100+ US History Trivia Questions (and Answers)
Test Your Knowledge Today
From the first settlers arriving on American shores to the modern era, the United States has experienced a remarkable journey filled with revolution, expansion, innovation, and transformation. American history is rich with pivotal moments, legendary figures, and decisions that shaped not only a nation but influenced the entire world. Whether you're a history buff or looking to brush up on your knowledge, this comprehensive trivia collection will challenge what you know about the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Colonial America
Q. What year did the Pilgrims arrive at Plymouth Rock?
A. 1620
Q. What ship brought the Pilgrims to America?
A. The Mayflower
Q. What was the first permanent English settlement in America?
A. Jamestown, Virginia, established in 1607
Q. Who was the Native American woman who helped the Jamestown settlers?
A. Pocahontas
Q. What document did the Pilgrims sign that established self-governance?
A. The Mayflower Compact
Q. Which colony was founded as a haven for Catholics?
A. Maryland
Q. What were the original thirteen colonies?
A. Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Georgia
Q. Who founded Pennsylvania as a colony for Quakers?
A. William Penn
The American Revolution
Q. What year did the American Revolution begin?
A. 1775
Q. What event is considered the start of the Revolutionary War?
A. The Battles of Lexington and Concord
Q. When was the Declaration of Independence signed?
A. July 4, 1776
Q. Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?
A. Thomas Jefferson
Q. What was the Boston Tea Party protesting?
A. British taxation without representation, specifically the Tea Act
Q. Who famously said "Give me liberty, or give me death"?
A. Patrick Henry
Q. Who was the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence?
A. John Hancock
Q. What was the final major battle of the Revolutionary War?
A. The Battle of Yorktown in 1781
Q. What treaty officially ended the Revolutionary War?
A. The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783
Q. Who served as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army?
A. George Washington
Founding Fathers and Early Republic
Q. Who was the first President of the United States?
A. George Washington
Q. How many terms did George Washington serve?
A. Two terms
Q. Who was the principal author of the Federalist Papers?
A. Alexander Hamilton, along with James Madison and John Jay
Q. What document replaced the Articles of Confederation?
A. The United States Constitution
Q. What year was the Constitution ratified?
A. 1788
Q. How many amendments make up the Bill of Rights?
A. Ten amendments
Q. Who was the second President of the United States?
A. John Adams
Q. What purchase doubled the size of the United States in 1803?
A. The Louisiana Purchase
Q. Who was President during the Louisiana Purchase?
A. Thomas Jefferson
Q. Who explored the Louisiana Territory after its purchase?
A. Meriwilde Lewis and William Clark
Westward Expansion
Q. What phrase expressed the belief that the US was destined to expand across North America?
A. Manifest Destiny
Q. What trail did pioneers use to travel west to Oregon?
A. The Oregon Trail
Q. What year did the California Gold Rush begin?
A. 1848
Q. What treaty ended the Mexican-American War?
A. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848
Q. What territories did the US acquire from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo?
A. California, Nevada, Utah, most of Arizona, and parts of New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming
Q. What purchase from Russia added Alaska to the United States?
A. The Alaska Purchase in 1867
Q. Who negotiated the Alaska Purchase?
A. Secretary of State William Seward
Q. What was the forced relocation of Native Americans called?
A. The Trail of Tears
Q. Which President signed the Indian Removal Act?
A. Andrew Jackson
The Civil War Era
Q. What years did the Civil War take place?
A. 1861 to 1865
Q. What issue was the primary cause of the Civil War?
A. Slavery and states' rights
Q. Who was President during the Civil War?
A. Abraham Lincoln
Q. What was the first state to secede from the Union?
A. South Carolina
Q. How many states seceded to form the Confederacy?
A. Eleven states
Q. Who was the President of the Confederate States?
A. Jefferson Davis
Q. What battle is considered the turning point of the Civil War?
A. The Battle of Gettysburg
Q. What document freed slaves in Confederate states?
A. The Emancipation Proclamation
Q. When was the Emancipation Proclamation issued?
A. January 1, 1863
Q. Where did the Civil War officially end?
A. Appomattox Court House, Virginia
Q. Who assassinated Abraham Lincoln?
A. John Wilkes Booth
Q. Where was Lincoln assassinated?
A. Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Reconstruction and the Gilded Age
Q. What period followed the Civil War?
A. Reconstruction
Q. What amendments were passed during Reconstruction?
A. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
Q. What did the 13th Amendment do?
A. Abolished slavery
Q. What did the 15th Amendment guarantee?
A. Voting rights regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude
Q. What were laws that enforced racial segregation in the South called?
A. Jim Crow laws
Q. Who invented the telephone?
A. Alexander Graham Bell
Q. Who invented the light bulb?
A. Thomas Edison
Q. What industrial titans dominated the Gilded Age?
A. John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Cornelius Vanderbilt, among others
The Progressive Era and World War I
Q. What amendment gave women the right to vote?
A. The 19th Amendment
Q. What year did women gain the right to vote nationally?
A. 1920
Q. Who was President during most of World War I?
A. Woodrow Wilson
Q. What year did the United States enter World War I?
A. 1917
Q. What event helped push the US into World War I?
A. The sinking of the Lusitania and the Zimmermann Telegram
Q. What treaty ended World War I?
A. The Treaty of Versailles
Q. What organization did Woodrow Wilson propose to maintain world peace?
A. The League of Nations
Q. What constitutional amendment prohibited alcohol?
A. The 18th Amendment
Q. What was the era of alcohol prohibition called?
A. The Prohibition Era or the Roaring Twenties
The Great Depression and World War II
Q. What event triggered the Great Depression?
A. The stock market crash of 1929
Q. What date is known as Black Tuesday?
A. October 29, 1929
Q. Who was President during most of the Great Depression?
A. Franklin D. Roosevelt
Q. What was FDR's program to combat the Depression called?
A. The New Deal
Q. What Japanese attack brought the US into World War II?
A. The attack on Pearl Harbor
Q. What date was Pearl Harbor attacked?
A. December 7, 1941
Q. Who was President during most of World War II?
A. Franklin D. Roosevelt
Q. Who became President after FDR died?
A. Harry S. Truman
Q. What was the code name for the atomic bomb project?
A. The Manhattan Project
Q. What two Japanese cities were hit by atomic bombs?
A. Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Q. What year did World War II end?
A. 1945
The Cold War
Q. What was the period of tension between the US and Soviet Union called?
A. The Cold War
Q. What plan helped rebuild Europe after World War II?
A. The Marshall Plan
Q. What military alliance was formed to counter Soviet expansion?
A. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
Q. What physical barrier divided East and West Berlin?
A. The Berlin Wall
Q. What year was the Berlin Wall built?
A. 1961
Q. What event brought the US and USSR closest to nuclear war?
A. The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962
Q. Who was President during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
A. John F. Kennedy
Q. What war did the US fight in Southeast Asia?
A. The Vietnam War
Q. What space program landed Americans on the moon?
A. The Apollo program
Q. Who was the first American to walk on the moon?
A. Neil Armstrong
Q. What year did humans first land on the moon?
A. 1969
Civil Rights Movement
Q. Who refused to give up her bus seat, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
A. Rosa Parks
Q. Who was the prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement?
A. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Q. Where did Dr. King deliver his "I Have a Dream" speech?
A. The March on Washington, at the Lincoln Memorial
Q. What year was Dr. King assassinated?
A. 1968
Q. What landmark legislation banned discrimination based on race?
A. The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Q. What act prohibited discrimination in voting?
A. The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Q. What Supreme Court case declared school segregation unconstitutional?
A. Brown v. Board of Education in 1954
Modern America
Q. What scandal led to President Nixon's resignation?
A. The Watergate scandal
Q. Who was the first President to resign from office?
A. Richard Nixon
Q. What year did the Berlin Wall fall?
A. 1989
Q. What year did the Cold War officially end?
A. 1991, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Q. What terrorist attack occurred on September 11, 2001?
A. Hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania
Q. Who was President during 9/11?
A. George W. Bush
Q. Who was the first African American President?
A. Barack Obama
Q. What year was Barack Obama elected?
A. 2008
Q. What global health crisis occurred in 2020?
A. The COVID-19 pandemic
From colonial beginnings to modern challenges, American history represents a complex tapestry of triumph, struggle, innovation, and perseverance. These pivotal moments, remarkable individuals, and transformative events shaped the nation we know today. Whether you aced every question or discovered gaps in your knowledge, understanding America's past helps us better comprehend its present and future.
About the Creator
Md. Nurul Afsar
Online marketer, passionate kayaker and gamer. By day, I connect brands with audiences; by night, I navigate rapids and virtual worlds. Seeking new adventures on water and screen.
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