American History Trivia Quiz

Answer: James Monroe

James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine. This doctrine stated that no colonization in the Western Hemisphere would be permitted any longer.

Answer: Francis Marion

Swamp Fox Marion, was a famous guerilla fighter in the Revolutionary War. Guerilla warfare was the main fighting technique used by the colonists against the British.

Answer: Burgoyne

Burgoyne was defeated at Saratoga after the Burgoyne Invasion failed. General Howe had stayed in Philadelphia instead of moving North to attack, and Benedict Arnold had slowed the troops moving South from Quebec.

Answer: Thomas Paine

"Common Sense" by Thomas Paine urged the colonials to stop the war of "inconsistency" and just fight the British.

Answer: John Marshall

John Marshall was chief justice from 1801 until 1835, and started judicial review after the Marbury vs. Madison case in 1803. John Marshall declared the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional, therefore suggesting that the Supreme Court could determine the constitutionality of laws, which is judicial review.

Answer: Henry Knox

Henry Knox was selected to be the Secretary of War by Congress in 1785 and in 1789 he was appointed Secretary of War in Washington's cabinet.

Answer: Crispus Attucks

In his memory a "Crispus Attucks Day" was inauguarated by black abolitionists in 1858 and 1888. There is a monument in the Boston Commons dedicated to Crispus Attucks.

Answer: Cornwallis

The battle at Yorktown is considered to be the end of the Revolutionary War. Washington's troops had Cornwallis cornered on land while the French troops had him cornered by sea.

Answer: Napoleon

Napoleon had gotten the land of the Louisiana Purchase from Spain, and proceeded to sell it to the USA for a mere $15 million dollars, although abandoning his dreams of a French empire in North America.

Answer: Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was president in 1803. Jefferson had been a strict interpreter of the Constitution (which says nothing about land purchases), but decided that the deal was too good to give up, making a huge turnaround from his previous beliefs about the Constitution.

Answer: Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson suppressed the British Army that was threatening the Mississippi Valley.

Answer: Meriwether Lewis

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (not George Rogers Clark, who was the brother of William Clark) were the first to explore the Louisiana territory.

Answer: John Adams

John Adams was the father of John Quincy Adams, and died on the same day as Thomas Jefferson. He beat out Jefferson for president with an electoral count of 71 to 68.

Answer: William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison attacked Prophet, who commanded Shawnees loyal to Tecumseh on November 7, 1811 by burning the headquarters to the ground. John Tyler became William Henry Harrison's Vice President, and one of the campaign slogans read, "Tippecanoe and Tyler too!"

Harrison was the president that served the shortest time in office, a grand total of 31 days (1841). He caught pneumonia after delivering his inaugural address without a coat.

Answer: tories

The patriots supported rebellion against Britain during the Revolutionary War, while the loyalists were (as the name suggests) loyal to the King.

Answer: True

Hamilton was the Secretary of Treasury under George Washington. He passed the first tariff on dutiable imports at 8%. He was also the brain behind the Bank of the United States.

Answer: False

Rather, the Democratic Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, believed that farming kept people out of the "wicked" cities, and closer to God. They promoted the United States, while the Federalists were still taking examples from Britain, and thus promoted growing our own food and helping our own economy by means of farming.

Answer: True

Thomas Jefferson felt that America should have gotten involved in the French Revolution, because they had helped us during our Revolution, just years earlier.

Answer: False

John Adams was the last federalist U.S. president.

Answer: Revolutionary War

The lottery supplied arms and uniforms to the colonial army fighting in the Revolutionary War. After the war, the lottery paid to help repair the damage left by the war.