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71 US history trivia questions with answers

Eight rounds of US history by era, from Jamestown to 2015, for a class, a homeschool quiz or quiz night, ages 11 and up. Dates that are easy to mix up, like the Declaration's adoption and its signing, get their own questions.

The next Constitution Day, when public schools teach the Constitution, is Friday 17 Sep 2027. Source: Wikipedia

Updated

US history trivia questions with answers

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Colonies and Native nations, to 1763

  1. 1

    In which year did English colonists found Jamestown, in Virginia?

    easy

    Answer

    1607.

    It was the first permanent English settlement in North America.

    Source: National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/a-short-history-of-jamestown.htm

  2. 2

    In 1620, the Pilgrims of the Mayflower founded which colony in present-day Massachusetts?

    easy

    Answer

    Plymouth Colony.

    About half of the settlers died in the first winter.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony?oldid=1374288680

  3. 3

    Jamestown was named after which English king?

    medium

    Answer

    James I.

    The Virginia Company of London paid for the voyage.

    Source: National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/a-short-history-of-jamestown.htm

  4. 4

    Which crop did John Rolfe begin growing in Virginia in 1612, the one that made the colony pay?

    medium

    Answer

    Tobacco.

    In 1614 Rolfe married Pocahontas, which brought peace with the Powhatan people until 1622.

    Source: National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/a-short-history-of-jamestown.htm

  5. 5

    Which Patuxet man, who spoke English, taught the Plymouth colonists to grow native crops such as corn?

    medium

    Answer

    Tisquantum, better known as Squanto.

    He had learned English after being kidnapped and taken to Europe in 1614.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squanto?oldid=1380403216

  6. 6

    In 1619, Virginia's colonists met in a new kind of assembly, the first in English America. What kind?

    medium

    Answer

    An elected assembly that made laws: the General Assembly, with its House of Burgesses.

    It first met on July 30, 1619, at Jamestown.

    Source: National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/a-short-history-of-jamestown.htm

  7. 7

    Before the English took it in 1664, New York City was a Dutch town. What was it called?

    hard

    Answer

    New Amsterdam.

    The English renamed it for the Duke of York, the king's brother.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Amsterdam?oldid=1380236707

  8. 8

    Founded by Spain in 1565, which Florida city has been lived in longer than any other city founded by Europeans in the lower 48 states?

    hard

    Answer

    St. Augustine.

    The Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded it on September 8, 1565.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Augustine,_Florida?oldid=1382273068

  9. 9

    The Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca nations formed which league, in present-day New York?

    hard

    Answer

    The Haudenosaunee, also called the Iroquois Confederacy.

    The Tuscarora joined in 1722, making it the Six Nations.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haudenosaunee?oldid=1382272468

Revolution and the Constitution, 1763 to 1791

  1. 10

    Who made the famous midnight ride of 1775, warning the minutemen that British troops were on the way?

    easy

    Answer

    Paul Revere.

    The ride came just before the battles of Lexington and Concord.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Revere?oldid=1380263480

  2. 11

    Which 1765 British tax on newspapers, legal papers and even playing cards angered the colonists?

    medium

    Answer

    The Stamp Act.

    Their slogan was "No taxation without representation." Parliament repealed the act in 1766.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamp_Act_1765?oldid=1382711355

  3. 12

    The Revolutionary War began with fighting in which two Massachusetts towns, in April 1775?

    medium

    Answer

    Lexington and Concord.

    They were fought on April 19, 1775, the first major battles of the war.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Lexington_and_Concord?oldid=1379281294

  4. 13

    Congress voted to declare independence two days before it adopted the Declaration. On which date?

    medium

    Answer

    July 2, 1776.

    That day it adopted Richard Henry Lee's resolution for independence; on July 4 it adopted the Declaration that explained it.

    Source: National Archives https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-history

  5. 14

    Which body adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776?

    medium

    Answer

    The Second Continental Congress.

    Its delegates came from all 13 colonies and met in Philadelphia.

    Source: National Archives https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-history

  6. 15

    Besides Thomas Jefferson, name one of the four other members of the committee that drafted the Declaration.

    hard

    Answer

    John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman or Robert R. Livingston.

    Jefferson wrote the draft. Adams and Franklin made a few changes, and Congress made more.

    Source: National Archives https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-history

  7. 16

    On which date did most delegates sign the handwritten copy of the Declaration?

    hard

    Answer

    August 2, 1776.

    July 4 is the day Congress adopted it, not the day it was signed. John Hancock signed first, and some of the 56 signers added their names later.

    Source: National Archives https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-history

  8. 17

    At which Virginia town did General Cornwallis's British army surrender in October 1781?

    medium

    Answer

    Yorktown.

    French troops and the French fleet fought beside Washington's army there.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Yorktown?oldid=1382232529

  9. 18

    Which 1783 treaty ended the Revolutionary War, with Britain recognizing American independence?

    hard

    Answer

    The Treaty of Paris.

    Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and John Adams were among the Americans who negotiated it.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1783)?oldid=1380929461

  10. 19

    On which date did the delegates in Philadelphia sign the Constitution?

    medium

    Answer

    September 17, 1787.

    Signing was not the end: the Constitution took effect only after nine states ratified it.

    Source: National Archives https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript

  11. 20

    In June 1788, which state became the ninth to ratify the Constitution, putting it into effect?

    hard

    Answer

    New Hampshire.

    The new government began work in 1789.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_States?oldid=1381340946

  12. 21

    Congress sent the states 12 amendments in 1789. How many were ratified in 1791 as the Bill of Rights?

    hard

    Answer

    Ten.

    One of the two left over, on the pay of members of Congress, was finally ratified in 1992 as the 27th Amendment.

    Source: National Archives https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/bill-of-rights

A growing country, 1791 to 1860

  1. 22

    In 1805, the Lewis and Clark expedition reached which ocean?

    easy

    Answer

    The Pacific Ocean.

    The trip from St. Louis and back took from 1804 to 1806.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_Clark_Expedition?oldid=1382101210

  2. 23

    The talks that became the Louisiana Purchase began as an offer to buy just one city. Which one?

    medium

    Answer

    New Orleans.

    Jefferson sent James Monroe and Robert R. Livingston to buy it. When France offered the whole Louisiana territory, they agreed at once.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase?oldid=1382192502

  3. 24

    About how many square miles did the Louisiana Purchase cover?

    hard

    Answer

    About 828,000 square miles.

    France sold it for $15 million in a treaty of April 30, 1803. Native nations lived on most of that land, and the sale did not ask them.

    Source: National Archives https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/louisiana-purchase-treaty

  4. 25

    Who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804?

    medium

    Answer

    Aaron Burr.

    Burr was the sitting vice president at the time.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burr%E2%80%93Hamilton_duel?oldid=1382397030

  5. 26

    Watching the British bombard which Baltimore fort in 1814 inspired Francis Scott Key's poem, later "The Star-Spangled Banner"?

    medium

    Answer

    Fort McHenry.

    The bombardment was part of the War of 1812.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner?oldid=1382183924

  6. 27

    Opened in 1825, which canal across New York State linked the Hudson River with the Great Lakes?

    medium

    Answer

    The Erie Canal.

    It gave New York City's port a strong lead over every other US port.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Canal?oldid=1373248828

  7. 28

    The forced removal of Cherokee people from the Southeast to Indian Territory in 1838 and 1839 is remembered by what name?

    medium

    Answer

    The Trail of Tears.

    Thousands died on the way. The removals followed the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears?oldid=1382046039

  8. 29

    In 1848, which New York town hosted the first women's rights convention?

    hard

    Answer

    Seneca Falls.

    Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott were among its organizers.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_Falls_Convention?oldid=1370695282

  9. 30

    The gold seekers who rushed to California were nicknamed for the year most of them arrived. What were they called?

    medium

    Answer

    Forty-Niners.

    Gold was found at Sutter's Mill in January 1848; the rush peaked the next year.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_gold_rush?oldid=1381721179

  10. 31

    In which state was Harriet Tubman born into slavery?

    medium

    Answer

    Maryland.

    She escaped in 1849 and went back about 13 times to lead others to freedom.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Tubman?oldid=1380244851

Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861 to 1877

  1. 32

    Which fort in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, came under fire in April 1861, starting the Civil War?

    easy

    Answer

    Fort Sumter.

    After 34 hours of shelling, Major Robert Anderson agreed to leave the fort.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Sumter?oldid=1379137541

  2. 33

    In the Civil War the Northern states were the Union. What were the Southern states that broke away called?

    easy

    Answer

    The Confederacy, or the Confederate States of America.

    Jefferson Davis was its president.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America?oldid=1381012429

  3. 34

    The Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863. Where did it free enslaved people?

    medium

    Answer

    Only in the areas in rebellion against the Union.

    It did not free people in the slave states that stayed loyal. Slavery ended everywhere only with the 13th Amendment, in December 1865.

    Source: National Archives https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/emancipation-proclamation

  4. 35

    How does Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Gettysburg Address begin?

    medium

    Answer

    "Four score and seven years ago."

    A score is 20, so he meant 87 years before 1863: 1776.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address?oldid=1380682271

  5. 36

    At which Virginia village did Robert E. Lee surrender to Ulysses S. Grant in April 1865?

    medium

    Answer

    Appomattox Court House.

    Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865. Other Confederate armies surrendered over the next weeks.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Appomattox_Court_House?oldid=1378752752

  6. 37

    In which Washington, D.C., theater was Abraham Lincoln shot, in April 1865?

    medium

    Answer

    Ford's Theatre.

    John Wilkes Booth shot him on April 14, and he died the next morning.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Abraham_Lincoln?oldid=1382273948

  7. 38

    Congress passed the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, in January 1865. In which month and year was it ratified?

    hard

    Answer

    December 1865.

    It was ratified on December 6, 1865. It keeps one exception: punishment for a crime.

    Source: National Archives https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/13th-amendment

  8. 39

    Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, when Union troops announced freedom to enslaved people in which Texas city?

    hard

    Answer

    Galveston.

    It became a federal holiday in 2021.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth?oldid=1372894008

  9. 40

    Which amendment, adopted in 1868, made citizens of the people born in the United States?

    hard

    Answer

    The 14th Amendment.

    It also requires every state to give all people equal protection under the law.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution?oldid=1382070282

Railroads, immigration and reform, 1867 to 1920

  1. 41

    Which territory did the United States buy from Russia in 1867?

    medium

    Answer

    Alaska.

    The price was $7.2 million. It became the 49th state in 1959.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Purchase?oldid=1382192736

  2. 42

    In 1869, the last spike of the first railroad across the country was driven at which place in Utah?

    hard

    Answer

    Promontory Summit.

    The spike, of gold, joined the Central Pacific and Union Pacific lines.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_transcontinental_railroad?oldid=1382781153

  3. 43

    In which year was the Statue of Liberty dedicated, in New York Harbor?

    medium

    Answer

    1886.

    It was a gift from the people of France.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty?oldid=1382593263

  4. 44

    Which 1882 law was the first major federal law to stop immigration by people of one nationality?

    hard

    Answer

    The Chinese Exclusion Act.

    It was meant to last ten years, but it was extended and repealed only in 1943.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Exclusion_Act?oldid=1382440467

  5. 45

    In December 1890, US soldiers killed hundreds of Lakota people at which creek in South Dakota?

    hard

    Answer

    Wounded Knee Creek.

    Between 250 and 300 Lakota people were killed.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre?oldid=1382460745

  6. 46

    Which 1898 war gave the United States Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines?

    medium

    Answer

    The Spanish–American War.

    It was fought against Spain in Cuba and the Pacific.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War?oldid=1381541562

  7. 47

    In which year did the United States enter World War I?

    medium

    Answer

    1917.

    The war had begun in Europe in 1914.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_entry_into_World_War_I?oldid=1381773415

  8. 48

    In August 1920, which state's vote made it the 36th to ratify the 19th Amendment, which gave women the vote?

    hard

    Answer

    Tennessee.

    Ratification was complete on August 18, 1920. The amendment was certified on August 26, a different date.

    Source: National Archives https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/19th-amendment

Boom, Depression and World War II, 1920 to 1945

  1. 49

    What nickname is given to the 1920s, a decade of jazz, flappers and fast-growing cities?

    easy

    Answer

    The Roaring Twenties.

    Cars, radio and movies spread fast in those years.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Twenties?oldid=1382579633

  2. 50

    Which amendment banned the making and sale of alcohol until it was repealed in 1933?

    medium

    Answer

    The 18th Amendment.

    The 21st Amendment repealed it. Those years are called Prohibition.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution?oldid=1382556752

  3. 51

    The stock market crash of October 1929 led into which long economic slump?

    easy

    Answer

    The Great Depression.

    It lasted until the United States entered World War II, at the end of 1941.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_crash_of_1929?oldid=1381306344

  4. 52

    What name did Franklin D. Roosevelt give his programs to end the Depression?

    medium

    Answer

    The New Deal.

    It included jobs programs and Social Security.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal?oldid=1382614064

  5. 53

    What name was given to the dust storms and drought that ruined farms on the southern Great Plains in the 1930s?

    medium

    Answer

    The Dust Bowl.

    Many families from Oklahoma and nearby states moved to California.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl?oldid=1382150609

  6. 54

    Which 1935 law set up federal pensions for older people?

    hard

    Answer

    The Social Security Act.

    Roosevelt signed it on August 14, 1935.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_Act?oldid=1382316859

  7. 55

    Japan's attack on which naval base in Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, brought the United States into World War II?

    easy

    Answer

    Pearl Harbor.

    The United States declared war on Japan the next day.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor?oldid=1380997506

  8. 56

    During World War II, Marines from which Native nation sent radio messages in a code built on their own language?

    hard

    Answer

    The Navajo, the Navajo code talkers.

    The enemy never broke their code.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_talker?oldid=1377125441

  9. 57

    In 1942, the government forced about 120,000 people of which ancestry from their West Coast homes into camps?

    hard

    Answer

    Japanese ancestry.

    About two-thirds of them were American citizens. In 1988, the government formally apologized and paid the survivors.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internment_of_Japanese_Americans?oldid=1382648453

Civil rights, the Cold War and the Moon, 1945 to 1975

  1. 58

    The Montgomery bus boycott that followed Rosa Parks's arrest in 1955 made which young pastor a national leader?

    easy

    Answer

    Martin Luther King Jr.

    The boycott ended in December 1956, after the Supreme Court ruled bus segregation unconstitutional.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_bus_boycott?oldid=1379564469

  2. 59

    In 1957, President Eisenhower sent federal troops to protect nine Black students at Central High School in which city?

    medium

    Answer

    Little Rock, Arkansas.

    Arkansas's governor, Orval Faubus, had first kept the students out of the school.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine?oldid=1380693805

  3. 60

    In which year did Alaska and Hawaii become the 49th and 50th states?

    hard

    Answer

    1959.

    Alaska joined in January and Hawaii in August.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admission_to_the_Union?oldid=1379952314

  4. 61

    At which 1963 event did Martin Luther King Jr. give his "I Have a Dream" speech?

    medium

    Answer

    The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

    About 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_on_Washington?oldid=1378543622

  5. 62

    Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 created which federal agency?

    hard

    Answer

    The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC.

    President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the act on July 2, 1964.

    Source: National Archives https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/civil-rights-act

  6. 63

    Which 1965 law banned racial discrimination in voting, such as literacy tests?

    medium

    Answer

    The Voting Rights Act.

    President Johnson signed it on August 6, 1965.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965?oldid=1377981223

  7. 64

    Who was the second person to walk on the Moon, in July 1969?

    medium

    Answer

    Buzz Aldrin.

    Neil Armstrong stepped out first, and Aldrin followed him down the Eagle's ladder.

    Source: NASA https://www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-11/

  8. 65

    Which Apollo 11 astronaut stayed in orbit around the Moon while the other two landed?

    hard

    Answer

    Michael Collins.

    He was the command module pilot.

    Source: NASA https://www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-11/

  9. 66

    The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age to what?

    medium

    Answer

    18.

    Before it, most states set the voting age at 21.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-sixth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution?oldid=1380709563

Since 1975

  1. 67

    Which space shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after launch in January 1986?

    medium

    Answer

    Challenger.

    All seven crew members died, among them the teacher Christa McAuliffe.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster?oldid=1381384970

  2. 68

    In which year was Martin Luther King Jr. Day first observed as a federal holiday?

    medium

    Answer

    1986.

    President Ronald Reagan signed it into law in 1983.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr._Day?oldid=1381242264

  3. 69

    Which 1990 law, signed by George H. W. Bush, bans discrimination against people with disabilities?

    hard

    Answer

    The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA.

    It covers jobs, schools, transportation and public places.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_with_Disabilities_Act_of_1990?oldid=1380558374

  4. 70

    Which 2005 hurricane flooded most of New Orleans?

    easy

    Answer

    Hurricane Katrina.

    The levees that protected the city failed.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina?oldid=1382732415

  5. 71

    Which 2015 Supreme Court case made same-sex marriage legal in every state?

    hard

    Answer

    Obergefell v. Hodges.

    The vote was 5 to 4.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obergefell_v._Hodges?oldid=1380413931

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