Test your U.S. history IQ
In honor of Independence Day, we offer this quiz to test just how much you know about America’s history and government. (Answers are below.)
1. How many stripes are there on the U.S. flag?
2. What do the stripes on the flag represent?
3. True or false, George Washington carried the American flag across the Delaware River?
4. Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?
5. George Washington gave what order to his troops on July 9, 1776?
6. Who was the second president of the United States?
7. How long has the current flag been around?
8. Who designed the way the stars are displayed on the current American flag?
9. The helicopter used to transport the U.S. president is known by what name?
10. The United States has had how many presidents?
11. What document begins with the phrase “We the People”
12. What five men were appointed to a committee to write the Declaration of Independence?
13. What Tony-winning 1969 Broadway musical recounted the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence?
14. The Liberty Bell was ordered in 1751 to commemorate what?
15. What April Fools’ Day joke involving the Liberty Bell took place in 1996?
16. Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” after witnessing what?
17. “The Star-Spangled Banner” was a poem set to music using what tune?
18. When did the “Star-Spangled Banner” officially become the national anthem?
19. Though Americans typically sing only the first stanza, there are actually how many stanzas to “The Star-Spangled Banner”?
20. The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution were ratified together and are known as what?
21. Name the five freedoms identified in the First Amendment.
22. What U.S. president was born on the July 4?
23. How many U.S. senators, representatives and Supreme Court justices are there?
24. According to the Constitution, a person must meet three requirements to be eligible to become president. What are they?
25. In what year was the Constitution written?
26. A senator may serve how many six-year terms?
27. Who is the chief justice of the Supreme Court?
28. Of the presidential libraries, only one has a retired Air Force One on display. Which president’s library has this aircraft, and where is the library?
29. A pair of executive orders signed by Abraham Lincoln to free the slaves are known as what?
30. Who said, “Give me liberty or give me death?”
31. Who becomes U.S. president if the president and vice president die?
32. Which state was the 37th to be admitted to the Union?
Answers1. 13
2. The original 13 states
3. False. If George Washington carried a flag in the great crossing of the Delaware River battle, it was not an American flag. The crossing happened on Christmas Day, 1776 — before the Stars and Stripes even existed.
4. Thomas Jefferson
5. General Washington gave an order for the Declaration of Independence to be read to his army in New York on July 9, 1776.
6. John Adams
7. The current flag has been around since July 4, 1960. That was when the 49th and 50th stars were added for Alaska and Hawaii. Other than adding stars for new states, the flag hasn’t changed since the early 1800s.
8. For a high school history project, a 17-year-old named Robert Heft designed a way to display all 50 states. His teacher gave him a B- on the project. However, when he sent his flag to a congressman, Heft’s design was accepted as the new national flag. And Heft’s teacher changed his grade to an A.
9. Marine One
10. 43
11. The Constitution
12. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston
13. “1776”
14. The 50th anniversary of William Penn’s Charter of Privileges, Pennsylvania’s original constitution
15. Taco Bell took out full-page ads in newspapers such as The New York Times claiming to have bought the bell.
16. The bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore by British ships during the War of 1812
17. A British drinking tune called “The Anacreontic Song”
18. 1931
19. Four
20. The Bill of Rights
21. Religion, speech, press, petition and assembly
22. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States. He was born July 4, 1872.
23. 100 senators, 435 representatives and nine Supreme Court justices
24. Natural-born citizen of the United States; at least 35 years old; and must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.
25. 1787
26. There is no limit.
27. John G. Roberts Jr.
28. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum; Simi Valley, Calif.
29. The Emancipation Proclamation
30. Patrick Henry
31. Speaker of the House of Representatives
32. Nebraska. It became the 37th state on March 1, 1867.
— Erin Andersen of the Lincoln Journal Star contributed to this quiz.
1. How many stripes are there on the U.S. flag?
2. What do the stripes on the flag represent?
3. True or false, George Washington carried the American flag across the Delaware River?
4. Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?
5. George Washington gave what order to his troops on July 9, 1776?
6. Who was the second president of the United States?
7. How long has the current flag been around?
8. Who designed the way the stars are displayed on the current American flag?
9. The helicopter used to transport the U.S. president is known by what name?
10. The United States has had how many presidents?
11. What document begins with the phrase “We the People”
12. What five men were appointed to a committee to write the Declaration of Independence?
13. What Tony-winning 1969 Broadway musical recounted the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence?
14. The Liberty Bell was ordered in 1751 to commemorate what?
15. What April Fools’ Day joke involving the Liberty Bell took place in 1996?
16. Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” after witnessing what?
17. “The Star-Spangled Banner” was a poem set to music using what tune?
18. When did the “Star-Spangled Banner” officially become the national anthem?
19. Though Americans typically sing only the first stanza, there are actually how many stanzas to “The Star-Spangled Banner”?
20. The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution were ratified together and are known as what?
21. Name the five freedoms identified in the First Amendment.
22. What U.S. president was born on the July 4?
23. How many U.S. senators, representatives and Supreme Court justices are there?
24. According to the Constitution, a person must meet three requirements to be eligible to become president. What are they?
25. In what year was the Constitution written?
26. A senator may serve how many six-year terms?
27. Who is the chief justice of the Supreme Court?
28. Of the presidential libraries, only one has a retired Air Force One on display. Which president’s library has this aircraft, and where is the library?
29. A pair of executive orders signed by Abraham Lincoln to free the slaves are known as what?
30. Who said, “Give me liberty or give me death?”
31. Who becomes U.S. president if the president and vice president die?
32. Which state was the 37th to be admitted to the Union?
Answers1. 13
2. The original 13 states
3. False. If George Washington carried a flag in the great crossing of the Delaware River battle, it was not an American flag. The crossing happened on Christmas Day, 1776 — before the Stars and Stripes even existed.
4. Thomas Jefferson
5. General Washington gave an order for the Declaration of Independence to be read to his army in New York on July 9, 1776.
6. John Adams
7. The current flag has been around since July 4, 1960. That was when the 49th and 50th stars were added for Alaska and Hawaii. Other than adding stars for new states, the flag hasn’t changed since the early 1800s.
8. For a high school history project, a 17-year-old named Robert Heft designed a way to display all 50 states. His teacher gave him a B- on the project. However, when he sent his flag to a congressman, Heft’s design was accepted as the new national flag. And Heft’s teacher changed his grade to an A.
9. Marine One
10. 43
11. The Constitution
12. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston
13. “1776”
14. The 50th anniversary of William Penn’s Charter of Privileges, Pennsylvania’s original constitution
15. Taco Bell took out full-page ads in newspapers such as The New York Times claiming to have bought the bell.
16. The bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore by British ships during the War of 1812
17. A British drinking tune called “The Anacreontic Song”
18. 1931
19. Four
20. The Bill of Rights
21. Religion, speech, press, petition and assembly
22. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States. He was born July 4, 1872.
23. 100 senators, 435 representatives and nine Supreme Court justices
24. Natural-born citizen of the United States; at least 35 years old; and must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.
25. 1787
26. There is no limit.
27. John G. Roberts Jr.
28. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum; Simi Valley, Calif.
29. The Emancipation Proclamation
30. Patrick Henry
31. Speaker of the House of Representatives
32. Nebraska. It became the 37th state on March 1, 1867.
— Erin Andersen of the Lincoln Journal Star contributed to this quiz.
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