U.S. History Trivia

1. The term "Rust Belt" is attributed to which candidate for public office?

From Quiz The Rust Belt Never Sleeps

Answer: Walter Mondale

During the 1984 presidential race, Mondale noted that President Reagan's economic policies were further harming the industrial sector in what was previously called the "Steel Belt", creating a "Rust Bowl," which was subsequently misquoted as "Rust Belt." Player pusdoc cinched up her belt while writing this question.

From Quiz Lesser-Known Facts in US History, Part 2

Answer: 19 months

Riders hired by the Pony Express were usually small, light-weight men-roughly the same size and weight as a modern-day horse racing jockey (although teenagers as young as 14 were occasionally hired). Permanent stations stocked with fresh horses were established along the route, which allowed for fast transfers to keep the mail pouch moving. During its 19 months of operation, the time for messages to travel coast to coast was reduced to about 10 days. The cost to send a ½ ounce letter was $5.00 at the beginning, but by the end the price had dropped to $1.00 (roughly equivalent to $27 in 2018 dollars). Historical notes: The Pony Express never turned a profit during its year and a half history. It was finally rendered obsolete on 24 October 1861, when Western Union completed a transcontinental telegraph system. The transcontinental railroad soon followed, with a golden spike (later retrieved) being driven in a 10 May 1869 ceremony in Promontory Summit, Utah Territory. Transcontinental railroad passenger train service began shortly thereafter, with ticket prices ranging from $136 for first class in a Pullman sleeping car to $65 for an immigrant-class bench (in 2018 dollars, those prices are roughly $2,390 and $1,142, respectively). Travel time for a transcontinental trip decreased from approximately four months to 3-1/2 days.

From Quiz Innocent Bystanders of History

Answer: He filmed the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Abraham Zapruder was born in the Ukraine in 1905 but emigrated to the US with his parents in 1920. He was working in Dallas when the President visited. His film of the assassination of President Kennedy has been the clearest and most graphic video documentation of the tragedy. LIFE Magazine purchased the rights to the film from Zapruder for $50,000.

From Quiz Lesser-Known Facts in US History, Part 1

Answer: The shooting of a pig

The dispute really started in 1846 when the Oregon Treaty was signed between the US and the United Kingdom, fixing the boundary between the US and British North America (later to be called Canada) at the 49th parallel. This became complicated when it came to the numerous islands located to the south-west of Vancouver, resulting in a fair amount of disagreement. In June 1859 a pig belonging to an Irishman wandered onto land belonging to an American farmer who lived on San Juan Island in the disputed area. When the American noticed the pig eating some of his potatoes he was incensed, and in a fit of rage shot and killed the pig. This gem of dialog supposedly ensued: "It's up to you to keep your potatoes out of my pig." Historical notes: US General William S. Harney, whose anti-British views were well known, sent a 66-man company of soldiers to the area and the British responded in kind. It was not until Admiral Robert L. Baynes, Commander-in-Chief of the British Navy in the Pacific arrived that cooler heads prevailed. Baynes famously stated that he would not "involve two great nations in a war over a squabble about a pig." In the end, no shots were exchanged and there were no human casualties. The slogan "54-40 or fight!" in the 1844 presidential campaign of President James K. Polk (11th president of the US) referred to a higher parallel than the 49th that was finally agreed on. (If 54-40 had prevailed, the city of Vancouver, British Columbia would be in the US, not Canada.)

From Quiz 2000s: Like It Was Yesterday

Answer: Y2K

Due to computer dates being read with the last two numbers of the year only, many people believed as the new millennium approached computers would not read the double zero 00, leading to many catastrophic events. People's fears included losing bank account information, plane computers resetting and crashing, cars and appliances malfunctioning, and other such problems leading to the total demise of society and its increasing reliance on technology. [ the actual turn of the century on the calendar was 01/01/01 rather than 01/01/00 ]

From Quiz The Making of My Country

Answer: Paleo-Indians

Groups representing cultures such as the Clovis and Folsom traditions are believed to have come over across the Bering Straits. Different means have been suggested, including crossing a land bridge which no longer exists, crossing the straits which were ice covered, and having come across by boat. As it seems that the movement to the Americas came following an ice age, the continuing melting of ice would have covered any evidence of boat use.

From Quiz A Mixed USA Bag

Answer: Chicago

Named after the then Secretary of War, Henry Dearborn, Fort Dearborn was erected in 1803 by the Chicago River. In the War of 1812, the fort was destroyed. A new fort, built in 1816 was decommissioned by 1837, the same year that Chicago was incorporated as a city. Parts of the fort were wiped out when the Chicago River was widened in 1855 and by a fire in 1857. The Great Chicago Fire destroyed what was left of Fort Dearborn in 1871.

From Quiz American History by Decade: the 1790s

Answer: Vermont

Vermont had been an independent nation since 1777 (originally called The Republic of New Connecticut). The original Vermont constitution prohibited slavery and allowed universal adult male suffrage.

From Quiz What do you know about American History?

Answer: 1625

New Amsterdam was founded in 1625. It was a Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island but was ceded to England in 1667.

From Quiz 300 Years of U.S. History!

Answer: George Washington

The first U.S. presidential election took place in the years 1788 and 1789. George Washington was the only candidate, running as an Independent or Non-partisan. He won the election, receiving 100 percent of all votes cast.

From Quiz More Hashtags in American History

Answer: #PoorRichardsAlmanack

@thefirstamerican is Ben Franklin who earned that nickname because he advocated for unity among the colonists. One of his most popular publications was "Poor Richard's Almanack" which contained many witty sayings that are still used today, such as "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

From Quiz Hashtags in American History

Answer: #SonsofLiberty

@thebeerpatriot is Samuel Adams who, depending on which historical account you read, either helped plan the Boston Tea Party with the other Sons of Liberty or tried to stop it from happening. Either way, it happened and around 300 men dressed as Mohawk Indians dumped 90,000 pound of tea into the harbor.

From Quiz All-American History

Answer: War of 1812

That night the British tried to shoot down the American flag, but in the morning it was still there.

From Quiz Quotations from Famous American Speeches 2

Answer: Patrick Henry

These words are the concluding remarks in a speech by Patrick Henry, calling for war and rebellion against Britain just before the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Patrick Henry lived from 1736 to 1799. The son of a frontier farmer, he was eventually licensed (through influential friends) to practice law. He won a seat in the House of Burgesses. He attended both Continental Congresses, and he was elected the first governor of Virginia. Earlier in this same speech, he said: "Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable -- and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come! It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, "Peace! Peace!" -- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle?" Patrick Henry gave this speech in March of 1775 in Virginia, just prior to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. About a month after Patrick Henry gave this speech, on April 18, 1775 the British General Thomas Gage ordered 700 British soldiers to Concord, MA to destroy the colonists' weapons depot. War was looming. That night, Paul Revere and William Dawes were sent from Boston to warn colonists. Revere reached Lexington about midnight and warned Sam Adams and John Hancock who were hiding out there. By June 17, 1775 the first major battle between British and American troops occurred at Boston in the Battle of Bunker Hill.

From Quiz American History Classroom Review

Answer: Chicago - Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are on the northern boundary of the United States and spread from Minnesota to New York.

From Quiz Early History of the US Pacific Northwest

Answer: Searching for the Northwest Passage

The Northwest Passage was thought to be a passage through North America to the Pacific, a shortcut to Asia. The early explorers heard of the unknown route, and wanted to find it for their own countries. At first they searched from the Atlantic coast, looking for the passage, then the Pacific coast. In 1577, Queen Elizabeth sent Sir Francis Drake on a secret expedition to sail the western coast of North America, to look for the passage as well as to assess the area for possible English settlement. We know that he may have sailed as far north as Oregon, but he had to turn back and put into San Francisco Bay for repairs to his ship. To bring Christianity to the natives became a goal much later.

From Quiz I'll Second That!

Answer: John Adams

John Adams was the first Vice President and the second President of the United States. He was a member of the Federalist Party. He served his term as President from 1797-1801.

From Quiz High School U.S. History

Answer: Leif Erikson

Christopher Columbus is commonly accredited for this, but Leif Erikson found North America first, about 500 years earlier! Hernando Cortes brought down the Aztecs in present-day Mexico, and Amerigo Vespucci is credited with making the judgment that America was a new continent entirely. America is named in his honor.

From Quiz Truly Patriotic?

Answer: Yankee Doodle

It has since become Connecticut's state song.

From Quiz People to Meet, Places to Be

Answer: Jamestown,Virginia

Jamestown was founded on May 14, 1607. It is commonly regarded as the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts. Jollytime is popcorn. Jimtown is a mining town. Johnston, is the home of the "incline plane".It is one of the longest and steepest hoists in the world and one of the few transportation systems of its kind still in existence.

From Quiz History -Then and Now

Answer: removes seeds from cotton

The 1793 invention by Eli Whitney mechanically removed seeds from a cotton bloom without harming its fiber. Previously, seeds had to be removed laboriously by hand. The invention led to an economic boom for the South by increasing the amount of cotton the southern states could provide to textile manufacturers. It also cemented Southern dependence on the slaves who picked the raw cotton.

From Quiz The Early Americas

Answer: Moved the line westwards in Portugal's favor

The line of demarcation had been drawn by Alexander VI, so Portugal and Spain could claim land without interference. King John II thought it favored Spain, and so he negotiated an agreement with Spain which resulted in the Treaty of Tordesillas. This moved the 'line' to the west in the Americas. Extension of the 'line' right round the world had to wait till 1529.

From Quiz More Seventh Grade U.S. History

Answer: To keep African Americans from voting.

The KKK wanted to keep African Americans from voting, and "letting" white republicans into office. When threats did not work, the KKK became violent. From the 1920s on they would burn wooden crosses in front of the homes of African Americans.

From Quiz U.S History: Past and Present

Answer: Iroquois Theatre

The Iroquois Theater was advertised as "absolutely fireproof." That day, over 1,900 people were in attendance at a matinee showing the popular musical Mr. Bluebeard, and a light ignited a curtain. The building doors pulled out, but people were pushing, causing the firefighters to not get into the building. Over 600 people died that day.

From Quiz Advanced Placement U.S. History

Answer: Lake Erie and the Hudson River

Ground was broken on July 4, 1817. It was the third canal project that was built in the United States. The first two, one near Charleston, SC, and the other near Boston, were only about twenty miles long. The Erie Canal was opened in 1825 and connected the Great Lakes with the Hudson River which flows into the Atlantic. Competition from the railroads led to the abandonment of the canal in 1918 although some sections remain in use today as part of the New York Barge Canal.

From Quiz Ninth grade U.S. History: Part 2

Answer: Francisco Coronado

Coronado believed, as many did, that there was a place called The Seven Cities of Gold. For two years he and about three hundred Spanish soldiers searched the southwest of what is now the United States, but failed to find anything but Indian villages.

From Quiz Average Middle School U.S History

Answer: India

Queen Isabella of Spain recruited Columbus to find a shorter route to India where spices, jewels, and silk could be found in abundance. Columbus, believing that the world was round, set off in a westerly direction and landed on an island in the Bahamas.

From Quiz Eighth Grade U.S. History Test

Answer: Louisiana Purchase

Jefferson purchased about half of the western part of what is now the United States from the French for fifteen million dollars. The French also gave the United States the right to use the port of New Orleans.

From Quiz Ninth Grade U.S. History

Answer: Lewis and Clark

Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the Louisiana Purchase. They set out by traveling up the Mississippi River and then west across the great expanse of land until they found the Pacific Ocean. They described their journey in a diary, and their trip west and the back again took almost three years.

From Quiz Things Every American Should Know

Answer: September 3, 1783

The Revolutionary War ended on September 3, 1783, when Britain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris.

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