American History by Decade: The 1890s Quiz

Answer: The Ghost Dance

Wovoka claimed to have received a vision that if the Ghost Dance was performed for five days, his people would be reunited with the deceased and together they would make the white colonists leave. The Ghost Dance movement was incorporated into the religious practices of tribes stretching from Oklahoma to California.

Answer: Wounded Knee

The Ghost Dance movement had made western settlers nervous because they thought it was a prelude to an Indian uprising. At Wounded Knee, the 7th Cavalry tried to disarm a group of Lakota when one of the Indian's weapons discharged. The Cavalry opened fire and slaughtered almost all of the (mainly unarmed) Lakota.

Answer: Basketball

Basketball is America's most popular contribution to world athletics. James Naismith would eventually go on to become the head basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Naismith's original hand written rules for the game of basketball are on display there.

Answer: Populist

Cleveland regained the presidency he had lost in 1888 with a large majority of electoral votes (277-145). Weaver's left-wing Populist Party started in 1892 and was dissolved by 1909. Although they never won many elections, some proposals that started with the Populists (graduated income tax and direct election of Senators by the public instead of state legislatures) eventually became law.

Answer: The Chicago World's Columbian Exposition

The Exposition (known as the White City for the color of its buildings) was held to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus discovering America. The fair was open six months, had over 25 million visitors, and introduced the industrial United States to the world. Scott Joplin and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir became famous after performing at the Exposition.

Answer: Whether the United States should stay on the gold standard

The Panic of 1893 caused one of the most serious depressions in U.S. History. The result was that many farmers were unable to pay off their loans. Bryan caused a sensation at the Democratic Convention of 1896 with his famous "Cross of Gold" speech in which he argued that the U.S. should leave the gold standard in order to inflate the currency thus allowing debts to be repaid in inflated dollars. (Who knew currency devaluation could be so exciting!)

Answer: The Klondike Gold Rush

Gold was discovered on the Klondike River near the Alaskan-Canadian border in 1896. In July 1897 two ships arrived in Seattle carrying gold from the Klondike valued at more than $1 billion in modern dollars. More than 100,000 people would eventually quit their jobs to go seek their fortunes in the Land of the Midnight Sun.

Answer: The Maine was a ship in Havana Harbor whose explosion led to the Spanish American War

The U.S.S. Maine exploded on Feb. 15, 1898 in Havana killing over 250 of the crew members. Yellow journalist William Randolph Hearst used the incident to provoke outrage against Spain by encouraging Americans to "Remember the Maine." No one knows to this day what caused the explosion, but it provided an excuse for America (interested in several Spanish possessions in the Caribbean) to engage in a war of acquisition against Spain.

Answer: Hawaii

The U.S. had a stormy relationship with Hawaii in the last quarter of the 19th century. The U.S. had deposed Queen Liliuokalani militarily in 1893 after she threatened to disrupt the sugar trade. Grover Cleveland opposed annexing Hawaii and wanted to restore the Queen, but instead Hawaii was declared an independent republic in 1894.

The ongoing Spanish-American War had unleashed a patriotic fervor that encouraged President McKinley to add Hawaii to the American empire.

Answer: Guantanamo Bay

As a result of the Spanish-American War, the U.S. acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. Cuba was allowed to become an independent republic after a brief period of U.S. occupation. However, the U.S. retains to this day a naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (despite the hostility of the current Cuban government) that it was granted as a result of the Treaty of Paris.