Quiz on American history

  • _________________ was the first state to legalize slavery and _________________was the first state to abolish slavery.
  1. Massachusetts and Pennsylvania
  2. Virginia and Tennessee
  3. Maryland and Florida
  4. Vermont and Georgia
  • How did poet Vachel Lindsey discover Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes?
  1. He heard Hughes reciting his poetry on a street corner.
  2. While working in a restaurant, Hughes left copies of his poetry at Lindsey’s table.
  3. Lindsey found a copy of Hughes’ poetry on a subway and was so impressed that he tracked him down.
  • Which of the following powers are NOT SPECIFICALLY stated to belong to the new Independent States of America?
  1. To levy war.
  2. To pass laws and resolutions
  3. To establish commerce
  4. To contract alliances.
  • The first black baseball player in the Major Leagues was Jackie Robinson.
  1. True
  2. False
  • What was the first permanent English colony in North America?
  1. Jamestown
  2. Plymouth Colony
  3. Massachusetts Bay Colony
  4. St. Augustine
  • George Wallace was considered racist for saying, “I have no purpose to introduce political and social equality between the white and black races. There is a physical difference between the two which . . . will probably forever forbid their living together, . . . and I am in favor of the race to which I belong having the superior position.”
  1. True
  2. False
  • White Americans forced roaming Indians to settle down and farm.
  1. True
  2. False
  • Who Said the Following Quotation: “Labor is prior to and independent of, the capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.”
  1. Abraham Lincoln
  2. Karl Marx
  3. Richard Nixon
  • Who were the first non-Native settlers in what is now the United States?
  1. Vikings
  2. Africans
  3. English
  4. Asians
  • What was the name of Abraham Lincoln’s father?
  1. Peter
  2. Tim
  3. Tom
  4. john
  • Who said, “Give me liberty or give me death?”
  1. John Hancock
  2. James Madison
  3. Patrick Henry
  4. Samuel Adams
  • Who were the first “pilgrims” (escaping religious persecution in Europe) in what is now the United States?Puritans
  1. Jews
  2. Catholics
  3. Hindus
  • When was the term “Pilgrims” first used for the early British settlers of Massachusetts?
  1. 1600s
  2. 1700s
  3. 1800s
  4. 1900s
  • What was the population of the Americas in 1492?
  1. 1 million
  2. 10 million
  3. 50 million
  4. 100 million
  • What percentage of the Native Americans of coastal New England was killed by a disease transmitted by Europeans and Africans three years before the Pilgrims landed?
  1. 0-25%
  2. 25-50%
  3. 50-75%
  4. 75-100%
  • Which of these wars cost the most American lives in combat, as a proportion of the total population?
  1. King Phillip’s War
  2. French and Indian War
  3. American Revolution
  4. War of 1812
  5. Mexican War
  6. Spanish-American War
  • Which war cost the most lives in total numbers?
  1. King Phillip’s War
  2. French and Indian War
  3. American Revolution
  4. War of 1812
  5. Mexican War
  6. Spanish-American War
  • When was the Civil War?
  1. 1750-1800
  2. 1800-1850
  3. 1850-1900
  4. 1900-1950
  5. After 1950