, “Mary Had a Little Lamb," and Abraham Lincoln Related?

National Geographic: How Are Thanksgiving, “Mary Had a Little Lamb," and Abraham Lincoln Related?

This is how a nursery rhyme author, Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, and Abraham Lincoln influenced the holiday we know as Thanksgiving.

Learn more about Sarah:

Sarah Josepha Buell Hale (October 24, 1788 – April 30, 1879) was an American writer, activist, and editor of the most widely circulated magazine in the period before the Civil War, Godey's Lady's Book.  She was the author of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Hale famously campaigned for the creation of the American Thanksgiving holiday and for the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument.

POP QUIZ based on the 2025 Civics Test:

69.   What are two examples of civic participation in the United States?

80.   The American Revolution had many important events. Name one.

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

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

126.   Name three national U.S. holidays. *

Learn more about Thanksgiving:

• U.S. Citizenship Resources for Native American Heritage Month page
• U.S. Citizenship Resources for Thanksgiving page