Majority of U.S. Citizens Get These American History Questions Wrong

By: Tyler Connaghan | Last updated: Mar 23, 2024

How much do you really know about the history that has shaped the United States of America?

You may be surprised to know that many U.S. citizens know very little about our country’s past and how it informs our current environment. Put your patriotic knowledge to the test with this history quiz.

1. Who was the first president to live in the White House?

A) George Washington
B) Abraham Lincoln
C) John Adams
D) John Quincy Adams

Source: Facebook

Answer:

John Adams

Source: Wikipedia

2. How many settlers came over on the Mayflower?

A) 102
B) 56
C) 134
D) 200

Source: Wikipedia

Answer:

102 settlers

Source: Wikipedia

3. Which European country colonized Florida?

A) England
B) Spain
C) France
D) Germany

Source: Wikipedia

Answer:

Spain

Source: Wikipedia

4. Which president is credited with ending slavery?

A) George Washington
B) John Adams
C) Abraham Lincoln
D) Woodrow Wilson

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Answer:

Abraham Lincoln

Source: Wikipedia

5. What was the bloodiest one-day battle in American History?

A) Battle of Verdun (WWII)
B) Pearl Harbor (WWII)
C) Battle of Antietam (Civil War)
D) None of the Above

Source: Getty Images

Answer:

Battle of Antietam (Civil War)

Source: Wikimedia Commons

6. Who was the first president to be impeached?

A) Donald Trump
B) Ronald Reagan
C) Andrew Johnson
D) Bill Clinton

Former U.S. President Donald Trump announces he will run for president in 2024 at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach

Source: Getty Images

Answer:

Andrew Johnson

Source: Wikipedia

7. What was the leading cause of death during the first winter of the Plymouth Colony?

A) Disease
B) Harsh Weather
C) Starvation
D) All of the Above

Source: Wikipedia

Answer:

All of the Above

Source: Wikipedia

8. How many amendments to the U.S. Constitution are there?

A) 27
B) 10
C)75
D) 0

Source: Wikipedia

Answer:

27 amendments

Source: Wikipedia

9. The first African slaves were brought to which modern city/state?

A) Jacksonville, Florida
B) Jamestown, Virginia
C) Charlotte, North Carolina
D) Plymouth, Massachusetts

Source: Wikipedia

Answer:

Jamestown, Virginia

Source: Facebook

10. What year did the U.S. join World War I?

A) 1914
B) 1915
C) 1916
D) 1917

Source: Wikipedia

Answer:

1917

Source: Wikipedia

11. What was New York’s original name?

A) New Holland

B) New Dutch-land

C) Philadelphia

D) New Amsterdam

Aerial view of New York City, including Central Park

Source: Freepik

Answer:

New Amsterdam

Photograph of the New York Stock Exchange in 1903

Source: Library of Congress

12. On what date was the Declaration of Independence signed?

A) July 4, 1776

B) August 2, 1776

C) May 17, 1779

C) July 4, 1779

Declaration of Independence on an American flag

Source: Adobe Stock

Answer:

August 2, 1776

Declaration of Independence, oil on canvas by John Trumbull, 1818; in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Washington, D.C.

Source: Britannica

13. What European country was the Statue of Liberty a gift from?

A) Germany

B) United Kingdom

C) France

D) Italy

View of the Statue of Liberty against a blue sky

Source: Freepik

Answer:

France

Source: Freepik

14. Which was the first US state admitted to the Union?

A) Pennsylvania

B) Delaware

C) New York

D) Virginia

Map of the United States with a magnifying glass laying on top

Source: Freepik

Answer:

Delaware

Source: iStock

15. How many US Presidents have been assassinated?

A) 4

B) 3

C) 6

D) 0

Photograph of a memorial for JFK after he was assasinated

Source: JFK.org

Answer:

4

Official photograph of President Abraham Lincoln

Source: Wikipedia

16. Who was the Confederate President during the Civil War?

A) Ulysses S. Grant

B) Abraham Lincoln

C) Jefferson Davis

D) Robert E. Lee

Source: iStock

Answer:

Jefferson Davis

Source: Wikipedia

17. In 1903, the United States doubled in size after which event?

A) The Louisiana Purchase

B) The Civil War

C) The Indian Removal Act

D) The Monroe Doctrine

Map of the United States with an American flag placed in the center

Source: StockSnap

Answer:

The Louisiana Purchase

Source: Wikipedia

18. What of the following wars did the United States NOT fight in during the 1800s?

A) Mexican-American War
B) Civil War
C) War of 1812
D) Revolutionary War

Black and white illustration of the Mexican-American War

Source: iStock

Answer:

Revolutionary War

Source: Adobe Stock

19. What was the name of the network of secret routes that helped slaves escape from the South to the North?

A) Underground Tunnels

B) Underground Railroad

C) Freedom Movement

D) None of the Above

Map of the Underground Railroad which helped slaves escape from the South to the North

Source: National Geographic

Answer:

Underground Railroad

Photograph of railroad tracks leading into an underground tunnel

Source: iStock

20. Who was the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms?

A) George Washington

B) Theodore Roosevelt

C) William Henry Harrison

D) Grover Cleveland

Exterior view of the White House in Washington, DC

Source: Freepik

Answer:

Grover Cleveland

Source: Britannica

21. The US National Anthem starts with the following words…

A) “Oh say, can you see”

B) “God bless America”

C) “In God we trust”

D) “We the people”

Man in a suit playing a guitar with an American flag tied around the neck

Source: Freepik

Answer:

“Oh say, can you see”

Source: Freepik

22. When was the first United States $1 bill minted?

A) 1670

B) 1776

C) 1862

D) 1801

Source: Freepik

Answer:

1862

Source: Wikipedia

23. What was the first permanent settlement in what would eventually be the United States?

A) Annapolis

B) Chesapeake Bay

C) Massachusetts Bay Colony

D) Jamestown

Illustration of the original colony of Jamestown in what is now Virginia

Source: Britannica

Answer:

Jamestown

Source: National Geographic Society

24. How many people were executed during the Salem Witch Trials?

A) 120

B) 19

C) 63

D) 4

Representation of the Salem witch trials from 1892

Source: Wikipedia

Answer:

19

Painting entitled"Examination of a witch" by Thomkins H. Matteson, 1853

Source: Wikipedia

25. When was the first Great Awakening?

A) 1730s -1740s

B) 1600s-1630s

C) 1810s

D) 1890s-1910s

Drawing of George Whitefield preaching to a crowd during the first Great Awakening

Source: Britannica

Answer:

1730s-1740s

Source: @AmericanHistoryVideos/YouTube

26. About how many slaves were freed at the conclusion of the Civil War?

A) 1 Million

B) 4 Million

C) 6 Million

D) 500,000

Photograph of formerly enslaved men, women, and children claimed freedom by entering Federal lines during the Civil War

Source: Library of Congress

Answer:

4 Million

Promotional poster for the Emancipation Proclamation depicting slavery and a picture of president Abraham Lincoln

Source: Library of Congress

27. What tribe was Pocahontas from?

A) Powhatan

B) Cherokee

C) Mohawk

D) Iroquois

Pocahontas saves the life of John Smith in this chromolithograph, credited to the New England Chromo. Lith. Company around 1870

Source: Wikipedia

Answer:

Powhatan

Engraved portrait of Matoaks or Rebecka, the Native American woman better known as Pocahontas, made in 1616 during her trip in England

Source: Wikipedia

28. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked which American harbor?

A) New York Harbor

B) Pearl Harbor

C) Miami Harbor

D) Sunset Harbor

An Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter on the aircraft carrier Akagi on the way to Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941

Source: Wikipedia

Answer:

Pearl Harbor

Source: Wikipedia

29. Where did Christopher Columbus land?

A) Virginia

B) Maryland

C) Massachusettes

D) None of the Above

Painting of explorer Christopher Columbus

Source: Alamy

Answer:

None of the Above

The routes of the four Voyages of Christopher Columbus from 1492-1504

Source: Wikipedia

30. What was the last state to be admitted into the union?

A) California

B) Alaska

C) Hawaii

D) Texas

Map of the United States with the names of each state

Source: Freepik

Answer:

Hawaii

Source: iStock