Independence Day Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ichabod Crane

This 1819 tale by New York author Washington Irving is one of America's favorite folk legends. In the story, the meek Ichabod Crane is frightened out of town by the ghoulish Headless Horseman, who is actually a rival for the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel.

Answer: New Jersey

This is the week that all comedians are supposed to feel bad about their New Jersey jokes (I, for one, love New Jersey- the Jersey Shore beaches are great!)

Answer: Death Valley

Death Valley is a long, low depression (130 miles lng, 12 miles wide) made of desert plains and rocky ridges that stretches across southern California near the Nevada border. Its lowest point, 282 feet below sea level, is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere.

The low site enhances the extreme temperatures, which can reach over 130 degrees in the summer. Death Valley was dedicated as a National Monument in 1933.

Answer: Eisenhower

Dwight Eisenhower, former supreme commander of Allied forces in World War II, was President from 1953-1961. He was the butt of many jokes, especially from young people and liberals, for his conservatism and seeming non-activity.

Answer: Pecos Bill

Pecos Bill was a fictional cowboy created by Edward O'Reilly in the 1920s. He was raised along the Pecos River, hence his name.

Answer: Edward Everett

Edward Everett's two-hour speech was the main attraction at the ceremony to dedicate the cemetery at Gettysburg, the site of a deadly Civil War battle. Everett (1794-1865) was a famous orator of the day.

Answer: "Night and Day"

Cole Porter (1892-1964) was a popular American songwriter best known for his show tunes. "Night and Day", written in 1932, appeared in the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film "The Gay Divorcee". In the 1946 film, "Night and Day", Cary Grant played the role of Porter.

Answer: Donald Duck

Donald is the most widely-recognized Disney character (after Mickey Mouse, of course).The first voice of Donald was Clarence Nash.

Answer: Eliza

"Uncle Tom's Cabin", written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852, sold over 300,000 copies in its first year and became a hit in both the US and Europe for its antislavery message. Today, the term "Uncle Tom" is still used to refer to a happily submissive black man.

Answer: Navajo

The Navajo have existed in the American Southwest for at least 300 years.

Answer: Copperhead

Needless to say, the term was derogatory (a copperhead is a poisonous snake). A carpetbagger was a Northerner who came to the South after the Civil War to take part in Reconstruction. A scalawag was a white Southerner who was affiliated with the Republican party. A muckracker was a journalist in the early 20th century who wrote articles exposing corruption in government and industry.

Answer: "Evangeline"

The poem, written in 1847, tells the story of an Acadian couple who, separated when the British deport all Acadians in 1755, reunite in Louisiana in their old age. Evangeline became a sort of folk hero; there's a statue of her in Grand Pre, Nova Scotia (Canada).

Interestingly, although Longfellow was one of America's most popular poets, he received honorary degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge and is honored with a bust in Westminster Abbey in London.

Answer: Dick Tracy

Dick Tracy, a fictional detective, fought gangsters and creepy villians in the comic strip until 1977, when Gould retired. The popular series has also been the subject of cartoons and movies.

Answer: Armadillo

The armadillo is a shell-encased mammal indiginous to the southern US and South America. Spanish explorers considered it a symbol of the New World.

Answer: Yorktown

It was in this Virginia city that the historic surrender of Lord Cornwallis and the British to General Washington took place, ending the war. (In case you haven't figured it out, the first letters of all of the correct answers spell INDEPENDENCE DAY).