American History

A: Colonial Period and Independence

58. Name one reason colonists came to America?

Correct answers (choose one):

  • freedom
  • political liberty
  • religious freedom
  • economic opportunity
  • practice their religion
  • escape persecution

Explanation: The English settlers came to America for different reasons, and they came from various backgrounds and religions.

59. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?

Correct answers (choose one):

  • American Indians
  • Native Americans

Explanation: Before the British settlers arrived, Native Americans lived in tribes across the continent.

60. Which group of people was taken to the u.s. and sold as slaves?

Correct answers (choose one):

  • Africans
  • people from Africa

Explanation: It is believed the first African slaves arrived by boat in Virginia in 1619, although some accounts say slaves arrived sooner from Africa.

61. Why did the colonists fight the British?

Correct answers (choose one):

  • because of high taxes (taxation without representation)
  • because the British army stayed in their houses
  • because they didn’t have self-government

Explanation: The American Revolutionary War lasted from 1775 to 1783, which led to the United States’ independence from Britain.

62. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

Correct answer: Thomas Jefferson

Explanation: Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence, which was the formal statement declaring the U.S. its own country independent from Britain.

63. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

Correct answer: July 4, 1776

Explanation: On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. The U.S. now celebrates Independence Day every July 4th.

64. Name three of the 13 original states

Correct answers (choose three):

  • New Hampshire
  • Massachusetts
  • Rhode Island
  • Connecticut
  • New York
  • New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania
  • Delaware
  • Maryland
  • Virginia
  • North Carolina
  • South Carolina
  • Georgia

65. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?

Correct answers (choose one):

  • The Constitution was written.
  • The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution.

Explanation: The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 14-September 17, 1787 with the goal of redesigning the system of government.

66. When was the Constitution written?

Correct answer: 1787

Explanation: The Constitution was written during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

67. Name one of the writers of the Federalist Papers

Correct answers (name one):

  • (James) Madison
  • (Alexander) Hamilton
  • (John) Jay
  • Publius

Explanation: The Federalist Papers consisted of 85 essays arguing for the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.

68. Name one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?

Correct answers (name one):

  • U.S. diplomat
  • oldest member of the Constitutional Convention
  • first Postmaster General of the United States
  • writer of “Poor Richard’s Almanac”
  • started the first free libraries

69. Who is considered the “Father of Our Country”?

Correct answer: (George) Washington

Explanation: George Washington was the commander of the army during the American Revolution, he presided over the Constitutional Convention, and he was the first president of the United States.

70. Who was the first president?*

Correct answer: (George) Washington

Explanation: George Washington was president of the United States from 1789-1797.

B: 1800s

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

Correct answers (choose one):

  • the Louisiana Territory
  • Louisiana

Explanation: Known as the Louisiana Purchase, the United States paid France $15 million for the 828,000 square miles of land.

72. Name one war fought by the U.s. in the 1800s

Correct answers (choose one):

  • War of 1812
  • Mexican-American War
  • Civil War
  • Spanish-American War

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

Correct answers (choose one):

  • the Civil War
  • the War between the States

Explanation: The American Civil War was fought from 1861-1865 between the Union Army and the Confederate States of America.

74. Name one problem that led to the Civil War

Correct answers (choose one):

  • slavery
  • economic reasons
  • states’ rights

75. Name one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?*

Correct answers (choose one):

  • freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
  • saved (or preserved) the Union
  • led the U.S. during the Civil War

Explanation: Abraham Lincoln served as U.S. president from 1861 until he was assassinated in 1865.

76. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

Correct answers (choose one):

  • freed the slaves
  • freed slaves in the Confederacy
  • freed slaves in the Confederate states
  • freed slaves in most Southern states

Explanation: President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect on January 1, 1863.

77. What did Susan B. Anthony do?

Correct answers (choose one):

  • fought for women’s rights
  • fought for civil rights

Explanation: Susan B. Anthony was a legendary women’s rights activist and a pioneer of the women’s suffrage movement.

C: Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information

78. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.*

Correct answers (choose one):

  • World War I
  • World War II
  • Korean War
  • Vietnam War
  • (Persian) Gulf War

79. Who was President during World War I?

Correct answer: (Woodrow) Wilson

Explanation: Woodrow Wilson was the 28th U.S. president from 1913-1921.

80. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?

Correct answer: (Franklin) Roosevelt

Explanation: Franklin Roosevelt, known as FDR, served as president from 1933-1945.

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

Correct answer: Japan, Germany, and Italy

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

Correct answer: World War II

Explanation: Dwight Eisenhower served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953-1961.

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

Correct answer: Communism

Explanation: The Cold War was an ideological battle fought between the United States and the Soviet Union.

84. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?

Correct answer: Civil rights (movement)

Explanation: The American civil rights movement, which took place during the 1950s and 1960s, demanded an end to racial segregation and discrimination.

85. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?*

Correct answers (choose one):

  • fought for civil rights
  • worked for equality for all Americans

Explanation: Martin Luther King Jr. was a leading civil rights activist and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

86. What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the U.s.?

Correct answer: Terrorists attacked the United States.

Explanation: September 11, also known as 9/11, was a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks carried out by Al Qaeda, a Muslim extremist group.

87. Name one Native American tribe in the United States

Correct answers (choose one):

  • Cherokee
  • Navajo
  • Sioux
  • Chippewa
  • Choctaw
  • Pueblo
  • Apache
  • Iroquois
  • Creek
  • Blackfeet
  • Seminole
  • Cheyenne
  • Arawak
  • Shawnee
  • Mohegan
  • Huron
  • Oneida
  • Lakota
  • Crow
  • Teton
  • Hopi
  • Inuit

Explanation: There are currently 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States.

Scroll to Top