State Your History Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hawaii

Although Hawaii did not become a state until 1959, it has payed a huge role in American history. The bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 saw the United States enter World War II. Hawaii was also the only state to have a monarchy and one of a few to be its own nation. Pro-American forces overthrew Queen Lydia Liliuokalani in 1893 and the islands became part of the United States at that time.

Answer: California

Sutter's Mill was the location where gold was discovered in 1848 that started the California Gold Rush which saw thousands of Americans move westward. The famous San Francisco earthquake of 1906 destroyed the city and left an estimated 3,000 people dead.

Answer: New Jersey

New Jersey, nicknamed the Garden State, was where George Washington landed on Christmas Night 1776. He launched a surprise attack on the German Hessians in New Jersey who were allied with the British during the Revolutionary War. The Hindenburg was a German airship that exploded in 1937 after it caught fire. Thirty-six people died in the incident.

Answer: Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri hosted the first Olympic Games in America in 1904. These Olympics were not as organized as they are today. The event lasted for months and Americans comprised over 80% of all participating athletes.

Independence, Missouri is called the Queen City of Trails because a number of famous trails to the west began in the city, the most famous of which is the Oregon Trail.

The Pony Express was a short-lived but infamous mail route that began in St. Joseph's, Missouri and ended in Sacramento, California.

Answer: North Carolina

Roanoke was an early American colony in what is now Dare County, North Carolina. When an English ship arrived in Roanoke in 1587, the English discovered the colony completely abandoned. It is still unknown what happened to the colonists.

The Wright Brothers were originally from Ohio but tested their airplane in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina because the conditions there were ideal for testing their plane.

Answer: Arkansas

The Battle of Pea Ridge was an early battle in the US Civil War that basically prevented Missouri from joining the Confederacy and saw the Union regain control over parts of Arkansas.

In 1957, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to block nine black children from attending the Little Rock Central High School after the US Supreme Court ordered desegregation of public schools. The group became known as the Little Rock Nine. President Eisenhower, in response, federalized the Arkansas National Guard in order to allow the black students into the high school.

Answer: Florida

The Challenger was a space shuttle that exploded shortly after takeoff on January 28, 1986 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. All seven astronauts on board were killed, including teacher Christa McAuliffe.

The Seminole Wars were a series of wars between the Seminole tribe and the United States. There were three series of wars during the 18th century, mostly over the Seminoles refusing to leave Florida.

Answer: New York

President McKinley was shot in Buffalo, New York on September 6, 1901 and died eight days later. His assassin was Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist.

New York City was the first capital of the United States under the US Constitution. George Washington was sworn in as the nation's first president there.

Answer: Ohio

The Kent State shootings occurred in 1970 at Kent State University. The Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of students protesting the Vietnam War and killed four people.

The Battle of Lake Erie was part of the War of 1812. As a result of this battle, the Americans regained control of Lake Erie which allowed them to expel the British from Detroit and other cities.

Answer: Maryland

Fort McHenry is a fort in Baltimore where Americans held back the British during the War of 1812. It was during that fight where Francis Scott Key wrote the words to the US national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner".

The Battle of Antietam was fought during the US Civil War. The Union Forces led by George McClellan pushed back against Lee and the Confederacy and prevented the Confederate invasion of Maryland.