This week of Independence Day, in small towns and big cities, immigrants from dozens of countries of origin have been raising their right hands for an oath of citizenship they've kept in their sights for months, even years, of studying the complex laws and traditions that comprise America.

Some will have knocked the test on the first round; others will have returned again and again in pursuit of the right to say "I'm here and I'm an American."

Congratulations to every new citizen in this week when the United States celebrates its birthday,

If you were born here, you may take for granted that you'd be entirely familiar with the questions and answers that have so challenged newcomers with little knowledge of America, except that it's a powerful country, it's extraordinarily wealthy compared with most and it holds promise for anyone with a dream who also wants to work hard.

Debates and disputes over immigration are so common these days that it's easy to forget or never consider in the first place, the difficulty that faces would-be residents who speak another language, have only known poverty or strife, who are full of fear and misgivings, but mobilized by hope. It's likely the very same degree of hope that mobilized some of your own predecessors whose route took them through Ellis Island.

So, with the Fourth of July just ahead, quiz yourself or your children or your friends on a handful of the kinds of questions that face immigrants from Mexico or Korea or Ghana or Sri Lanka or Liberia who simply want a crack at what the rest of us enjoy by birth right.

See how many you answer correctly. The answers are not provided. You'll find them in a history book or online at government sites.

Why does the United States flag have 13 stripes?

E One for each state in the Union.

E The number of seats in the Cabinet

E They represent the 13 original colonies

E One for each article of the Constitution

The House of Representatives has how many voting members?

E 100 E 365

E 435

E 646

How many justices are there on the U.S. Supreme Court?

E 3

E 5

E 7

E 9

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

E Louisiana

E Vermont

E Alaska

E Maine

What did Susan B. Anthony do?

E Hid John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln

E Designed and made the original U.S. flag

E Designed the original U.S. currency

E Fought for women's rights

Which one of these is a right guaranteed by the First Amendment?

E Freedom of the press

E Right to trial by jury

E Right to bear arms

E Right to happiness

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

E Provide schooling and education

E Provide protection (police)

E Provide safety (fire departments)

E Give a driver's license

E Approve zoning and land use

Independence Day represents independence from who or what?

If you do not know some or all of the answers, you might instead of looking them up try asking an immigrant who had to pass the test to make a life, legally, in this country.