What do you know about American History? Quiz

Answer: 1625

New Amsterdam was founded in 1625. It was a Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island but was ceded to England in 1667.

Answer: September 15, 1655

The Peach Tree War took place on January 30, 1655. The Susquehannock Nation and allied Native Americans on several New Netherland settlements along the Hudson River attacked New Amsterdam and Pavonia.

Answer: Common Sense

Thomas Paine wrote and published "Common Sense". It was published on January 10, 1776. "Common Sense" was an American Revolutionary war pamphlet. It was meant to inspire the colonies to fight for independence against Britain. It is generally thought to have been very effective in encouraging the colonists to fight for independence.

Answer: February 6, 1778

The Treaty of Alliance was signed with France on February 6, 1778. It was signed during the American Revolutionary War.

Answer: Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was the vice president at the time of Abraham Lincoln's assassination and adopted a very conciliatory stance with regard to the former Confederate states. He was ill-prepared to become president at the time that he did and as a result he was impeached in 1868.

Answer: October 28, 1919

The eighteenth amendment was established on October 28, 1919. It states:


Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all the territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.

Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission here to the States by the Congress.

This amendment was repealed in 1933 with the ratification of the 21st amendment.

Answer: 1954

The African-American Civil Rights Movement began in 1954 when the U.S. Supreme Court (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka) struck down the "separate but equal" doctrine that formed the basis for state-sanctioned discrimination. This movement was about fighting against discrimination of blacks and racial segregation.

Answer: April 22, 1970

The first Earth Day was observed on April 22, 1970. Earth Day is about doing something different in your life to try and make the world a better place.

Answer: 25

The blackout lasted for 25 hours and in the meantime a lot of crime and disorder took place. The only places that were not affected by the blackout were southern Queens and the Rockaways. The reason that these places were not affected was because they were part of a system for the Long Island Lighting Company.

Answer: January 31, 1958

The first US satellite was launched into space on January 31, 1958. The satellite that was launched was known as the Explorer 1. The Soviet Union had pipped the U.S. to the post with the launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957 leading to much questioning of the effectiveness of the American education system and debates about "What young Ivan knows that Johnny doesn't" and the like.