State of the Union (1st-10th) Trivia Quiz

Answer: Delaware

Delaware was one of the 13 colonies that participated in the Revolutionary War against British rule. Following the cessation of hostilities in 1783, the Treaty of Paris confirmed the independence of the United States (declared in 1776). The Constitution of the United States was drafted in September of 1787, and the State of Delaware became the 1st to ratify it on December 7, with a vote of 30-0.

Answer: Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania played a crucial role in the formation of an independent United States after hosting the first and second Continental Congresses in 1765, which led to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in Independence Hall (Philadelphia) in 1776.

Despite being the birthplace of both the Articles of Confederation (drafted 1777) and the subsequent United States Constitution (drafted 1787), Pennsylvania missed out on being the 1st state to ratify the Constitution by five days. The vote was 46-23.

Answer: New Jersey

New Jersey played an important role in the creation of a new country following the Revolutionary War. After the 1783 Treaty of Paris ended hostilities, Princeton, New Jersey became the capital of the United States for a time, as the Continental Congress could not convene in Philadelphia. Following the drafting of the Constitution, New Jersey became the 3rd state to ratify it, voting 38-0 on December 18, 1787. New Jersey then became the 1st state to ratify the Bill of Rights on November 20, 1789.

Answer: Georgia

Georgia supported the Declaration of Independence along with 12 other colonies, even though the colony's royal governor (James Wright) was quite popular. Unfortunately, Georgia's coastal location and relative isolation (the southernmost of the 13) made it vulnerable to the British during the Revolutionary War. For much of the conflict, Georgia was under the control of British and Loyalist forces.

After the end of the war, and after the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, Georgia became the 4th state to ratify it, on January 2, 1788, with a 26-0 vote.

Answer: Connecticut

The establishment of a new government after the Revolutionary War was a process that changed what was begun with the Articles of Confederation to make for a stronger central government in the manner of a republic. One sticking point in the drafting of the U.S. Constitution was how the different states would be represented in the new government. Larger states wanted representation based on population, while smaller states wanted equal votes per state. It was the Connecticut Compromise that solved the issue by suggesting the establishment a bicameral legislation, with proportional representation of the states in the lower house (House of Representatives) and equal representation in the upper house (Senate).

Incidentally, Connecticut ratified the Constitution of the United States on January 9, 1788 by a 128-40 margin.

Answer: Massachusetts

Massachusetts was the center of the conflagration that would become the Revolutionary War. Relations with England had never been ideal in the state, but the events of the Boston Massacre (1770) and the Boston Tea Party (1773) were direct factors that led to revolution. Harsh reprisals by the British (the series of 'Intolerable Acts' in 1774) made for unrest in the colony, and on February 9, 1775, the British Parliament declared Massachusetts to be in rebellion. When they sent additional troops to 'restore order' to the colony, it sparked the Revolutionary War (beginning with the Battles of Lexington and Concord).

After the war, Massachusetts delegates were opposed to the newly-crafted Constitution, as it failed to reserve undelegated powers to the states and lacked constitutional protection of basic political rights, such as freedom of speech, religion and the press. Assurances that amendments would be immediately proposed to address those issues allowed Massachusetts to ratify the Constitution on February 6, 1788 by a narrow 187-168 margin, becoming the 6th state to join the Union.

Answer: Maryland

At first, Maryland was not in favor of independence from Great Britain, but they nevertheless supported the Declaration of Independence and participated in the Revolutionary War. Under the Articles of Confederation (which Maryland was the last to ratify of the 13 colonies in 1781), it was a Marylander who became the first (full-term) president of the Continental Congress, serving from 1781 to 1782.

A few significant events occurred in Maryland in subsequent years. From November 26, 1783, to June 3, 1784, Annapolis was the United States capital and home of the Continental Congress. It was there that George Washington resigned as the commander of the Continental Army on December 23, 1783, and it was there that the Treaty of Paris was ratified by the Continental Congress on January 14, 1784.

Maryland was the 7th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on April 28, 1788 with a vote of 63-11.

Answer: South Carolina

It was a South Carolinian that provided a detailed outline for the U.S. Constitution to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. 30-year-old Charles Pinckney had been a long-time critic of the Articles of Confederation, and was a big proponent of a strong federalist government.

South Carolina became the 8th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on May 23, 1788.

Answer: New Hampshire

While New Hampshire was not the first state to actually declare its independence from Great Britain (that was Rhode Island), they WERE the first state to establish its own government and constitution (prior to the adoption of the Articles of Confederation).

As the 9th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution (on June 21, 1788), New Hampshire's act served to legitimize the Constitution (two thirds of the 13 colonies approving), and a date was set that it would go into effect (March 4, 1789).

Answer: Virginia

It was in Virginia that the end of the Revolutionary War happened. The Siege of Yorktown by Washington (September 28 - October 19, 1781), coupled with the British loss against the French fleet at the Battle of the Virginia Capes on September 5 that cut Cornwallis off from any maritime retreat, led to Cornwallis surrendering. Papers to that effect were officially signed on October 19, 1781.

Virginia became the 10th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution a few years later, with a vote of 89-79.