American History

Question 1

What is one reason colonists came to America?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?

Answer 2

Native Americans

Question 3

What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?

Answer 3

Africans

Question 4

Why did the colonists ght the British?

Answer 4

▪ because of high taxes (taxation without representation)

▪ because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering) ▪ because they didn’t have self-government

Question 5

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

Answer 5

Thomas Jefferson

Question 6

When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

Answer 6

July 4, 1776

Question 7

There were 13 original states. Name three.

Answer 7

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

Question 8

What happened at the Constitutional Convention?

Answer 8

The Constitution was written

Question 9

When was the Constitution written?

Answer 9

1787

Question 10

The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.

Answer 10

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

Question 11

What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Who is the “Father of Our Country”?

Answer 12

George Washington

Question 13

Who was the first president

Answer 13

George Washington

Question 14

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

Answer 14

Louisiana

Question 15

Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.

Answer 15

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

Question 16

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

Answer 16

Civil War

Question 17

Name one problem that led to the Civil War.

Answer 17

Slavery, Economic Reasons, State’s rights

Question 18

What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?*

Answer 18

▪ freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation) ▪ saved (or preserved) the Union
▪ led the United States during the Civil War

Question 19

What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

What did Susan B. Anthony do?

Answer 20

▪ fought for women’s rights

▪ fought for civil rights

Question 21

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

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Who was President during World War I?

Answer 22

Woodrow Wilson

Question 23

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

Answer 23

Franklin Roosevelt

Question 24

Who did the United States ght in World War II?

Answer 24

Japan, Germany, and Italy

Question 25

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

Answer 25

World War 2

Question 26

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

Answer 26

Communism

Question 27

What movement tried to end racial discrimination?

Answer 27

Civil Rights

Question 28

What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?*

Answer 28

▪ fought for civil rights

▪ worked for equality for all Americans

Question 29

What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?

Answer 29

Terrorists attacked the United States.

Question 30

Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.

Answer 31

▪ Missouri (River)

▪ Mississippi (River)

Question 32

What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?

Answer 32

Pacific

Question 33

What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?

Answer 33

Atlantic

Question 34

Name one U.S. territory.

Answer 34

▪ Puerto Rico
▪ U.S. Virgin Islands
▪ American Samoa
▪ Northern Mariana Islands ▪ Guam

Question 35

Name one state that borders Canada.

Answer 35

▪ Maine
▪ New Hampshire ▪ Vermont
▪ New York
▪ Pennsylvania
▪ Ohio
▪ Michigan
▪ Minnesota
▪ North Dakota
▪ Montana
▪ Idaho
▪ Washington
▪ Alaska

Question 36

Name one state that borders Mexico.

Answer 36

▪ California
▪ Arizona
▪ New Mexico ▪ Texas

Question 37

What is the capital of the United States?*

Answer 37

Washington, D.C.

Question 38

Where is the Statue of Liberty?*

Answer 38

Liberty Island, New York

Question 39

Why does the flag have 13 stripes?

Answer 39

▪ because there were 13 original colonies

▪ because the stripes represent the original colonies

Question 40

Why does the flag have 50 stars?*

Answer 40

One star for each state

Question 41

What is the name of the national anthem?

Answer 41

The Star-Spangled Banner

Question 42

When do we celebrate Independence Day?*

Answer 42

July 4

Question 43

Name two national U.S. holidays.

Answer 43

▪ New Year’s Day
▪ Martin Luther King, Jr. Day ▪ Presidents’Day
▪ Memorial Day
▪ Independence Day
▪ Labor Day
▪ Columbus Day
▪ Veterans Day
▪ Thanksgiving
▪ Christmas