American history trivia facts and quizzes
American history is rich with interesting and significant events, people, and achievements. Trivia and quizzes about American history can be a fun and educational way to learn about our country’s past.
We’ll explore some interesting American history trivia facts and quizzes with 50 questions and answers.
- What is the Declaration of Independence?
Answer: The Declaration of Independence is a document signed in 1776 that declared the 13 American colonies independent from Great Britain. - Who was the first president of the United States?
Answer: George Washington - What was the Boston Tea Party?
Answer: In 1773, a group of American colonists protested British taxation by throwing tea into Boston Harbor. - Who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner?
Answer: Francis Scott Key - When was the United States Constitution signed?
Answer: 1787 - Who was the president during the Civil War?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln - What is the Emancipation Proclamation?
Answer: A document issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 that declared all slaves in Confederate states to be free. - Who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln?
Answer: John Wilkes Booth - What was the Underground Railroad?
Answer: A secret network of people and safe houses that helped slaves escape to freedom in the 1800s. - Who was the president during World War I?
Answer: Woodrow Wilson - What was the 19th Amendment to the Constitution?
Answer: A constitutional amendment passed in 1920 that gave women the right to vote. - Who was the president during World War II?
Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt - What was the Cold War?
Answer: A period of political tension between the United States and the Soviet Union from the late 1940s to the early 1990s. - Who was the first man to walk on the moon?
Answer: Neil Armstrong - What was the Watergate scandal?
Answer: A political scandal in the 1970s that involved the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and the subsequent cover-up by President Nixon’s administration. - Who was the first African American president of the United States?
Answer: Barack Obama - What is the Bill of Rights?
Answer: The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, which protect individual rights and liberties. - Who was the president during the Vietnam War?
Answer: Lyndon B. Johnson - Who was the founder of the first successful English colony in North America?
Answer: John Smith - What was the Louisiana Purchase?
Answer: A land deal in 1803 between the United States and France that doubled the size of the country. - Who was the president during the Great Depression?
Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt - What was the Trail of Tears?
Answer: The forced relocation of Native Americans from their homelands in the southeastern United States to Indian Territory in the 1830s. - Who was the president during the Korean War?
Answer: Harry S. Truman - What was the Manhattan Project?
Answer: A top-secret government project during World War II that developed the atomic bomb. - Who was the president during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Answer: John F. Kennedy - What was the 26th Amendment to the Constitution?
Answer: A constitutional amendment passed in 1971 that lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. - Who was the president during the Persian Gulf War?
Answer: George H.W. Bush - What was the Monroe Doctrine?
Answer: A policy statement issued by President James Monroe in 1823 that warned European nations not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere.
- Who was the president during the Mexican-American War?
Answer: James K. Polk - What was the 13th Amendment to the Constitution?
Answer: A constitutional amendment passed in 1865 that abolished slavery in the United States. - Who was the president during the Spanish-American War?
Answer: William McKinley - What was the Harlem Renaissance?
Answer: A cultural movement in the 1920s and 1930s that celebrated African American art, literature, and music. - Who was the president during the Great Society programs?
Answer: Lyndon B. Johnson - What was the Marshall Plan?
Answer: A United States aid program to help rebuild Europe after World War II. - Who was the president during the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?
Answer: Lyndon B. Johnson - What was the Berlin Wall?
Answer: A barrier built by the Soviet Union in 1961 to separate East and West Berlin during the Cold War. - Who was the president during the Iran-Contra scandal?
Answer: Ronald Reagan - What was the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
Answer: A law that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. - Who was the president during the Bay of Pigs invasion?
Answer: John F. Kennedy - What was the New Deal?
Answer: A series of economic programs implemented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to combat the Great Depression. - Who was the president during the War of 1812?
Answer: James Madison - What was the Berlin Airlift?
Answer: A United States and British operation to provide food and supplies to West Berlin during the Soviet blockade in 1948-1949. - Who was the president during the Civil Rights Movement?
Answer: Lyndon B. Johnson - What was the Space Race?
Answer: A competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to achieve milestones in space exploration during the Cold War. - Who was the president during the Panama Canal construction?
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt - What was the Homestead Act?
Answer: A law passed in 1862 that offered free land to settlers in the western United States. - Who was the president during the Bay of Pigs invasion?
Answer: John F. Kennedy - What was the Alien and Sedition Acts?
Answer: A series of laws passed in 1798 that made it harder for immigrants to become citizens and restricted freedom of speech. - Who was the president during the Louisiana Purchase?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson - What was the Boston Massacre?
Answer: A deadly confrontation between British soldiers and American colonists in 1770 that helped spark the American Revolution.
American history is filled with fascinating stories and events that shaped the country as we know it today. Trivia and quizzes about American history can be a fun way to learn and appreciate the significance of our country’s past.