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Quiz about A Mix Of Historical US Trivia
Quiz about A Mix Of Historical US Trivia

A Mix Of Historical U.S. Trivia Quiz


The 19th century, particularly the period after the Civil War, was a period of expansion, invention, and discovery. This quiz will cover some historical events and persons of influence in the 19th century.

A multiple-choice quiz by ncterp. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
ncterp
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
412,227
Updated
Mar 31 23
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
522
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 165 (8/10), Guest 199 (4/10), Guest 170 (6/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. In San Francisco the preferred mode of transportation from 1870 to about 1900 was the cable car. The cars ran by a cable slot between the rail tracks. Who invented the cable car in 1873? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. They were known as the "Haymarket Eight". Eight men at a rally of anarchists and labor activists at Haymarket Square were arrested after a bomb was tossed toward riot police, killing seven police officers and injuring sixty others. In which American city did this incident occur? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Who was the world-famous photographer who photographed the Old West, particularly the Wyoming Territory, for what was to become the U.S. Geological Survey in the 1870s and 1880s? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. On September 16, 1893, the largest land rush in history began with more than 100,000 people ready to stake their claim to western lands once occupied by Native Americans. To what future state were they rushing? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. On August 2, 1886, while playing poker in Nuttal and Mann's Saloon in the mining town of Deadwood, Dakota Territory, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok met his maker. The cards he was holding have been forever known as the "dead man's hand". What cards was Wild Bill holding? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. There's gold in them thar hills! In the late 1850s and early 1860s Montana had its own gold rush. Prospectors came from miles around, even Europe. Their arrival gave rise to mining towns that were lawless and wild. One of the first of these settlements became the territorial capital of Montana in 1864. What was the name of the town? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. At the time, it was the longest and tallest suspension bridge in the world. The Brooklyn Bridge spanned the East River connecting Brooklyn with Manhattan. Until then Brooklyn and New York City were considered two different cities. Who designed the bridge? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. He has been called an "empire builder" and the "greatest constructive genius of the Northwest". He was President of the St. Paul, Minnesota & Manitoba Railway Company. His vision was instrumental in the expansion of the Pacific Northwest. Who was this visionary? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. The massive bronze statue atop the U.S. Capitol dome has often been misidentified as being a Native American. In fact it is a female figure designed by Thomas Crawford and completed in 1863. What is the statue called? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Dedicated and opened to the public on June 26, 1870, it was the first of its kind in America. The idea for its construction came from a railroad conductor. The first section was only 10 feet long, then a mile long, and today it is 6 miles long, the longest of its kind in the world. What is it? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In San Francisco the preferred mode of transportation from 1870 to about 1900 was the cable car. The cars ran by a cable slot between the rail tracks. Who invented the cable car in 1873?

Answer: Andrew Hallidie

Andrew Hallidie is considered by many to be "Father of San Francisco Cable Car System". He was born in Scotland, but moved with his father to California for the gold rush. His father went back to Scotland, but Hallidie stayed on and perfected a patent for wire rope which was used in the mines.

On a wet, windy day in 1869, Hallidie watched in horror as a passenger-carrying horse car struggling up Jackson Street slipped on the wet cobblestones. The incident caused the other horses, unable to escape their rigging, to fall and be dragged down the street. The passengers were not injured but all the horses suffered broken legs and had to be destroyed. The incident gave Hallidie the idea to design a cable car system.
2. They were known as the "Haymarket Eight". Eight men at a rally of anarchists and labor activists at Haymarket Square were arrested after a bomb was tossed toward riot police, killing seven police officers and injuring sixty others. In which American city did this incident occur?

Answer: Chicago

The riot started after workers from the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company went on strike to promote a eight-hour workday. All eight were convicted, four were hung, one committed suicide before being hung, and three had their sentences commuted. Chicago would become world-famous as a hot-spot for labor unrest.
3. Who was the world-famous photographer who photographed the Old West, particularly the Wyoming Territory, for what was to become the U.S. Geological Survey in the 1870s and 1880s?

Answer: William Henry Jackson

Jackson accompanied Geologist Ferdinand Hayden on a trip to map the Wyoming Territory in 1870. The Hayden Expedition was the forerunner of the U.S. Geological Survey. Jackson is known as the first person to photograph the wonders of Yellowstone. He served as official photographer for the U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories from 1870 to 1878.

One of Jackson's most enduring and iconic images is his photograph of the 14,000-foot Mountain of the Holy Cross, located in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The mountain was already a legend when Jackson photographed it, because of the snow-filled cross that appeared on its eastern face when weather conditions permitted.
4. On September 16, 1893, the largest land rush in history began with more than 100,000 people ready to stake their claim to western lands once occupied by Native Americans. To what future state were they rushing?

Answer: Oklahoma

President Benjamin Harrison opened up over 1.9 million acres, 4,200 parcels for 100,000 people. The land, once eschewed by white men, was now valuable because of new farming technology, such as new methods of irrigation, and the horse drawn reaper. In 1892 with the invention of the internal combustion engine came the gasoline-powered tractor.

This Oklahoma land rush was the largest, but there were many others. The "Sooner State" got its nickname from these land rushes. "Sooners" were cheaters who got a head start on the crowd by leaving the starting point early and hiding out until the start of the rush.
5. On August 2, 1886, while playing poker in Nuttal and Mann's Saloon in the mining town of Deadwood, Dakota Territory, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok met his maker. The cards he was holding have been forever known as the "dead man's hand". What cards was Wild Bill holding?

Answer: Aces and Eights

He was hold black aces and black eights. Wild Bill was shot in the back of the head by Jack McCall, who said that Hickok had killed his brother. McCall was found not guilty by a miner's court (there was no law in Deadwood, Indian Territory). It was later determined that McCall had no brothers. Wild Bill is buried at Mount Moriah Cemetary in Deadwood, South Dakota, alongside the woman who loved him, Martha Jane Canary, better known as "Calamity Jane".
6. There's gold in them thar hills! In the late 1850s and early 1860s Montana had its own gold rush. Prospectors came from miles around, even Europe. Their arrival gave rise to mining towns that were lawless and wild. One of the first of these settlements became the territorial capital of Montana in 1864. What was the name of the town?

Answer: Bannack

During its heyday Bannock had a population of over 10,000. The road between Bannack and Virginia City was particularly notorious for robberies and murder. Violent gangs killed up to 100 men traveling on the road between the two destinations in 1863. Virginia City became the second territorial capital in 1865. Today, Bannack is a ghost town; a national historic landmark run as Bannack State Park.
7. At the time, it was the longest and tallest suspension bridge in the world. The Brooklyn Bridge spanned the East River connecting Brooklyn with Manhattan. Until then Brooklyn and New York City were considered two different cities. Who designed the bridge?

Answer: John A. Roebling

Roebling was born in Germany in 1806. In 1866 he built what was then the longest suspension bridge in the world, a span over the Ohio River that linked Cincinnati, Ohio, with Covington, Kentucky. That is until construction began on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1869 and was completed in 1883. Unfortunately, John Roebling never saw the finished product. He was killed in a freak accident shortly after construction began. His son, Washington, completed the project.
On May 17, 1884, P. T. Barnum led 21 elephants over the bridge to prove that it was stable.
8. He has been called an "empire builder" and the "greatest constructive genius of the Northwest". He was President of the St. Paul, Minnesota & Manitoba Railway Company. His vision was instrumental in the expansion of the Pacific Northwest. Who was this visionary?

Answer: James J. Hill

Hill was born in Canada. He could see that the Pacific Northwest was ripe for development. Hill's decision to extend his railway from Manitoba to the Pacific coast was called "Hill's Folly". The railway was constructed through the Rocky Mountains without a building a tunnel.

It was through his vision that the entire Pacific Northwest was populated, which enabled people to capitalize on the regions natural resources.
9. The massive bronze statue atop the U.S. Capitol dome has often been misidentified as being a Native American. In fact it is a female figure designed by Thomas Crawford and completed in 1863. What is the statue called?

Answer: The Statue of Freedom

The Statue of Freedom is an allegorical figure wearing a helmet with a crest of an eagle's head. She wears a dress secured with a brooch inscribed "U.S." Her right hand holds a sheathed sword wrapped in a scarf; in her left hand she holds a laurel wreath of victory and the shield of the United States with 13 stripes.

She stands on a cast-iron globe encircled with the motto E Pluribus Unum.
10. Dedicated and opened to the public on June 26, 1870, it was the first of its kind in America. The idea for its construction came from a railroad conductor. The first section was only 10 feet long, then a mile long, and today it is 6 miles long, the longest of its kind in the world. What is it?

Answer: The Atlantic City Boardwalk

The Boardwalk was originally built to help hotel owners keep sand out of their lobbies. The Rolling Chair (wheelchair) was the only vehicle allowed on the Boardwalk. Salt-water taffy has been a Boardwalk staple since 1880s. Originally the Boardwalk contained luxury hotels for the rich and famous.
Source: Author ncterp

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ponycargirl before going online.
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