American History by Decade: The 1900s Quiz

Answer: Destroy three saloons with a hatchet

Although saloons were illegal in Kansas, the law was rarely enforced. Radical Temperance activist Carrie Nation received a vision from God telling her to "take something in your hands" and smash the saloons in Kiowa. Nation continued her path of destruction throughout Kansas despite being frequently jailed.

The Temperance movement was gaining steam at the turn of the century and would culminate in the passage of the 18th Amendment in 1919.

Answer: An anti-Christian, anti-foreign Chinese religious sect

The sect was known as the Boxers due to the martial arts that they practiced. The Boxers were generally unemployed men who resented Western influence in China.

Answer: Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt had been a Dakota cattle rancher, Spanish-American War hero, New York City Police Commissioner, and New York Governor prior to being given the vice presidential nomination. Roosevelt was initially reluctant to accept the nomination as the vice presidency was considered a powerless position.

Answer: The Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York

McKinley was in a receiving line shaking hands with Exposition attendees when Czolgosz approached and shot him twice in the stomach. Czolgosz had become an anarchist after he lost his job in the Panic of 1893 and was inspired to kill McKinley by the assassination of King Umberto I of Italy by an anarchist in June 1900.

Answer: To help fund the cost of the Rose Parade

The Rose Bowl is often referred to as the "Grandaddy of them all" because it was the first college football bowl game and is still played annually. The Pasadena Rose Parade has been held every New Year's Day since 1890 to show off California's mild winter weather.

Answer: Bourbon Democrats

Bourbon Democrat was started as a pejorative term referring to both bourbon whiskey (which like many Bourbon Democrats was from the South) and the Bourbon Dynasty of France (which like the Bourbon Democrats was old-fashioned). The Bourbon Democrats wanted to continue the small government policies championed by Thomas Jefferson.

In addition to Alton Parker, Samuel Tilden (Democratic presidential candidate of 1876) and President Grover Cleveland were also Bourbon Democrats.

Answer: Vegas, baby!

Las Vegas, Nevada remained tiny until 1931 when Nevada legalized gambling and reduced the residency requirements to get a divorce in the state. Las Vegas went from a population of 800 in the 1910 census to almost half a million by the end of the century.

Answer: Model T Ford automobile

The Model T Ford was the first automobile affordable to the middle class and is considered the most influential car of the 20th century. Ford was able to drop the price of the Model T almost every year until eventually one could be purchased in 1925 for only $260.

Answer: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

Taft was the heaviest president and was extremely accomplished. He had served as a Federal judge, Governor of the Philippines and of Cuba, and Secretary of War prior to being elected president. He is the only man to have served as both President and Chief Justice.

Answer: Robert Peary

Peary learned survival techniques from the Inuit and had several expeditions go as far North as any human had ever gone prior to reaching the Pole. Modern scholars are unsure whether his 6th expedition actually reached the Pole but the myth trumps reality.