Elementary American History Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1976

A bicentennial is celebrated after 200 years. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence, declaring the American colonies independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain. The most prominent signature on the Declaration is that of John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress. The other 55 signatures were those of representatives of the 13 states.

Answer: James Madison

In the early years of American independence, Madison was very influential in convincing the political leaders to call for a convention to replace the Articles of Confederation. His overall participation in the Constitutional Convention led many historians to label him "The Father of the United States Constitution".

Answer: The Gettysburg Address

Four and a half months after the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln delivered what would be his most famous speech in the small Pennsylvania town. At the time, Lincoln's short speech was considered unimpressive, not even lasting long enough for the photographer to set up for a photo.

The audience responded to Lincoln's address with what was later described as "barely polite" applause.

Answer: Betsy Ross

According to legend, George Washington, George Ross (her husband's uncle), and Robert Morris of the Continental Congress visited Ross in June of 1776. Washington presented her with a suggested design of the American flag which he had drawn up in pencil.

His version, as the story goes, consisted of 13 red and white stripes, with 13 6-pointed stars on a field of blue. Betsy's only suggestion was to change the stars to 5-pointed. This was reportedly the flag that flew when the Declaration of Independence was read aloud for the first time at Independence Hall on July 8, 1776.

There is no official record of this meeting, or that Ross actually sewed the first American flag, only the oral affidavits from her daughter and other relatives.

Answer: Turkey

In a letter to his daughter, Franklin wrote of his displeasure with the selection of the eagle to represent America. He thought eagles were "cowardly" and a "bird of bad moral character". The eagle was chosen by a group called The Society of Cincinnati, which used the bird for their insignia. Franklin felt the image they used looked more like a turkey than an eagle, and suggested that a turkey would be a better choice, calling it a "bird of courage". Though Franklin's recommendation of the turkey may have been tongue in cheek, he did suggest the rattlesnake as the national symbol at the beginning of the Revolutionary War.

Answer: Franklin Roosevelt

Roosevelt delivered this famous line during his first inaugural address in March of 1933. Roosevelt was warning against letting the economy be paralyzed by fears and anxieties, referring to the severe economic depression the country was in when he took office.

Answer: Wrote the lyrics to the national anthem

Key was a lawyer and amateur poet who was detained on a British ship during the War of 1812. After seeing the U.S. flag still flying at dawn after the Battle for Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Key was inspired to write a poem called "The Defense of Fort M'Henry".

His poem was later added to the existing music "To Anacreon in Heaven" by the English composer John Stafford Smith. The combination of the two works was named "The Star-Spangled Banner", and was officially adopted as the American national anthem in 1931.

Answer: World War II

Twelve allied nations battled German forces in the largest seaborne invasion in history. Almost three million troops crossed the English Channel from England to Normandy in German occupied France, beginning on June 6, 1944 and continuing for more than two months, concluding with the liberation of Paris. Allied forces suffered 37,000 casualties, 154,000 wounded, and 18,000 missing during the battle, compared to 200,000 German forces dead or wounded and 200,000 captured.

The twelve allied nations involved were: the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Poland, Norway, France, Greece, Czechoslovakia, and Canada.

Answer: Cuba

The Bay of Pigs is on the southern coast of Cuba. In 1961, the Bay of Pigs became the site of a failed attempt of a U.S. backed invasion of Cuban exiles intending to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, and became a black eye in the presidency of John F. Kennedy.

Answer: South

The Vietnam War began in 1957, but full scale American involvement didn't begin until 1965 with the Gulf of Tonkin incident.