These are review questions for IOWA tests
We will have pop quizes each day and a test on questions 1 - 25 on Tuesday. Please review these questions each night.
History Brain Quest
1.The colony of Jamestown grew rich in present-day Virginia. What crop made Jamestown prosper?
Tobacco
2.What vehicles did most American pioneers use in their move west?
a.Covered wagons
3.Before the Civil War, the North held one important military post in the South. What was it called?
a.Fort Sumter ( located at the entrance to Charleston Harbor in Charleston, South Carolina)
4.Which Marshall served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1967 to 1991: John or Thurgood?
a.Thurgood Marshall ( the first black justice )
5.Where are stocks, bonds and other securities bought and sold?
a.On the stock exchange
6.In 1492, two monarchs gave Columbus money and ships. Give their names and the country they ruled.
a.Ferdinand and Isabella, king and queen of Spain
7.Which came first: 1) the Boston Tea Party or 2) the Townsend Acts?
a.The Townshend Acts taxed tea brought into the colonies which led to the protest known as the Boston Tea Party.
8.In the 1800's, a number of social reformers tried to set up utopias. What is a utopia?
a.An ideal or perfect community
9.Name the important canal. Built while Teddy Roosevelt was President, it linked the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
a.The Panama Canal ( it took 10 years to build before it opened in 1914)
10.In 1752, who flew a kite in a thunderstorm to prove that lightning is electricity?
a.Benjamin Franklin
11.Did the Revolutionary War last two years, five years or eight years?
a.Eight years ( from 1775 to 1783)
12.It's the Civil War. You see a soldier in a blue uniform. Which side is he fighting for?
a.The Union (or the North)
13.What bodies of water can you see from the Golden Gate Bridge?
a.San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean
14.The President is elected every four years. What government official swears in a new President?
a.The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (gives the President-elect what is called the Oath of Office)
15.What do we call the period right after the Civil War when the South reestablished relations with the U.S. government?
a.Reconstruction (From 1865 to 1877, the Southern states were rebuilt after their defeat)
16.Which Kennedy was shot and killed in Los Angeles, California, in 1968?
a.Robert Kennedy (John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in 1963)
17.What is the main weapon used by labor unions to achieve their goals if negotiations fail?
a.Strike
18.What did sharecroppers give the landowner each year in payment for the land they rented and farmed?
a.a share of the crops
19.Which country did not send explorers to the Americas: Sweden, France, Germany, Holland, Spain?
a.Germany (at that time, Germany did not even exist as a unified nation.)
20.At the start of the Civil War, how many states had joined the Confederacy: three, seven, or nine?
a.Seven (they were soon joined by four more states)
21.What President, soon after he was elected, promised Americans "a new deal"?
a.Franklin D. Roosevelt
22.What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?
a.The Bill of Rights (added in 1791, they protect basic rights such as free speech and religious choice.)
23.What were people called who spoke out or wrote boldly against slavery?
a.Abolitionists
24.Who was the first American astronaut to orbit Earth: Neil Armstrong or John Glenn?
a.John Glenn ( he completed 3 orbits in 5 hours and saw the sun rise and set 4 times)
25.How many senators are there in the U.S. Senate?
a.100 (2 from each of the 50 states)
26.Where did the last battle of the American Revolution take place?
a.Yorktown ( In present-day Virginia. About 17,000 French and American troops defeated the British)
27.Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States after what war?
a.The Spanish-American War
28.What document turned the united colonies of Great Britain into the United States of America?
a.The Declaration of Independence
29.Who has the sole power to appoint a justice to the U.S. Supreme Court?
a.The President
30.Name the law that gave 160 acres of unoccupied land to any citizen over 21 willing to live on it for 5 years.
a.The Homestead Act of 1862 (people who took advantage of this law were called " homesteaders.")
31.Name the island in New York Bay that once served as a major U.S. immigration station.
a.Ellis Island
32.The First Amendment protects a person's right to "free assembly." What is free assembly?
a.Meeting freely in public or private places
33.Which Spanish settlement came first: 1) Santa Fe, New Mexico, or 2) St. Augustine, Florida?
a.St. Augustine, Florida
34.Was the Battle of Bunker Hill a victory or a defeat for the American patriots?
a.A defeat ( the Americans were close to winning, but they ran out of ammunition.)
35.Clara Barton aided the wounded at Civil War hospitals. What organization did she found?
a.The American Red Cross
36.What document replace the Articles of Confederation and became the law of the land in 1789?
a.The Constitution
37.Which group received voting rights first: women or African-American men?
a.African-American men ( in the Fifteenth Amendment )
38.Which amendment in the Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of speech?
a.The First Amendment ( It also guarantees freedom of the press and freedom of religion)
39.Was the Emancipation Proclamation issued during or after the Civil War?
a.During ( It was issued in 1863. The Civil War ended in 1865)
40.Which best describes a war that is neither won nor lost: a stalemate, an armistice, or truce?
a.A stalemate ( two examples in modern history are the Korean War and the Vietnam War )
41.Paul Revere carried two lanterns to warn of approaching troops. What message did the two lanterns convey?
a.The British were coming by sea ( One lantern would have meant they were coming by land)
42.When a nation annexes land, does it 1) add land to its territory, or 2) give up land to another country?
a.1) adds land to its territory ( for example, with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the U.S. doubles its size)
43.Who is supposed to have made the first American flag?
a.Betsy Ross ( although the story, like George Washington's cherry tree, is more legend that fact)
44.What is the only government body that can declare a law passed by Congress to be unconstitutional?
a.The U.S. Supreme Court
45.John Sutter found something on his land that changed the history of California. What was it?
a.Gold
46.Did the 19th Amendment give women the right to vote or the right to equal pay?
a.The right to vote
47.What government official conducts most of his business in the Oval Office?
a.The President of the United States
48.What war ended with the Treaty of Versailles?
a.World War I
49.Robert Fulton's achievement in 1807 was laughed at as "Fulton's Folly." What did he give the world?
a.The first successful steam boat
50.What member of the President's Cabinet makes sure the country's laws are obeyed?
a.Attorney General
51.Whom did the Second Continental Congress name as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army?
a.George Washington
52.Name the 40th, 41st and 42nd Presidents of the United States.
a.Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton
53.What was the last of the 13 colonies to be founded: Maryland , Georgia or Virginia?
a.Georgia
54.Name the tax that prevented many Southern blacks from voting.
a.Poll tax ( a charge for the right to vote that many African Americans were too poor to pay )
55.If the President dies or resigns, who takes his or her place?
a.The Vice President ( The next in line is the Speaker of the House of Representatives )
56.In 1859, who seized the U.S. arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, and forcibly freed about 30 slaves?
a.John Brown
57.Who became the leader of the Nazi Party in Germany in 1933?
a.Adolf Hitler
58.On what national holiday do we honor all persons who served in the armed forces?
a.Veterans Day on November 11
59.What small village in Virginia became the place where the Confederacy surrendered and the Civil War ended
a.Appomattox (the surrender took place at the Apppomattox Court House on April 9, 1865)
60.What state has the largest number of representatives in Congress?
a.California ( A state's population determines its number of representatives in Congress )
61.What does the name "Old Glory" refer to?
a.The American Flag
62.The Vice President is second to the President. What official is "number two" to a state governor?
a.The lieutenant governor
63.In what war did the "redcoats" fight against the minutemen?
a.The Revolutionary War
64.What foreign country dealt with the United States in the transaction known as the Louisiana Purchase?
a.France
65.According to the Constitution is the power to declare war in the hands of the President or the Congress?
a.The Congress
66.Suppose Republicans out number Democrats in the Senate. What's the leader of the Republicans called?
a.The majority leader
67.In what war did France surrender to England all of Canada and its land east of the Mississippi?
a.The French and Indian War or Seven Years War
68.What two nations signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848?
a.Mexico and the United States ( the treaty ended the conflict known as the Mexican War)
69.Which treaty was signed in 1973: the Paris Accords or the Treaty of Paris?
a.The Paris Accords ( signed between the U.S. and North Vietnam and dealing with prisoners of war)
70.On what national holiday do we remember all those who died fighting for our country?
a.Memorial Day
71.What Native American woman served as a guide on the Lewis and Clark expedition?
a.Sacajawea, a Shoshone
72.Where was President Lincoln assassinated?
a.At Ford's Theatre
73.At what school did National Guardsmen kill four students protesting the Vietnam War?
a.Kent State
74.In the War of 1812, did France side with the United States or with England?
a.With the United States
75.What European country was the first to establish colonies in North America?
a.Spain
76.What U.S. President made history when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863?
a.Abraham Lincoln ( the Proclamation freed slaves in states rebelling against the Union)
77.What is the only way to change the Constitution?
a.Pass an amendment
78.What President came into office right after Lincoln's assassination?
a.Andrew Johnson
79.In 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court took a strong proslavery stand in a famous case.
Name the slave involved.
a.Dred Scott ( the court ruled against Dred Scott, a slave seeking his freedom)
80. What war was called "the living-room war" because most Americans were able to watch it at home on TV?
a.The Vietnam War
81.The time is March 5, 1770. The place is Massachusetts. In what protest is Crispus Attucks shot to death?
a.The Boston Massacre
82.What Southern general won a major victory over Union troops in the First Battle of Bull Run( Manassas )?
a.Thomas Jackson ( nicknamed "Stonewall" for his stubborn resistance)
83.What do we call the lawyer who represents the state in criminal trials?
a.District Attorney or prosecutor
84.What name do we give the mass murder of European Jews during World War II?
a.The Holocaust
85.What hero of the Mexican War became the first president of the Republic of Texas?
a.Sam Houston ( He defeated Santa Anna in Texas' struggle for independence from Mexico.
86.Suppose the President has vetoed a law. What does Congress need in each house to overturn the President's veto?
a.A two-thirds majority vote
87.General Charles Cornwallis fought in what war and for what country?
a.England in the Revolutionary War
Posted by 7thghms
at 3:44 PM CST
