Show Us What You Know About America With This USA History Quiz!

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American History Quiz Questions

61 Questions · 827.7K Plays · 711 Comments

Question 1

What is the capital of the United States?

  • A
    Washington, D.C.
  • B
    Richmond, Virginia
  • C
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • D
    Albany, New York

Question 2

What is the name of the famous statue in New York Harbor that has greeted many immigrants to the United States?

  • A
    The Statue of Liberty
  • B
    The Statue of Integrity
  • C
    The Statue of Justice
  • D
    The Statue of Freedom

Question 3

What federal holiday in July celebrates the founding of the United States?

  • A
    America Day
  • B
    Liberation Day
  • C
    Independence Day
  • D
    Founding Father’s Day

Question 4

What somewhat controversial national holiday celebrates the arrival of a famous explorer to the Americas?

  • A
    Columbus Day
  • B
    Viking Day
  • C
    Lewis & Clark Day
  • D
    Magellan Day

Question 5

Who gave the famous “I Have a Dream” speech during the Civil Rights movement?

  • A
    W. E. B. DuBois
  • B
    Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • C
    Malcolm X
  • D
    Rosa Parks

Question 6

What is the name of the highest court in the United States?

  • A
    The Supreme Court
  • B
    Justice of the Peace Court
  • C
    The Court of Appeals
  • D
    There is no such thing as a “highest” court in the U.S.

Question 7

What are the two main political parties in the United States?

  • A
    Democrats and Libertarians
  • B
    Objectivists and Republicans
  • C
    Green Party and Whigs
  • D
    Democrats and Republicans

Question 8

What are the first three words of the U.S. Constitution?

  • A
    “We the people…”
  • B
    “We the rulers…”
  • C
    “We the government…”
  • D
    “We the majority…”

Question 9

What winter holiday is marked by making resolutions for the upcoming year?

  • A
    Resolution Day
  • B
    New Year’s Day
  • C
    Christmas
  • D
    Valentine’s Day

Question 10

Why does the flag have 13 stripes?

  • A
    Because there were 13 original colonies
  • B
    To commemorate the Native Americans who helped the settlers before being relocated
  • C
    To defy the legend that 13 is an unlucky number
  • D
    That was how many fit in the allotted design space

Question 11

On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence stated the American colonies' independence from what country?

  • A
    Great Britain
  • B
    Canada
  • C
    Russia
  • D
    Ireland

Question 12

Which United States government agency is responsible for space exploration?

  • A
    DASA
  • B
    The Space Program
  • C
    The Department of Space
  • D
    NASA

Question 13

Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.

  • A
    Mississippi River
  • B
    Nile River
  • C
    Thames
  • D
    Shenandoah River

Question 14

Which country borders the United States to the north?

  • A
    Mexico
  • B
    British Columbia
  • C
    Canada
  • D
    Greenland

Question 15

If the President of the United States is unable to serve, who becomes the President?

  • A
    The First Lady
  • B
    The Speaker of the House
  • C
    The Vice President
  • D
    The Prime Minister of Canada

Question 16

An astronaut walked on this celestial body for the first time in 1969.

  • A
    Mars
  • B
    Venus
  • C
    The Moon
  • D
    Saturn

Question 17

This event prompted rapid expansion on the United States West Coast.

  • A
    The Mine Crawl
  • B
    The Gold Rush
  • C
    The Dust Bowl
  • D
    The Bronze Search

Question 18

New York City's Wall Street is most famously the home of what?

  • A
    The Grand Canyon
  • B
    America's Financial Center
  • C
    Walt Disney World
  • D
    The Capitol Building

Question 19

Which federal holiday honors the contributions of workers in America?

  • A
    Union Day
  • B
    Workers Day
  • C
    Factory Day
  • D
    Labor Day

Question 20

Which war was fought between the U.S. North and South?

  • A
    Mexican-American War
  • B
    The Civil War
  • C
    War of 1812
  • D
    Spanish-American War

Question 21

What is the name of the movement that occurred in the 1950s and 60s to fight racial discrimination?

  • A
    The Civil Rights Movement
  • B
    Manifest Destiny
  • C
    The Great Movement
  • D
    The Right Fighters

Question 22

Which of these is NOT one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States?

  • A
    Executive
  • B
    Legislative
  • C
    Capitalist
  • D
    Judicial

Question 23

Which United States president was responsible for the Emancipation Proclamation?

  • A
    Millard Fillmore
  • B
    John Adams
  • C
    Abraham Lincoln
  • D
    George Washington

Question 24

Who was the first president of the United States?

  • A
    Thomas Jefferson
  • B
    James Madison
  • C
    George Washington
  • D
    Alexander Hamilton

Question 25

Which of the following mountain ranges is NOT found in the United States?

  • A
    The Appalachian Mountains
  • B
    The Himalayan Mountains
  • C
    The Rocky Mountains
  • D
    The Sierra Nevada Mountains

Question 26

What incident led to United States involvement in World War II?

  • A
    Operation Barbarossa
  • B
    Attack on Pearl Harbor
  • C
    Hitler invading Poland
  • D
    Attack on New York Harbor

Question 27

What federal holiday celebrates George Washington’s birthday?

  • A
    Presidents' Day
  • B
    Memorial Day
  • C
    Labor Day
  • D
    Independence Day

Question 28

How long is one presidential term?

  • A
    6 years
  • B
    4 years
  • C
    2 years
  • D
    8 years

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT a war in which the United States was directly involved?

  • A
    The American Civil War
  • B
    World War II
  • C
    The Vietnam War
  • D
    The Spanish Civil War

Question 30

What is the national anthem of the United States?

  • A
    The Star-Spangled Banner
  • B
    My Country, ‘Tis of Thee
  • C
    America the Beautiful
  • D
    This Land Is Your Land

Question 31

What day is usually Tax Day in the United States?

  • A
    April 15
  • B
    January 15
  • C
    September 15
  • D
    June 15

Question 32

What large body of water borders the United States on the east coast?

  • A
    Atlantic Ocean
  • B
    East Ocean
  • C
    Arctic Ocean
  • D
    Pacific Ocean

Question 33

What did the Declaration of Independence do?

  • A
    Set up Harvard University as independent from the U.S. government
  • B
    Defined the principles of independence for every country on the planet
  • C
    Announced the independence of America's Thirteen Colonies from the Kingdom of Great Britain
  • D
    Declared that women have the right to vote

Question 34

What is the name of the body of water that borders the US west coast?

  • A
    West Ocean
  • B
    Atlantic Ocean
  • C
    Pacific Ocean
  • D
    Indian Ocean

Question 35

What are the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution called?

  • A
    The Bill of Wrongs
  • B
    The Amendments
  • C
    The Bill of Rights
  • D
    The Original Ten

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT a cabinet position?

  • A
    Secretary of Education
  • B
    Secretary of Agriculture
  • C
    Governor of Law
  • D
    Secretary of State

Question 37

Which United States president famously said, “Mr. Gorbachev - tear down this wall!”?

  • A
    Bill Clinton
  • B
    Ronald Reagan
  • C
    Barack Obama
  • D
    George H.W. Bush

Question 38

Who was the 44th president of the United States?

  • A
    Barack Obama
  • B
    George W. Bush
  • C
    Al Gore
  • D
    Bill Clinton

Question 39

Who was President during World War I?

  • A
    Gerald Ford
  • B
    Abraham Lincoln
  • C
    John F. Kennedy
  • D
    Woodrow Wilson

Question 40

What US government agency, established by President Woodrow Wilson, is responsible for promoting and regulating national parks, monuments, and reservations?

  • A
    National Park Service
  • B
    National Travel Service
  • C
    National Wildlife Service
  • D
    National Outdoor Service

Question 41

What are the three branches of the United States federal government?

  • A
    Legislative, State, Judicial
  • B
    Executive, Judicial, Press
  • C
    Judicial, State, Press
  • D
    Executive, Legislative, Judicial

Question 42

Which two states are not located in the contiguous United States?

  • A
    Alaska, Guam
  • B
    Alaska, Hawaii
  • C
    Guam, Puerto Rico
  • D
    Hawaii, Puerto Rico

Question 43

Which countries did the United States fight in World War II?

  • A
    Italy, China, Japan
  • B
    England, Japan, China
  • C
    Germany, Italy, Japan
  • D
    Germany, England, Italy

Question 44

What 2,320-mile-long river starts in Lake Itasca in Minnesota and ends in the Gulf of Mexico on the coast of Louisiana?

  • A
    Columbia River
  • B
    Missouri River
  • C
    Rock River
  • D
    Mississippi River

Question 45

What date did terrorists attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the United States?

  • A
    October 11, 2011
  • B
    November 11, 2001
  • C
    September 1, 2000
  • D
    September 11, 2001

Question 46

Which one of these is a U.S. territory?

  • A
    Cuba
  • B
    Puerto Rico
  • C
    Prince Edward Island
  • D
    Haiti

Question 47

Which U.S. President was a five-star general during World War II?

  • A
    Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • B
    John F. Kennedy
  • C
    Harry Truman
  • D
    Dwight D. Eisenhower

Question 48

What document is the supreme law of the land in the United States?

  • A
    The Federalist Papers
  • B
    U.S. Constitution
  • C
    Bill of Rights
  • D
    Declaration of Independence

Question 49

Which of these is the name of a mountain range in the eastern United States?

  • A
    Cascade Mountains
  • B
    Appalachian Mountains
  • C
    Sierra Nevada Mountains
  • D
    Rocky Mountains

Question 50

What was the Underground Railroad?

  • A
    A freedom route North for Southern slaves
  • B
    A way to transport slaves from the North to the South
  • C
    The first railroad built in the United States
  • D
    A railroad built underground

Question 51

Which former U.S. President was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?

  • A
    Aaron Burr
  • B
    George Washington
  • C
    Alexander Hamilton
  • D
    Thomas Jefferson

Question 52

Which state was the 50th and most recent to have joined the United States?

  • A
    Alaska
  • B
    Oregon
  • C
    Hawaii
  • D
    Nevada

Question 53

This Massachusetts senator narrowly defeated Richard Nixon to become the 35th president of the United States.

  • A
    Bill Clinton
  • B
    Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • C
    John F. Kennedy
  • D
    Jimmy Carter

Question 54

What is the longest mountain range in the western United States?

  • A
    Cascade Mountains
  • B
    Rocky Mountains
  • C
    Sierra Nevada Mountains
  • D
    Appalachian Mountains

Question 55

The Grand Canyon is located in which state?

  • A
    Arizona
  • B
    Nevada
  • C
    Wyoming
  • D
    Colorado

Question 56

What is the oldest commissioned vessel in the United States Navy still afloat?

  • A
    USS Constitution
  • B
    USS Washington
  • C
    USS Lincoln
  • D
    USS Independence

Question 57

Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.

  • A
    Vietnam War
  • B
    French and Indian War
  • C
    Spanish-American War
  • D
    The War of 1812

Question 58

This United States president enacted The New Deal during The Great Depression.

  • A
    Theodore Roosevelt
  • B
    Franklin Roosevelt
  • C
    Calvin Coolidge
  • D
    Herbert Hoover

Question 59

Where is the United States Military Academy located?

  • A
    Annapolis, Maryland
  • B
    New London, Connecticut
  • C
    West Point, New York
  • D
    Kings Point, New York

Question 60

What is the most distinguished medal an Army soldier can earn?

  • A
    Distinguished Service Medal
  • B
    Purple Heart
  • C
    Medal of Honor
  • D
    Soldier’s Medal

Question 61

Which military branch originated in the U.S. Army?

  • A
    United States Marines
  • B
    United States Coast Guard
  • C
    United States Air Force
  • D
    United States Navy

Comments (711)

We want to hear your feedback! Share your scores and discuss the quiz, but keep it civil.

I fancied it.

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That was really fun but I am a little older and was a little nervous about remembering some of the history but I did pretty darn good

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Like it ! Great !!!

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Great!!!

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Great quiz!! Should make it tougher by having 5 choices or, no multiple choice at all.

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Like it. Got 100%

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Loved it even learned a bit

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Did accidentally hit wrong button because it move to advertised. Still can handle it an A Thank you

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I enjoyed it. It really woke up my brain and passed with an A - 98% but only because I pressed the wrong answer by accident.

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It should mandatory for every adult American citizen. Young folks know absolutely nothing about their history even Government officials don’t know much. It is shameful. I loved the quiz.

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Like taking this one hot am A

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I really enjoyed it. I passed with an A. I got 6 incorrect when I should have gotten all of them correct.

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I enjoyed this quiz very much even though I made three stupid mistakes

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It was fun and learned from my mistakes, so a learning experience

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I really like it because it makes me think

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Easy quiz but my screen jumps and I clicked on the wrong answer. Oh well I am not in school ......

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@user2790814Mine did also

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Great fun.

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It was challenging but fun.

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It was fun. Learn something. See how much I know about the USA history

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